Akbar's Church, Roman Catholic Cemetery, Mariam's Tomb and Sikandra - Private Tour

General information

Destination
Agra, India

Program details

Akbar’s Church: Demolished in the mid-17th and finally rebuilt in 1772, the Akbar’s Church stands as a tribute to the secular spirit of the Emperor it is named after. The original structure here was built by early Jesuits who began preaching at a time when the spirit of tolerance was its acme under Akbar, for whom a new religion would have been of immense interest given his open-mindedness to new ideas. Roman Catholic Cemetery: This is the tomb of col. John William Hessing who was Dutch national and came to Ceylon as a free-lance Adventurer. He participated in the battle of Kandy in 1765.



Then he served Nizam of Hyderabad and in 1784, entered the service of Maratha chief Mahadji Sindhia. Upon his return to Agra, he was made commandant of fort and its Maratha garrison in 1799. Upon his death his children built this tomb. Miriam’s Tomb: Mariam Zamani was the daughter of Raja Bharmal Kachhwaha of Amer (Jaipur) and was married to Akbar in 1562 A.D. She gave birth to Salim (Jahangir) in 1569 at Fatehpur Sikri, when the title 'Mariam Zamani' (Compassionate to the World) was conferred upon her by Akbar.



She died at Agra in 1623 and this tomb was built by her son Jahangir. Tomb at Sikandra : The emperor Akbar chose this as a site for his mausoleum but he died before it could be completed. The work was completed by his son Jehangir in 1613. The tomb is a combination of Muslim and Hindu architectural styles. The building of red sandstone is four storeys tall and the first three storeys are of red sandstone, while the fourth is entirely of marble.



Languages

English



Others

Akbar's Tomb and Mariam's Tomb at Sikandra remains closed on Fridays