His son Ibrahim Lodi was the last ruler of the Lodi dynasty, as he was defeated in 1526 by Babur, the first Mughal ruler, in the battle of Panipat.
Agra fell too, and became the capital of the Mughals, whose rule over Agra was uninterrupted except for a brief period between 1540 and 1556. In 1540, Sher Shah Shuri overthrew Humayun and became the ruler of much of Northern India, including Agra.
After Sher Shah Suri’s death, his descendants proved unequal to the task of ruling the kingdom. Hemu, a Hindu who served as one of Suri’s generals, became the effective ruler.
Hemu would later crown himself King Hemachandra Vikramaditya just as the kingdom was facing an assault from the reinvigorated Mughals. In 1556, Hemu was defeated and killed in the second battle of Panipat, and the Mughals took back the city of Agra.
Mughals were great builders. Babur built the Aram Bagh (Garden of Relaxation) which was modeled after the garden of paradise and was where he was buried after his death. His grandson Akbar refurbished the Agra fort and built Fatehpur Sikri, an entire city just on the outskirts of Agra. He also renamed Agra after himself, and the city was known as Akbarabad while it was in Mughal hands.
Akbar’s grandson Shah Jehan would give Agra its most famous monument, the Taj Mahal, which he ordered constructed as a mausoleum for his most beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
The Taj is constructed in white marble. It took 20 years to construct, and is now universally known as a monument of love. Legend has it that Shah Jehan wanted a replica of the Taj constructed in black marble that would be his final resting place. There is no actual support for this theory, but even if it were true, it would have unlikely been built.
His son Aurangzeb was austere and pious, and had no time or inclination for the ostentation of his forefathers, preferring to spend his money on wars in South India. In any case, even during Shah Jehan’s reign, which was the period when the Mughal empire was at its height, the construction of the Taj put a strain on the resources of the empire and caused a famine around Agra. Shah Jehan was eventually buried in the white Taj, next to his beloved wife.
Anyone interested in reading a novel based on the remarkable story behind the Taj Mahal should consider Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors. Beneath a Marble Sky is an international bestseller that won multiple awards and is being made into a Hollywood film. Another book suggestion is The Taj by Colin De Silva.
