Taj Mahal, – Agra, Ostindien

Title

Taj Mahal, – Agra, Ostindien

Decorative view of the well known Taj Mahal (Tadsch Mahal) in Agra, India.

ca. 1840

Artist

Kunstanstalt Hildburghausen (1828-1874)

The German publishing company Bibliographisches Institut was founded 1826 in Gotha by Joseph Meyer, moved 1828 to Hildburghausen and 1874 to Leipzig. Its production over the years includes such well-known titles as Meyers Lexikon.

Historical Description

Agra is a city in the western state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It was the capital of the Mughal Empire with interruptions from 1526 to 1648. The current city was laid out at the beginning of the 16th century by Sikandar Lodi, who also moved the capital of the Delhi Sultanate here. As part of Babur's conquest of the Sultanate, Agra fell to the Mughals in 1526. Babur stayed frequently in Agra and built the Ram Bagh, one of the first Mughal gardens. Agra's heyday began with the accession of Akbar (r. 1556–1605), who expanded the city, and lasted until the reign of Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707). With the decline of the Mughal Empire, Agra also lost its importance.