Mughal rulers blended central Asian traditions with elements of Hindu and Islamic architecture.  They built on a scale that left no doubt about their wealth and resources.  The Mughal rules of India constructed scores of mosques, fortress, palaces and even entire cities.  The best example was Fatehpur Sikri, or “City of Victory”, a city planned and constructed by Emperor Akbar and served as his capital from 1569 to 1585.  It commemorated his conquest of the prosperous commercial province of Gujarat in a campaign that enabled Akbar to head off both Portuguese attacks and Ottoman intervention there.  With its mint, records office, treasury, and audience hall (Diwan-i-Khas, or the “Hall of Private Audience”, below left), the new city demonstrated Akbar’s strength and imperial ambitions.  Fatehpur Sikri was also a private residence and retreat for the ruler, reproducing in stone a royal encampment with exquisite pleasure palaces where Akbar indulged his passions for music and conversation with scholars and poets.  

At another level, it was another display of Mughal piety and devotion, centered on the mosque and the mausoleum of Akbar’s Sufi guru (below center).  Despite their intensely Islamic character, many of the buildings consciously incorporated Hindu and Jain elements such as verandas supported by columns and decorations of stone elephants.  The most famous of all Mughal monuments was Shah Jahan’s mausoleum for his late wife, the Taj Mahal (bottom right) in Agra. The shah had planned to build a black marble version of the Taj Mahal for his own burial but was deposed of power by his son before he could do so.