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Delhi Red Fort

Lal Qila

Delhi, India

Cultural

Description

Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned construction of the Red Fort in 1638, when he decided to shift his capital from Agra to Delhi. Originally red and white, its design is credited to architect Ustad Ahmad Lahori, who also constructed the Taj Mahal. The fort represents the peak of Mughal architecture under Shah Jahan, and combines Persianate palace architecture with Indian traditions.

Constructed, 1648

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The Lahori Gate is the main gate to the Red Fort, named for its orientation towards the city of Lahore.

The fort's defensive walls are punctuated by turrets and bastions.

The fort's artwork synthesises Persian, European and Indian art, resulting in a unique Shahjahani style rich in form, expression and colour.

The fort was plundered of its artwork and jewels during Nadir Shah's invasion of the Mughal Empire in 1739.

The Hayat Bakhsh Bagh is located in the northeast part of the complex, which features a now-dry reservoir through which the Nahr-i-Bihisht would flow.

In the east wall of the court stands the Naubat Khana, from where music was played daily, at scheduled times and all except royalty were required to dismount.

The most significant surviving structures are the walls and ramparts along the main gates

Smaller entrances into the fort, with decorated sandstone gateways.

A later addition, the Moti Masjid was built in 1659 as a private mosque for Emperor Aurangzeb.

The Diwan-i-Khas, or the Hall of Private Audience, was a building for the official affairs and requests of the novelty and royal family.

François Bernier described seeing the legendary, jewelled Peacock Throne here during the 17th century.

The Delhi Gate is the southern public entrance and is similar in layout and appearance to the Lahori Gate, where two life-size stone elephants on either side of the gate face each other.

The pavilions are connected by a canal, known as the Nahr-i-Bihisht, or the Stream of Paradise, running through the center of each pavilion.

The Shahi Burj was the emperor's main study; its name means "Emperor's Tower" and it originally had a chhatri on top.

White marble cladding with coloured stone inlay patterns

The Moti Masjid is a small, three-domed mosque carved in white marble.

The three-arched screen leading down to the courtyard in the Moti Masjid.

The Hira Mahal, or Diamond Palace, is a pavilion on the southern edge of the fort, built under Bahadur Shah II at the end of the Hayat Baksh garden.

Most of the fort's marble structures were subsequently demolished by the British following the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

The step-well is one of the few monuments that were not demolished by the British after 1857, though the chambers within were converted into a prison.

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