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The Story of India: Pakistan and North India
By Michael Wood
Last updated 2009-11-05
Salim Chisti's Tomb, Jama Masjid, Fatehpur Sikri in Northern India
Salim Chisti's Tomb
- Salim Chisti's Tomb, Jama Masjid, Fatehpur Sikri
- Fatehpur Sikri is one of the greatest Mughal architectural achievements.
- Shaikh Salim Chisti was a highly-revered Sufi saint who the great Mughal Emperor Akbar used to visit. Legend has it that Chisti's blessings finally resulted in the birth of a son for the emperor and that the saint also correctly predicted two more would follow. In his honour, Akbar founded his new capital in Chisti's home town of Sikri and renamed it Fatehpur Sikri. After Chisti's death, Akbar had a tomb of marble built for him in the courtyard of the magnificent Jama Masjid at the new capital.
Though less well known than the Taj Mahal, it draws on a range of architectural styles, incorporating elaborate palaces, formal courtyards and reflecting pools in a uniquely innovative way. Plagued by water shortages, Fathepur Sikri had to be abandoned shortly after Akbar's death - and today stands as a World Heritage site.
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