FATHIPUR, or Futtehpoor, a district of British India in the Allahâbâd division, under the jurisdiction of the lieutenant-governor of the North-Western Provinces, lies between 25° 26' 15" and 26° 13' 0"N. lat., and 80° 19' 0" and 81° 25' 0" E. long. It is bounded on the N. by Râi Bareli and Sultânpur, E. by Allahâbâd, S. by Harnirpur and Bandâ, and W. by Cawnpur. Fathipur district is situated in the extreme south-eastern corner of the dudb or tract of the country between the Ganges and the Jumna, which respectively mark its northern and southern boundary. The whole district consists of an alluvial plain formed by the deposits of the two great rivers. The central part is almost perfectly level, and consists of highly cultivated land, interspersed with tracts impregnated with saltpetre (tisαr) and jungle. A ridge of higher land, forming the watershed of the district, runs along it from east to west at an average distance of about five miles from the Ganges. Fathipur therefore consists of two inclined planes, the one five miles broad, sloping down rapidly to the Ganges, and the other, from fifteen to twenty miles broad, falling gradually to the Jumna. The country near the banks of the two rivers is cut up into ravines and nalas running in all directions, and is almost entirely uncultivable. Besides the Ganges and Jumna, the only rivers of importance are the Pâudù, a tributary of the Ganges, and the Rind and Νύη, which both fall into the Jumna. The census of 1872 returned the population of Fathipur at 663,877, of whom 593,256 were Hindus, 70,554 Mahometans, and 5 Christians. The area of the district is 1586 square miles, of which 871 are returned as cultivated, and 172 as cultivable. Two harvests are gathered during the year, the kharif or autumn crop, ...

FATHIPUR SIKRI, a town in the Agra district in the North-Western Provinces of India, on the road from Agra to Jaipur, situated in 27° 58' N. lat. and 75° 5' E. long. It is a ruined city, and is interesting only from an archaeological point of view. It was founded by Akbar about 1570, as a thankoffering for the birth of a son, Selim, afterwards the emperor Jahangir, obtained through the intercession of a famous Mahometan saint. The principal building is the great mosque, which is said by Fergusson to be hardly surpassed by any in India. “It measures 550 feet east and west by 470 feet north and south, over all. The mosque itself, 250 feet by 80 feet, is crowned by three domes. In its courtyard, which measures 350 feet by 440 feet, stand two tombs. One is that of Selim Chisti [the holy man above mentioned], built of white marble, and the windows with pierced tracery of the most exquisite geometrical patterns. It possesses besides a deep cornice of marble, supported by brackets of the most elaborate design. The other tomb, that of Nawâb Islâm Khân, is soberer and in excellent taste, but quite eclipsed by its surroundings. Even these parts, however, are surpassed in magnificence by the southern gateway. As it stands on a rising ground, when looked at from below, its appearance is noble beyond that of any portal attached to any mosque in India, perhaps in the whole world.” Fathipur Sikri was a favourite residence of Akbar throughout his reign, and his palace was one of great magnificence. After Akbar’s death, Fathipur Sikri was deserted, within 50 years of its foundation. The buildings are situated within a walled inclosure about seven miles in circumference. They are now all more or less in ruins. The town at present contains 8513 inhabitants.