However, in the 15th century, it was occupied by Chauhan Rajputs. Soon after, when Sikandar Lodi (A.D. 1487–1517) shifted his capital from
Delhi and Agra assumed the status of capital And built a few buildings in the pre-existing Fort at Agra. Mughals captured the fort and ruled from it, After the first battle of Panipat (A.D. 1526). Babur stayed in the fort, After the First Battle of Panipat in 1526, in the palace of Ibrahim Lodi. Humayun was crowned in it, In A.D. 1530, During the reign of Akbar (A.D. 1556–1605) the Fort got its present appearance. At Bilgram in 1540, he was defeated by Sher Shah Suri. When Humayun recaptured it, the fort remained with the Suris till 1555. Hemu, who was the general of Adil Shah Suri, recaptured Agra in 1556 and pursued its fleeing governor, in the Battle of Tughlaqabad where he met the Mughals. Akbar made it his capital, realizing the importance of its central situation. In 1558, he arrived in Agra.
Abul Fazl, who was his historian, recorded that this was a brick fort known as ‘Badalgarh’. Akbar had it rebuilt with red sandstone from the Barauli area of the Dhaulpur district, in Rajasthan. Because it was in ruined condition. It was built with bricks in the inner core with sandstone on external surfaces and Architects laid the foundation. About 4,000 builders worked on it daily for eight years, completing it in 1573. During the reign of Akbar’s grandson, Shah Jahan, the place gained its current state. In memory of his wife, Shah Jahan built the beautiful Taj Mahal, Mumtaz Mahal. Shah Jahan tended to have buildings made from white marble, unlike his grandfather. For 13 years, the fort was under the Jat rulers of Bharatpur.
By the Maratha Empire in the early 18th century The fort was invaded and captured. Between the Marathas and their foes, it changed hands many times. Marathas remained out of the region for the next decade, after their catastrophic defeat at the Third Battle of Panipat by Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1761. In 1785, Finally Mahadji Shinde took the fort. In 1803, it was lost by the Marathas to the British during the Second Anglo-Maratha War. The fort was the site of a battle that caused the end of the British East India Company’s rule in India, and by Britain led by a century of direct rule of India.29 November 1871, On 30 November 1871 thirty-six people died when the Cartridge factory exploded, at the scene of the gunpowder explosion at Agra Fort. The grandest of the four gates and a masterpiece of Akbar’s time is the monumental Delhi Gate, which faces the city on the western side of the fort. To enhance security, it was built in about 1568. It is Decorated with intricate inlay work in white marble. An inner gateway called Hathi Pol (“Elephant Gate”) which is a wooden drawbridge was used to cross the moat and reach the gate from the mainland, protected by two life-sized stone elephants with their riders – added another seam of security. The outer and inner gates make the entrance impregnable, The drawbridge, slight ascent, and 90-degree turn. Attackers employ elephants to crush a fort’s gates, during a blockade. The direct run-up to gather speed, however, that thing is prevented by this layout without a level.
