It served as the main residence of the rulers of the Mughal dynasty until 1638, when the capital was shifted from Agra to Delhi.

In 1983, the Agra fort was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its importance during Mughal rule.

Adil Shah Suri's general, Hemu, recaptured Agra in 1556 and pursued its fleeing governor to Delhi where he met the Mughals in the Battle of Tughlaqabad.

It was in a ruined condition and Akbar had it rebuilt with red sandstone from Barauli area Dhaulpur district, in Rajasthan.

Unlike his grandfather, Shah Jahan tended to have buildings made from white marble.

After their catastrophic defeat at Third Battle of Panipat by Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1761, Marathas remained out of the region for the next decade.

[4][7] On 30 November 1871, thirty six people died when a cartridge factory located inside the fort exploded.

[8] The 380,000 m2 (94-acre) fort has a semicircular plan, its chord lies parallel to the river Yamuna and its walls are seventy feet high.

Double ramparts have massive circular bastions at intervals, with battlements, embrasures, machicolations and string courses.

It was built circa 1568 both to enhance security and as the king's formal gate, and includes features related to both.

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.

[9] The northern portion of the fort is still used by the Indian military (the Parachute Brigade in particular), so the Delhi Gate cannot be used by the public.

Abul Fazal recorded that five hundred buildings in the designs of Bengal and Gujarat were built in the fort.