Monumentality and Mobility in Mughal Capitals

Abstract

The Mughal Dynasty dominated much of northern India from the early sixteenth through the early eighteenth centuries. For most of this period, Mughal rule was centered in the Delhi-Agra region, where rulers constructed a number of capitals and forts. The Mughal imperial capital was not a single urban center throughout this period, but a series of capitals within the broad imperial core, as individual rulers constructed or sponsored massive urban centers and monumental structures. In this paper I examine the relations between Mughal kingship and the changing centers of imperial power, through an examination of the form and sequence of the several Mughal capitals, including Fatehpur Sikri, Shahjahanabad, and Agra. KEYWORDS: South Asia, Mughals, empires, capitals.