Diwan-e-KhasDiwan-e-Aam gives access to the second enclosure that is called Divan-e-Khas. This is undoubtedly the finest building in the entire Fatehpur Sikri. The hall was used for the private audiences and other court activities. Divan-e-Khas is a magnificent chamber that is dominated by a massive carved pillar. It supports a capital that in turns support a balcony.

GROUND PLAN OF

FATEHPUR SHIKHRI

SECTION OF FATEHPUR SHIKHRI

•Fatehpur Sikri was commissioned by Emperor Akbar to act as his imperial capital along with the Red Fort of Agra.• Fatehpur Sikri Fort was commissioned in the year 1570 and was completed in 5 years. While the Agra fort acted as a military base and garrison, Fatehpur Sikri fort was used for the residence purpose. •Therefore it is but natural that the Sikri Fort has cluster of buildings that were used for different purposes as in case of Delhi and Agra's Red Forts. •Following are some of the most important buildings of the Fatehpur Sikri Fort Complex.

Private Living Quarter

•Private living quarters are situated at the southern end of courtyard. They are architecturally centered on the pool known as Anup Talab.• It houses the famous library of Emperor, which was a seat for the philosophical and intellectual discourses. Close by is the Royal Archive called Daftarkhana. •This was used to store all the official records of the empire. Above the Daftarkhana lies 'Khwabgah' or royal bedroom. Water channels were reportedly used to cool the whole space.

Miriam Palace

•Miriam Palace is actually women's quarter also called Zanana or Harem in Hindustani. Miriam Palace lies east of the Male quarters.• A small doorway joins the male quarter with the female one. The palace has been named after one Miriam of the then Goa who was one of the wives of Emperor Akbar. •The interiors of the Miriam Palace were richly embellished with gold.

•Fatehpur Sikri can majestically be stated as that insignia of Mughal Emperor Akbar, who literally had risen to yet enough elevated status in the eyes of his subjects. •The fort, besides serving to the royal household and regal visitors to the everyday court of Akbar, was also a declared gift to the common man, who were bestowed with a city within Fatehpur Sikri itself! Begun in the most flourishing period of Akbar`s reign in 1570, Fatehpur Sikri, bears every kind of excellent instance that ever a man can conceive and comprehend it further.

•As such, with edifices like Diwan-i-Khas for the most intimately welcomed courtiers, Akbar was legendary to have been hugely in style amongst such group of men.• Diwan-i-Khas, just like Fathepur Sikri`s other esteemed and prized architectures, holds adequate honourableness for the mass as well the class. •Of all the buildings in Fatehpur Sikri, a small square building commonly and respectably acknowledged as the Diwan-i-Khas, has remained the subject of greatest speculation.• The monument`s location, situated just behind the Public Audience Hall (referring to the Diwan-i-Am) and aligned with the jharoka, indicates very much that this was the Private Audience Hall.

•The exterior of Diwan-i-Khas fits well with the other trabeated palace pavilions in Fatehpur Sikri; its interior, however, is unique.• There exists the centre of the building`s single chamber is an elaborately carved faceted pillar, reaching approximately half of the building`s summed height. •The Hall`s capital is framed of serpentine brackets, reminiscent of those appearing in the Delhi Sultanate architecture of Gujarat, Mandu and `Lodi Delhi`. •These brackets, fuller at the top than at the bottom, defend a circular platform. It is attached to each corner of the building by stone slab walkways, connected to the building`s corners.• A narrow path circumscribes the structure connecting the walkways of the highly charged Diwan-i-Khas of Fatehpur Sikri.

It is quite a topic of lore and loved speculation that Akbar probably sat upon this central platform being talked about in Diwan-i-Khas. As such, some believe that in this platform the emperor had projected himself as a chakravartin, or universal ruler, following the indigenous Indian notions of kingship; however, since Akbar`s deep interest in Hinduism and other non-Islamic traditions developed after much of Fatehpur Sikri was well under construction, this theory can also be viewed as being tentative. More likely, Akbar had sat on this central platform to project himself as the dominant figure in the Mughal state, its `axis` and the `pillar` of its support.