Fatehpur sikri

 The place was much loved by babur, who called it Shukri (Thanks), after its large lake that was used by Mughal armies. Annette beberidge in her translation of baburnama noted that Babur points "Sikri" to read "Shukri" Per his memoirs, Babur constructed a garden here called the "Garden of Victory" after defeating rana sangha at its outskirts. gulbadan begums Humayun-Nama describes that in the garden he built an octagonal pavilion which he used for relaxation and writing. In the center of the nearby lake, he built a large platform. A baoli exists at the base of a rock scarp about a kilometer from the hiran minar. This was probably the original site of a well-known epigraph commemorating his victory.

abdul fazl records Akbar's reasons for the foundation of the city in akbarnama : "Inasmuch as his exalted sons (Salim & murad) had been born at Sikri, and the God-knowing spirit of Shaikh Salim had taken possession thereof, his holy heart desired to give outward splendour to this spot which possessed spiritual grandeur. Now that his standards had arrived at this place, his former design was pressed forward, and an order was issued that the superintendents of affairs should erect lofty buildings for the special use of the Shahinshah

Akbar remained heirless until 1569 when his son, who became known as jahangir, was born in the village of Sikri in 1569. Akbar began the construction of a religious compound in honour of the chisti saint sheikh salim who had predicted the birth of Jahangir. After Jahangir's second birthday, he began the construction of a walled city and imperial palace probably to test his son's stamina. By constructing his capital at the khanqah of Sheikh Salim, Akbar associated himself with this popular Sufi order and brought legitimacy to his reign through this affiliation.

The city was founded in 1571 and was named after the village of Sikri which occupied the spot before. The buland darwaza was built in honor of his successfull compaign in gujarat, when the city came to be known as Fatehpur Sikri - "The City of Victory". It was abandoned by Akbar in 1585 when he went to fight a campaign in Punjab. It was later completely abandoned by 1610. The reason for its abandonment is usually given as the failure of the water supply, though Akbar's loss of interest may also have been the reason since it was built solely on his whim.ralph fitch described it as such, "Agra and Fatehpore Sikri are two very great cities, either of them much greater than London, and very populous. Between Agra and Fatehpore are 12 miles and all the way is a market of victuals and other things, as full as though a man were still in a town, and so many people as if a man were in a market.

Akbar visited the city only once in 1601 after abandoning it. william finch, visiting it 4–5 years after Akbar's death, stated, "It is all ruinate," writing, "lying like a waste desert." During the epidemic of bubonic plague from 1616 to 1624,jahangir stayed for three months here in 1619.muhammad shah stayed here for some time and the repair works were started again. However, with the decline of Mughal Empire, the conditions of the buildings worsened.