Shahi Bridge or Munim Khan's Bridge or Akbari Bridge or Mughal Bridge or Jaunpur Bridge is a 16th-century bridge over river Gomti in Jaunpur,

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The Shahi Bridge is located north of Jaunpur Railway station, northwest of Zafarābād, north-northeast of Mariāhū and west-northwest of the town of Kirākat.

Construction

Mughal Emperor The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

ordered the construction of the Shahi Bridge, which was completed in the year 1568–69 by Munim Khan. It took four years to complete the bridge. It was designed by

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Afzal Ali.

Current use

The bridge was severely damaged in the

1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...

. Seven of its arches had to be rebuilt. In addition to its historical significance, the bridge is still in use. The bridge consists of 28 colourful '' chattris'', which presently operates as makeshift shops. The bridge is on the Protection & Conservation list of Directorate of Archaeology, (U.P.) since 1978. The bridge is generally recognised as Jaunpur's most significant Mughal structure. A new bridge parallel to Shahi Bridge was opened on 28 November, 2006 by the then

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh is the head of the Government of Uttar Pradesh. As per the Constitution of India, the Governor (India), governor is the state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minis ...

Mulayam Singh Yadav Mulayam Singh Yadav (22 November 1939 – 10 October 2022) was an Indian politician, a socialism, socialist figure and founder of the Samajwadi Party. Over the course of his political career spanning more than six decades, he served for three t ...

In literature

William Hodges in his book 'Select Views in India' mentions about bridge: "The

inundation A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant concern in agriculture, civi ...

s have been frequently known to rise even over the bridge in so much that in the year 1774 a whole brigade of the British forces was passed over it in boats." Rudyard Kipling's poem ''Akbar's Bridge'' mentions this bridge.

References

Notes

* Alfieri, Bianca Maria. 2000. Islamic Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent. London: Laurence King Publishing, 103.

External links

bridge across the Gomati River :: Jaunpur (India) -- Britannica

Students' Britannica India By Dale Hoiberg, Indu Ramchandani

India Perspectives: JAUNPUR: SHIRAZ OF INDIA

Islamic studies in India By Mohamed Taher

PROGRESS IN NANOTECHNOLOGY By Govind Prasad, Shardendu Kislaya

Northeast India By Vanessa Betts, David Stott
{{Authority control Bridges completed in the 16th century Buildings and structures completed in 1567 Transport infrastructure completed in the 1560s Bridges in Uttar Pradesh Transport in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh Buildings and structures of the Mughal Empire 1567 establishments in India Buildings and structures in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh Tourist attractions in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh