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AGRA (AY-gruh)

North-central Indian city and site of the Taj Mahal

Common clues: Uttar Pradesh tourist site; Home of the Taj Mahal; Indian tourist town

Crossword puzzle frequency: 7 times a year

Frequency in English language: 39152 / 86800

News: Thousands of dead fish in Yamuna near Agra

Video: Pradheep at Agra

Agra is an ancient city on the Yamuna River in India, within the state of Uttar Pradesh. It achieved prominence as the capital of the Mughal sovereigns from 1526 to 1658 and remains a major tourist destination because of its many splendid Mughal-era buildings, most notably the Taj Mahal.


Taj Mahal

Agra is situated on the bank of Yamuna river, situated between 27°11' North latitude and 78°0' degree to 78°2' East longitude, at 169 meters above sea level. On the north it is bounded by Mathura, on the south by Dhaulpur, on the east by Firozabad, and on the west by Bharatpur.




Agra is an ancient city, called Agrabana in the epic Mahabharata. Ptolemy marked Agra on a third-century map of the world. The Persian poet Salman described a twelfth century assault on Agra.

The city was fortified by Badal Singh ca 1475, whose Fort, Badalgarh stood near the site of the present Red Fort. Agra was a capital of the Lodi kingdom, defeated by the first Mughal Emperor, Babar. The Mughals also began to use it as a capital.

Agra's importance grew during the reigns of Akbar, Jehangir and Shah Jahan, and became a major center of art, culture, commerce and learning. These emperors undertook major building projects.

Agra's Taj Mahal is one of the most famous buildings in the world. It is the mausoleum of Shah Jahan's favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

 

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Agra".