The Chalis Satun, or Hall of Forty Pillars, at Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. Coloured aquatint by Thomas Daniell, 1795.

The palace-fortress at Allahabad, at the junction of the Yamuna and Ganges rivers, was begun by emperor Akbar in 1583 and was the largest fort built by him. The Chalis Satun or Hall of Forty Pillars was built as a pleasure paviliion in the palace, situated high up beside the river so that cool breezes could circulate throughout. Such pavilions had no walls; water ran through channels in the building and fountains played around it. Archer op. cit.