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Agra is best known as the city of Taj Mahal, the world's
most famous monument of love. It is situated along the banks of the River
Yamuna and attracts thousands of tourists every day from all over the
world. The Taj, one of the wonders of the world and a World Heritage
Monument, is only one of the innumerable edifices the Mughals endowed this
city with. The Agra Fort, the tomb of Itmad-ud-Daula, Akbar's tomb at
Sikandra, the Jama Masjid, and Fatehpur Sikri are among the beautiful
monuments to see in Agra.
Agra,with its laid -back lifestyle and its immense wealth of architecture,
handicrafts and jewellery, is amongst the most remarkable city of the
world. In terms of ambience it is still associated with its Mughal period
led by Babur, who arrived in 1526. Agra grew in prominence as almost all
of India came under the rule of Mughal empire but Agra reached its zenith
under the rule of Akbar,Shah Jehan and Jehangir.It was under the rule of
Akbar that agra become a leading centre of art, science, commerce and
culture.
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Agra is an old city and it derived its name from Agrabana, a forest which is
mentioned in the epic Mahabharta. In recent times Agra came into prominence
when Sikandar Lodi made it his capital city in 1501. The Lodi ended very soon
and Agra passed into the possession of the Mughals. The Mughal emperors with
their passion for building, endowed the city with some of the finest structures
in the world. During the time of the third emperor Akbar Agra came into its
own. He embarked on the construction of the massive Agra Fort in 1565. Agra
continued to retain its importance and Shah Jehan, Akbar's grandson ornamented
the city with that masterpiece of Mughal architecture -The Taj Mahal and built
several other beautiful buildings within the Agra Fort.
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