Red Fort
The Red Fort was the palace for Shah Jahan's new capital, Shahjahanabad, the seventh Muslim city in the Delhi site. He moved his capital from Agra in a move designed to bring prestige to his reign, and to provide ample opportunity to apply his ambitious building schemes and interests.
The foundation stone was laid in 1618 and the fort was finally inaugurated in 1647.
The Red Fort stands at the eastern edge of Shahjahanabad, and gets its name from the massive wall of red sandstone that defines its eight sides. The wall is 1.5miles (2.5km) long, and varies in height from 60ft (16m) on the river side to 110ft (33m) towards the city. Measurements have shown that the plan was generated using a square grid of 82m.
The Diwan-e-Aam is the Red Fort's hall of public audience. Built of sandstone covered with shell plaster polished to look like ivory, the 80 x 40 feet hall is sub-divided by columns. The Mughal emperors would hold court here and meet dignitaries and foreign emissaries. The most imposing feature of the Diwan-e-Aam is the alcove in the back wall where the emperor sat in state on a richly carved and inlaid marble platform.
The piece de resistance of the fort, the Diwan-e-Khas was the hall of private audience. The most highly ornamented of all Shah Jahan's buildings, the 90 x 67 feet Diwan-e-Khas is a pavilion of white marble supported by intricately carved pillars.
Richly decorated with flowers of inlaid mosaic work of cornelian and other stones, the Diwan-e-Khas once housed the famous Peacock Throne.
The planning and design of the Red Fort represents a culmination of architectural development initiated in 1526 AD by the first Mughal Emperor and brought to a splendid refinement by Shah Jahan with a fusion of traditions: Islamic, Persian, Timurid and Hindu. The innovative planning arrangements and architectural style of building components as well as garden design developed in the Red Fort strongly influenced later buildings and gardens in Rajasthan, Delhi, Agra and further afield. |
