Mughal emperor Shah Jahān transferred his capital from Agra to Delhi in 1638. The foundation of the new citadel Lal Qalʿah, or Red Fort, was laid in April 1639, and it is so-called because it is built of red sandstone. It took nine years to complete. The fort is close to the Yamuna River, and the crowded Chandni Chowk bazaar runs west of its Lahore Gate.
The fort is octagonal in plan: about 3,250 feet (900 m) by 1,800 feet (550 m). It accommodates palaces along the eastern side. The Diwan-i-Khas, or Private Audience Hall, was the innermost court, where the glorious Peacock Throne once stood; fragments are now in Tehrān. The hall was elaborately decorated. The Diwan-i-Am, or Public Audience Hall, has fine arches and columns. The hall was restored by Lord Curzon, the British viceroy, who also paid for the replacement of two large stone elephants near the Delhi Gate. The Hammam, or Royal Baths, are built of marble, and the floors are inlaid with colored pietra dura (durable stone). The Red Fort was not just a fort; it was the home of the Mughal court. A complex of palaces arranged around classical Mughal gardens, it is an oasis of peaceful calm, contrasting with the bustling city beyond the gates. Important visitors to the emperor progressed through a series of ever more impressive spaces until reaching the imperial presence in the finest rooms. The Mughal emperors lived there until 1857, when the British took over the fort.
Under the British Raj, the military occupation of the fort was a symbol of domination. When Indian independence was declared in 1947, the prime minister of India addressed the nation from the fort. The replacement of the Union Jack at the Red Fort by the green, white, and saffron Indian flag symbolized the end of the British empire in India. (Aidan Turner-Bishop)
