(much defaced). The remains of the paintings which once decorated it are now very slight. Below is a room, and at the E. end of it a platform, supported by two fine red sandstone shafts, beautifully carved. According to tradition a Hindu priest lived here. The space to the N. was known as the Khas Mahal.

At the S.E. corner of this court

1

yard is the "Turkish Queen's House, which many may consider the most interesting apartment of all. As it now stands it consists of only one small chamber, 15 ft. by 15 ft. Every square inch is carved, including the soffits of the cornices. The ceiling and decoration of the veranda pillars and pilasters are exceptionally fine. Inside is a most elaborate dado about 4 ft. high, consisting of eight sculptured panels representing forest views, animal life, etc. Above, the wall takes the form of a stone lattice screen, the divisions of which were used as shelves. Much of the carving is curiously like Chinese work, and reminds one of what Abul Fazl says of the local red sandstone : Clever workmen chisel it so skilfully as no turner could do with wood, and their works vie with the picturebooks of Mani (a legendary Persian painter).

"

W. is the Girls' School, a small, plain building, carried on square stone piers. Upon the pavingstones of the open space in front (E.) is the Pachisi ("chess") board, with the Emperor's stone seat in the centre, in the form of a cross laid out in coloured pavement, and it is said the game was played with slave girls as pieces to make the moves.

Just to the N. of this is the Panch Mahal, a building of five storeys, borne by open colonnades, each tier being smaller than the 1 Rumi Sultana.

one below, till nothing but a small kiosk remains a-top. It was probably erected for the ladies of the court as a pleasure resort, as the sides were originally enclosed with stone screens. The first floor is remarkable on account of the variety of the 56 columns which support the storey above, no two being alike in design. Many of the shafts are similar, but the caps vary; at the angles of one are elephants' heads with interlaced trunks; on another is a man gathering fruit. On the N.W. angle is a group of four columns, which should be examined. From the topmost floor there is a splendid view.

At the N. of the quadrangle is the Diwan-i- Khas, or "Private Hall," or Council Chamber. From the outside it appears to be two storeys high, but on entering it is found to consist of one only, with a central pillar crowned by an immense circular corbelled capital, radiating from which to the four corners of the building are four stone causeways enclosed by open trellis stone balustrades (restored). Tradition says that in the centre of this capital the Emperor sat, whilst the corners were occupied by his four Ministers. The shaft is beautifully carved, and deserves careful study. On the E. and W. sides are stone staircases communicating with the roof. The open screen-work in the windows is modern. A few fect to the W. is the building known as the Ankh Michauli. The story told is that the Emperor here played hide-andseek with the ladies of the court; but it was most likely used for records. It consists of three large, lofty rooms, surrounded by narrow passages. The ceilings of two of the rooms are curved, but the third is flat, and supported on struts ornamented with grotesque carving. In front of the S.E. corner is a small canopied structure said to have been used by an astrologer,

Outside, to the W. of the Khas Mahal enclosure is the House of Miriam (traditionally a Portuguese Christian, but really the Jaipur Princess who bore the title Mariam uz zamani, and was mother of Prince Salim, afterwards the Emperor Jahangir), a small building with defaced frescoes in the niches and upon the walls and piers of the veranda. One, in which the wings of angels are distinctly visible, has been thought to suggest the Annunciation. At one time the whole house was painted inside and out. The original name Sonahri Makan, or "Golden House,' was given it on account of the profuse gilding with which its walls were adorned. On the N.W. is Miriam's Garden, and at the S.E. angle her bath, with a large column in the centre. On the W. side is the Nagina, or Ladies' Mosque, and the remains of a small Turkish bath. At the S.end of the garden is a small fish tank, which, together with the stone pavement of the garden, was brought to light by Mr E. W. Smith.

