Short answers, pulled from the story.
The name Agra originates from the Hindi word agar, meaning salt pan, a designation given to the region due to its brackish soil where salt was once produced through evaporation. Another popular theory suggests the name derives from the Sanskrit word agra, meaning front, referring to the first of many small forests where the Hindu deity Krishna frolicked with the gopis of Vrindavan.
Sultan Sikandar Lodi, the Afghan ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, rebuilt the settlement and made it the seat of government in 1504 or 1505. He appointed a commission to survey both sides of the Yamuna river from Delhi to Etawah, ultimately choosing a location on the left bank, or east side, of the river.
Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal in loving memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth in 1631. The mausoleum was completed in 1653 after a construction period spanning 22 years.
Agra served as the capital of the North-Western Province from 1836 to 1858. The capital was shifted from Agra to Allahabad in 1858 after British rule was secured.
The Agra Fort is a large 16th-century fortress of red sandstone commissioned by Akbar in 1565 and took around eight years to build. The fort served as a prison for Shah Jahan when Aurangzeb confined him there from 1658 until his death in 1666.
Agra has developed into an industrial town with a booming tourism industry, along with footwear, leather, and other manufacturing. The economy relies heavily on agriculture, with 40% of the population depending largely on farming, while others work in the leather and footwear business and iron foundries.