Part III Travels into I N D I E S. 33 
CHAP. XIX. 
Of the Province and Town of Agra. 
AGra is one of the largeft Provinces of MoguU(tan^ and its Capital Town 
which bears the fame Name, is the greatefl: Town of the Indies. It 
is diftant from Surrat about two hundred and ten LeagueSjWhich they make 
commonly in five and thirty or fix and thirty days Journey of Caravan, 
and it lies in the Latitude of twenty eight degrees and half on the River 
Gemnay which fomecall Gemtty, and Vliny Jomanes. This River hath its Gew««aRi- 
fource in the Mountains to the North of Dehly^ from whence defcending jlmanesRiver. 
.towards this Town, and receiving lèverai rivulets in its courfe, it makes a xhecourfe of* 
very confiderable River. It runs by Jgra, and having traverfed feveral the cenma. 
Countries, falls into the Ganges at the great Town of Halbas, 
There is no need of taking the pains that fome have done , to have re- ^açchtî. 
courfe to Bacchus for iliuflrrating Agra by an ancient Name. Before King 
Echar^ it was no more but a Bourg which had a little Caftle of Earth, and 
pretended to no privilege over its Neighbours upon account of Antiquity ^ 
and indeed, there were never any marks of that to be found. 
That Prince being pleafed with the feat of it, joyned feveral Villages 
thereunto : He gave them the form of a Town by other buildings which he 
raifed , and called it after his own Name Ecbar-Abad^ the habitation of ^gra called 
Ecbar, where, he eftabliflied the feat of his Empire, in the year One thou- BcbavAhad, 
fand five hundred threefcore and fix. His declaration of that was enough 
to People it -, for when the Merchants came to under fland that the Court 
Was there, they came from all parts, and not only the Traders flock- Merchants 
cd thither, but ChrilHans alfo of all Perfwafions, as well as Mahometans, Flock to 
who flrove in emulation who fhould furnifli it with greateft variety of Goods -, 
and feeing that Prince called the Jefuits thither, and gave them a Penfion Jefuitsat^^r^, 
to fublift on, Catholick Merchants made no fcruple to comeand live there, 
and to this day thefe Fathers take the care of Spirituals, and teach their 
Children. 
Though this Prince pretended to make Agra a place of confequence, yet 
he Fortified it not neither with ramparts. Walls ,nQr Bafl:ions,but only with 
a Ditch, hopeing to make it fo ftrong in Soldiers and Inhabitants, that it 
fhould not need to fear the attempts of any Enemy. The Caftle was the caftleof^ ra 
firft thing that was built , which he refolved to make the biggefè at 
that time in the Indies : and the fituation of the old one appearing good and 
commodious, he caufed it to be demolifhed, and the foundations of the 
prefent to be laid. It was begirt with a Wall of Stone and Brick terraffed 
m feveral places, which is twenty Cubits high, and betwixt the Caftle and 
River a large place was left for the excrcifes the King fhould think lit to di- 
vert himfelf with. 
The Kings Palace is in the Caftle. It contains three Courts adorned all The Kings Pa- 
round with Porches and Galleries that are Painted and Gilt -, nay there are i^cc at 4gra. 
fome peeccs covered with plates of Gold. Under the Galleries of the firft 
Court, there are Lodgings made for the Kings Guards : The Officers Lodg- 
ings are in the fécond i and in the third, the ftately appartments of the 
King and his Ladies ^ from whence he goes commonly to a lovely Divan 
Which looks to the River^ there to pleafe liimfelf with feeing Elephants 
fight, his Troops^ cxercife, and Plays which he orders to be made upon the 
Water, or in the* open place. 
F Thh 
