Agra Fort Agra Fort , is a monument , ( , ) a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Agra , Uttar Pradesh , India . It is about 2 . 5 km northwest of its more famous sister monument , the Taj Mahal . The fort can be more accurately described as a walled city . Agra Fort was originally a brick fort , held by the Hindu Sikarwar Rajput s . It was mentioned for the first time in 1080 AD when a Ghaznavide force captured it . Sikandar Lodi ( 1488 – 1517 ) was the first Sultan of Delhi who shifted to Agra and lived in the fort . He governed the country from here and Agra assumed the importance of the second capital . He died in the fort at 1517 and his son , Ibrahim Lodi , held it for nine years until he was defeated and killed at Panipat in 1526 . Several palaces , wells and a mosque were built by him in the fort during his period . After the First Battle of Panipat in 1526 , Mughals captured the fort and seized a vast treasure , including the diamond later known as the Koh - i - Noor . The victorious Babur stayed in the fort in the palace of Ibrahim and built a baoli ( step well ) in it . The emperor Humayun was crowned here in 1530 . Humayun was defeated at Bilgram in 1540 by Sher Shah . The fort remained with Suris till 1555 , when Humanyun recaptured it . The Hindu king Hem Chandra Vikramaditya , also called ' Hemu ' , defeated Humanyun ' s army , led by Iskandar Khan Uzbek , and won Agra . Hemu got a huge booty from this fort and went on to capture Delhi from the Mughals . The Mughals under Akbar defeated King Hemu finally at the Second Battle of Panipat in 1556 . Realizing the importance of its central situation , Akbar made it his capital and arrived in Agra in 1558 . His historian , Abdul Fazal , recorded that this was a brick fort known as ' Badalgarh ' . It was in a ruined condition and Akbar had it rebuilt with red sandstone from Barauli area in Rajasthan . Architects laid the foundation and it was built with bricks in the inner core with sandstone on external surfaces . Some 4 , 000 builders worked on it daily for eight years , completing it in 1573 . It was only during the reign of Akbar ' s grandson , Shah Jahan , that the site took on its current state . Legend has it that Shah Jahan built the beautiful Taj Mahal for his wife , Mumtaz Mahal . Unlike his grandfather , Shah Jahan tended to have buildings made from white marble , often inlaid with gold or semi - precious gems . He destroyed some of the earlier buildings inside the fort to make his own . At the end of his life , Shah Jahan was deposed and restrained by his son , Aurangzeb , in the fort . It is rumoured that Shah Jahan died in Muasamman Burj , a tower with a marble balcony with a view of the Taj Mahal . The fort was the site of a battle during the Indian rebellion of 1857 , which caused the end of the British East India Company ' s rule in India , and led to a century of direct rule of India by Britain . it also is red in colour Layout . The fort has a semicircular plan , its chord lies parallel to the river and its walls are seventy feet high . Double ramparts have massive circular bastions at intervals , with battlements , embrasures , machicolations and string courses . Four gates were provided on its four sides , one Khizri gate opening on to the river . Two of the fort ' s gates are notable : the " Delhi Gate " and the " Lahore Gate . " The Lahore Gate is also popularly also known as the " Amar Singh Gate , " for Amar Singh Rathore . The monumental Delhi Gate , which faces the city on the western side of the fort , is considered the grandest of the four gates and a masterpiece of Akbar ' s time . It was built circa 1568 both to enhance security and as the king ' s formal gate , and includes features related to both . It is embellished with inlay work in white marble . A wooden drawbridge was used to cross the moat and reach the gate from the mainland ; inside , an inner gateway called Hathi Pol ( " Elephant Gate " ) – guarded by two life - sized stone elephants with their riders – added another layer of security . The drawbridge , slight ascent , and 90 - degree turn between the outer and inner gates make the entrance impregnable . During a siege , attackers would employ elephants to crush a fort ' s gates . Without a level , straight run - up to gather speed , however , something prevented by this layout , elephants are ineffective . takht e jahangir Because the Indian military ( the Parachute Brigade in particular ) is still using the northern portion of the Agra Fort , the Delhi Gate cannot be used by the public . Tourists enter via the Amar Singh Gate . The site is very important in terms of architectural history . Abul Fazal recorded that five hundred buildings in the beautiful designs of Bengal and Gujarat were built in the fort . Some of them were demolished by Shahjahan to make way for his white marble palaces . Most of the others were destroyed by the British between 1803 and 1862 for raising barracks . Hardly thirty Mughal buildings have survived on the south - eastern side , facing the river . Of these , the Delhi Gate and Akbar Gate and one palace – " Bengali Mahal " – are representative Akbari buildings . Akbar Darwazza ( Akbar Gate ) was renamed Amar Singh Gate by the British . The An interesting mix of Hindu and Islamic architecture is found here . In fact , some of the Islamic decorations feature haraam ( sinful ) images of living creatures – dragon s , elephants and birds , instead of the usual patterns and calligraphy seen in Islamic surface decoration .