- Type
- Fortress
- Built
- 1639 · 17th century
- Commissioned by
- Shah Jahan
- Heritage
- UNESCO World Heritage List
- Coordinates
- 28.6558°, 77.2403°
History
The citadel was built by Emperor Shah Jahan, creator of the Taj Mahal, when in the late 1630s he decided to move his capital from Agra to the new city of Shahjahanabad. Construction took about a decade, and his successor Aurangzeb added the marble Pearl Mosque. In 1739 the Persian ruler Nadir Shah sacked Delhi and carried off the legendary Peacock Throne from the fort. After crushing the 1857 uprising the British exiled the last emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, demolished many palaces and turned the fort into barracks. Since 1947 the Prime Minister of India has addressed the nation from its walls every Independence Day, and it became a UNESCO site in 2007.
What to see
You enter through the monumental Lahori Gate and the covered Chatta Chowk bazaar, still lined with stalls. Beyond lie the Diwan-i-Am with its marble canopy over the throne platform and the Diwan-i-Khas, the private audience hall with inlaid columns. A row of imperial pavilions runs along the eastern wall, once linked by a channel of flowing water, and several museums tell the story of the Mughals and the struggle for independence.
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