"

To the N.W. a road leads to the Hathi Pol (Elephant Gate) on the N. of the city. Over the W. archway, 20 ft. from the ground, are two life-sized elephants much mutilated-probably by Aurangzeb. To the left is the Sangin Burj, a groined bastion or keep, said to have been the commencement of the fortifications planned

by Akbar, but abandoned on account of objections raised by Shaikh Salim Chishti. Down the old stone-paved road on the left is the Karawan Sarai (caravanserai). It consists of a large court 272 ft. by 246 ft., surrounded by the merchants' hostels. Formerly the S.E. side was three storeys high. At the N. end, beyond the Sarai, stands the Hiran Minar ("Deer Minaret"), a circular tower some 70 ft. high, studded with protruding elephants' tusks of stone. Tradition says that it is erected over the grave of Akbar's favourite elephant, and that from the lantern in the top the Emperor shot antelope and other game driven under it by beaters. The

land to the N. and W. was a large lake in Akbar's time. (More probably the name is corrupted from Haram, the female quarters.)

On the left of the road returning to the Hathi Pol is a very fine stone well surrounded by rooms. and staircases, which formed a part of the waterworks. The water was lifted from this level by a series of Persian wheels and a system of reservoirs to the arched gate on the N.W. corner of Birbal's House, and thence dispensed throughout the palace.

The Palace of Birbal stands to the S.W. of Miriam's Garden, near the N.W. corner of the Jodh Bai palace. It is the finest in Fatehpur-Sikri, and is said to have been built by Raja Birbal for his daughter, who, however, was not one of the wives of Akbar. It is a two-storeyed building of red sandstone standing on a raised platform, and consists of four rooms 15 ft. square, and two entrance porches on the ground floor and two above with small terraces in front of them, enclosed originally by stone screens, forming a ladies' promenade. Over the upper rooms are flat-ribbed cupolas, carried on octagonal drums, and supported on richly - ornamented

corbel brackets stretching across the angles of the rooms; and the stone - panelled walls and niches are covered with intricate patterns. The ceilings of the lower rooms are supported on a fine and unique frieze, and the whole of the interior-pilasters, recesses, walls, and cusp-arched doorways—are elaborately and beautifully carved with geometrical patterns. The exterior walls are almost as profusely ornamented. No wood has been used in the construction of this extraordinary building, to which the words of Victor Hugo have been applied: If it were not the most minute of palaces, it was the most gigantic of jewelcases." Raja Birbal was celebrated for his wit and learning, and was the only Hindu of eminence who embraced the

new

religion of Akbar, whose favourite courtier he was. He perished with the whole of the army he was commanding in the Yusafzai country to the N.E. of Peshawar in 1586.

S. of Birbal's house are the Stables for 102 horses and nearly as many camels. In some of the mangers stone rings for the horses' halters still remain, and on the N.W. side one of the old doors. The camel stables are lighted by openings in the roof.

The Palace of Jodh Bai is probably erroneously so called, as it is more likely that it was used by the Emperor or by his chief wife, Sultana Rakiya, his first cousin. The entrance is on the E. from the open space in front of the Record Office. Itis a quadrangular building 232 ft. by 215 ft. The courtyard within has reception rooms on the N., S., and W. sides, connected by a flat-roofed corridor partly closed by stone walls. The room on the W. is more ornate than the others, and in the rear wall is a fireplace. There are chambers above, and

those on the N. and S. sides rise to two storeys; they are gableroofed and ornamented with blue enamelled tiling, recalling the Man Mandir Palace of Gwalior (p. 157). At the angles the chambers are surmounted by cupolas, originally painted. Overlooking Miriam's garden is a small projecting room, the walls of which are entirely composed of beautiful stone lattice work. From the mezzanine floor on the N. side a closed passage leads to a garden abutting on the waterworks, beside which a gallery passed to the N. side of the Sarai near the Hiran Minar. It is now in ruins, and not easy of identification. the passage, and just before the garden is reached, is a very fine stone screen beneath a small cupola.

