Site Name: Fatehpur Sikri
Date: 1572 CE
Subject: General view of the Elephant Gate and the connected ramp
CENTER FOR ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY
The Akbari Sarai at Fatehpur Sikri of Agra
district in Uttar Pradesh is a Mughal-period caravansarai or rest house constructed
during the reign of Emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605) and is among the earliest
surviving sarais of the Mughal era. It is referred to in early
seventeenth-century accounts, including those of the European traveller William
Finch. Built primarily of red sandstone, the sarai is a substantial four-terraced
complex with a double-storeyed gateway and rooms arranged around a central
courtyard. The complex also includes a Mughal-period octagonal stepwell,
probably constructed between 1572 and 1575 CE, and the Hiran Minar, a
watchtower or commemorative structure dating to the same period. All these
monuments are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (Agra Circle).
