Akbar was born on 15 October 1542, and fell seriously ill in the autumn of 1605, shortly after turning sixty-three. The illness was dysentery. His physicians tried a series of remedies, none of which worked, and according to accounts his condition grew worse as the weeks passed. Rumours of poisoning spread, but they were never confirmed, and most historians treat dysentery as the cause.

Sources give slightly different dates for his death, between 25 and 27 October 1605, so we simply say late October. What is agreed is that he died in Agra's region at the height of a worrying succession dispute. His eldest son Salim, later Emperor Jahangir, had rebelled against him earlier, while some at court favoured Salim's son Khusrau as heir. Accounts record that, near the end, Akbar signalled that Salim should be given the royal turban, and Salim took the throne.

Agra Fort. Akbar began rebuilding this vast red sandstone fortress in the 1560s, and it remained a major Mughal seat for generations. Fatehpur Sikri. About an hour's drive from Agra, this was his purpose-built capital from the 1570s. He left it after roughly fourteen years, and it survives almost intact in red sandstone. Sikandra. The tomb is the quietest of the three and the one most visitors skip, which is exactly why we like it.

Akbar planned his own tomb and chose its site, following a Central Asian custom of building one's resting place during life. His son Jahangir completed it around 1613. It stands in large gardens in red sandstone inlaid with white marble. The tall south gate is the main entrance, topped with four white marble minarets with small domed pavilions. They resemble the Taj Mahal's minarets, and they were built first.

The tomb was damaged in the eighteenth century and restored by the Archaeological Survey of India in the early 1900s. It remains a protected monument today.

Most first-time visitors give Agra one or two nights, usually with the Taj Mahal at sunrise. If you can spare a second day, Sikandra and Fatehpur Sikri turn a quick stop into a real picture of the Mughal court. Agra also sits naturally alongside Rajasthan's great citadels, and we plan private forts and palaces tours of India that combine the two, with the heritage hotel stays that suit them.

For wider planning, Incredible India, the government's official tourism site, is a good place to browse.