Delhi or Agra had been the capital of Moghuls but Akbar chose Fatehpur Sikri. There could have been some reason.
Before the birth of his son Saleem, Akbar had become an ardent devotee of Peer Saleem Chisti who had his abode at Sikri. So, he made Fatehpur Sikri his capital instead of Agra. In 1564 while returning from Mandu he was fascinated by a place called Kakrali seven miles off Agra. He laid foundation of Emnabad, there and got a palace constructed for himself. In the same year he was blessed with twin sons who he named Hassan and Hussain but they could not survive more than a month. Although his inner sanctum was full of begums and concubines yet ironically he pined for offspring upto to his age of 25-26 years. He was getting impatient to beget a heir to the throne.
He visited holy centres to pray for offspring, visited Durgahs and Mazars. He prayed at Nizamuddin Aulia of Delhi and went on foot to some distance to be at Ajmer Sharif. Every year he used to go to Ajmer Sharif to pray to Khwaja Chisti. Saleem Chisti was the disciple of Ajmer Khwaja who used to live on the hill of Sikri that was 23 miles or about 31 kms off Agra.
The myth was that his blessings were very efficacious. His blessings fulfilled the wishes of the blessed ones.
When Akbar learnt about him he made up his mind to visit the seer and seek fulfilment of his wish. When Akbar fell at his feet the Peer of Sikri prophesied three sons for the Moghul Emperor.
Soon after, in 1569 the begum of Akbar, the princess of Amer happened to become pregnant and it was obviously taken to be the miracle of the saint or Peer of Sikri. Hence the grateful emperor arranged for the stay of his pregnant begum close to the hut of the saint so that his child may arrive at the feet of the holy one. On August 30, the prince arrived and Emperor Akbar named him Saleem after the name of the Peer of Sikri.
In the same year one other begum bore a girl who was named Khanam Sultan. The very next year one of the concubines bore him a son who got the name Murad. Because he was born in the hills (Pahar) of Sikri, Akbar used to call him ‘Pahari’. One year later, another concubine produced a son in the house of a saint called Shekh Daniyal. So, the boy was named Daniyal. Later Akbar sired two daughters more who were called Shukrunissa and Aram Banu.
Then, Akbar formally made Fatehpur Sikri his capital. Later it was discovered that Sikri was not fit for any big population that a capital would become. It lacked basic natural resources needed for a human population and was vulnerable to attacks by Turani Uzbeks. So, in 1585 Akbar shifted back to Agra.
Fatehpur Sikri had become a big bustling town as the capital but fell on bad days as Akbar deserted it. In a short period it became a ruin. But it still is visited by tourists for it has the relics to show for its grand past. One who visits Agra for Tajmahal is sure to go to Fatehpur Sikri to see the remains of its past.