In

The Dargah Mosque lies S.W. of the Jodh Bai Palace. The E. gate, called the Badshahi, or 'royal gate, opens into the quadrangle, which measures 433 ft. by 366 ft. To the right is the Tomb, or Dargah, of Shaikh Salim Chishti, a descendant of the Shakkar Ganj Pir, who is buried at Pak Pattan (see pp. 194 and 358). It is surrounded by beautiful white marble lattice-work screens, the outer entrance doors also being of marble. The canopy over the tomb of the saint is inlaid with motherof-pearl, no longer adorned with ostrich eggs over it. On the cenotaph is written the date of the saint's death and the date of the completion of the building, 1580, "May God hallow his tomb!the beloved helper of the sect and its saint, Shaikh Salim, whose miraculous gifts and propinquity to the Divine Being are celebrated, and by whom the lamp of the family of Chishti is illuminated. Be not double-sighted, looking to the transitory self, as well as to the everlasting Deity. The year of his decease is known throughout

2

the world." 1 The brackets which support the dripstone or eaves of the tomb are copies of those in the old mosque of the stone-masons. Childless women, both Hindu and Muhammadan, resort to the tomb and pray the saint to intercede in their favour. On the N. of the quadrangle is also the tomb of Islam Khan, surmounted with a cupola; he was the grandson of the saint and Governor of Bengal.

.

It

The Mosque proper (liwan), to the W., is said to be a copy of the one at Mecca. It is about 70 ft. high, and very beautiful. consists of three interior square chambers surrounded by rows of lofty pillars of Hindu type. At the N. and S. ends are zenana chambers. Going out by a door at the back of the mosque, in an enclosure on the right, is an infant's tomb, said to be that of the saint's son, whose life was sacrificed at the age of six months in order that Akbar's son (Jahangir) might live when born. In the S. wall of the quadrangle is the Gate of Victory, Buland Darwaza ("high gate"), which towers to the height of 130 ft.

Mr Fergusson (Indian Architecture, 2, 297) expresses the opinion that when looked at from below its appearance is noble beyond that of any portal attached to any mosque in India, perhaps in the whole world. The grandeur of this great height is increased by a fine flight of steps on the outside, giving a total height of 172 ft.3 There is a grand view from the top.

In the archway is an inscription on the left hand going out, which

1 All the inscriptions here may be found in the Miftah-ul-Tawarikh, by John Ellis, printed at Agra.

2 This is outside the quadrangle and W. of the mosque, where Shaikh Salim lived his hermit life in a cave now covered by a room. In a portico on the right of the old mosque the saint taught his disciples before the place had attracted the notice of royalty.

3 The gate and shrine are specially noticed by the traveller Finch.

says that the 'King of Kings, Shadow of God, Jalal - ud - din Muhammad Akbar, the Emperor, on his return from conquering the kingdoms of the S. and Khandesh, formerly called Dhandesh, came to Fatehpur in the 46th year of his reign (corresponding to 1601 A.D.), and proceeded from thence to Agra.' On the opposite side is inscribed: "Isa (Jesus), on whom be peace, said: The world is a bridge, pass over it, but build no house on it. The world endures but an hour, spend it in devotion.'" The doors of this great gateway are studded with horseshoes, affixed by the owners of sick horses, who implore the prayers of the saint for their recovery. From the steps, or, better still, from the summit of the gate, may be seen the villages of Sikri and Fatehpur and the surrounding tract of barren country. To the W. of the steps is a large well, into which boys and men used to spring from the walls from heights varying from 30 ft. to 80 ft.; but the practice has now been prohibited. A Mela, or fair, commences on the 20th of Ramzan, the anniversary of the saint's death, and lasts for, eight days. In front of the steps are some Turkish baths.

Outside the N. wall of the Dargah are the houses of the brothers Abul Fazl and Faizi, the learned favourites of Akbar and followers of his new religion, now used as a boys' school. A little to the N.E. of the Record Office to the right of the road to the Dwani-i'Am, is the Hakim's, or doctor's house, and a very large and fine Hammam, the walls and ceilings of which are richly ornamented with stamped plaster - work. To the

right on leaving, and adjoining the high road below, is a spacious and interesting Baoli, from which the baths and this part of the city were supplied. Leading to a well at one end is a broad staircase