Renaissance · South Asia · Politics

1585

Akbar Shifts Capital to Lahore

1585

Akbar moved his imperial capital from Fatehpur Sikri, abandoned for lack of water, to Lahore in the Punjab, closer to the northwestern frontier. For thirteen years Lahore would be the center of Mughal power, with massive construction projects transforming the city and the surrounding gardens. The abandoned Fatehpur Sikri, with its exquisite palaces and the Buland Darwaza, survives as one of the world's most haunting ghost cities.