Amber, India
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Interior of one of the palaces in Amber Fort |
Amber is a ruined city of
Rajasthan state,
India. It was the former capital of
Jaipur state.
Amber was founded by the
Meenas and was a flourishing settlement as far back as in
967 AD. Around
1037 AD, it was usurped by the
Kachwaha clan of
Rajputs, who held it until it was deserted. In
1728, it was supplanted by the modern city of
Jaipur, from which it is 5 miles distant.
The picturesque situation of Amber at the mouth of a rocky mountain gorge, in which nestles a lovely lake, has attracted the admiration of all travellers, including
Victor Jacquemont and
Reginald Heber. It is now only remarkable for its architecture. The old palace begun by
Raja Man Singh in 1600 ranks second only to
Gwalior. The chief building is the
Diwan-i-Khas built by the Mirza Raja.
Legend
"No sooner had Mirza completed the Diwan-i-Khas" it is related
"than it came to the ears of the emperor
Jahangir that his vassal had surpassed him in magnificence, and that this last great work quite eclipsed all the marvels of the imperial city; the columns of red
sandstone having been particularly noticed as sculptured with exquisite taste and elaborate detail. In a fit of jealousy the emperor commanded that this masterpiece should be thrown down, and sent commissioners to Amber charged with the execution of this order; whereupon Mirza, in order to save the structure, had the columns plastered over with
stucco, so that the messengers from
Agra should have to acknowledge to the emperor that the magnificence, which had been so much talked of, was after all pure invention. Since then his apathetic successors have neglected to bring to light this splendid work; and it is only by knocking off some of the plaster that one can get a glimpse of the sculptures, which are perfect as on the day they were carved."
