Main Attractions

Diwani-i-Am
The Diwani-i-Am is where the monarch sat and lent a patient ear to all the petitions he received. A paved courtyard called the Pachisi was where the monarch played chaubar, a game that closely resembles chess– using slave girls as pieces.

Diwani-i-Khas
TheDiwani-i-Khas nearby housed the Ibadat Khana or the ‘House of Worship’ where the emperor debated various systems with noted theologians.Although semi-literate, Akbar was the most liberal of the Mughal emperors, and in 1579, he was declared the highest authority in matters of religion by the famous ‘infallibility decree’. Three years later, the emperor founded Din-a-Ilahi or the ‘Religion of God’ which was an amalgam of all the major religions of the world. Decried by religious zealots from his own community as an apostate, Din-a-Ilahi disappeared as a faith after Akbar’s death in 1605.

Ankh Michauli
As you enter the Ankh Michauli pavilion, you realise that Akbar could be as flippant as he was profound. Here the Mughal played ‘blind man’s buff’ and indulged in frivolous pranks in the company of his harem.

Jodhabai’s Palace
Jodhabai’s Palace is befittingly the grandest of all palaces in Fatehpur Sikri – as she was his most favoured wife and the mother of the crown prince. Other notable palaces at Fatehpur Sikri are the five-storeyed Panch Mahal and the Hawa Mahal.

The Everlasting Glory of Fatehpur Sikri
By 1585, Akbar wearied of the dry, hot climate of the city and moved to the cooler climes of Lahore. Within a few years, the pomp and pageantry of the city vanished – but the sandstone monuments endure to this day. Such were the construction methods employed, that there is not a single derelict monument in the city. The Mughal Empire has long since vanished from the firmament but the greatest of the Mughal emperors, Akbar etched his name forever in the sands of time by building the Fatehpur Sikri.