Reminiscences of Imperial Delhi Shah Burj at the north-east corner of the Red Fort

The ''Shahi Burj'' (Urdu: Emperor's Tower) is a three-storey octagonal tower of the

Red Fort The Red Fort, also known as Lal Qila () is a historic Mughal Empire, Mughal fort in Delhi, India, that served as the primary residence of the Mughal emperors. Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned the construction of the Red Fort on 12 May 1639, fo ...

in Delhi. The tower is located at the northeastern corner of the imperial enclosure. The water feeding, the ''Nahr-i-Bihisht'', is channeled up from the river with a hydraulic system through the tower and then carried by channels into various other buildings of the fort. Adjacent to the south of the tower is a white marble pavilion that was constructed during

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

's rule. The pavilion features five arches supported on fluted columns and with low whale back roofs. In the centre of the north wall is a marble cascade sloping into a scalloped basin. The tower was damaged during the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

and again during a heavy earthquake in 1904. Originally there was a ''

chhatri ''Chhatri'' are semi-open, elevated, dome-shaped pavilions used as an element in Indo-Islamic architecture and Indian architecture. They are most commonly square, octagonal, and round. Originating as a canopy above tombs, they largely ser ...

'' that is now missing. The tower and pavilion have been undergoing renovation work for many years and are closed to the public. On the south-eastern corner is the ''Asad Burj'', which is a similar tower.

References

External links

Red Fort Towers in India {{india-struct-stub