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| battlement,S.side, Golconda fort, Hyderabad. India dreamstime.com |
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| The Golconda fort, Hyderabad. India jagranjosh.com |
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| The Golconda fort, Hyderabad. India. flickr.com |
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| 1880 Golconda Fort. facebook.com |
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| The Golconda fort, Hyderabad. hyderabad.telangana.gov.in |
The Architecturally rich defensive structure, The Golconda fort of Hyderabad, Telangana bears testimony to the ingenuity of the rulers and talented artisans of by-gone era. The large and sturdy fort complex points to the glorious past of the Hyderabad region and the opulence of the Golconda kingdom. This fort, in ruins now, was one of the most formidable forts in south India like Gingee fort of Tamil Nadu or Daulatabad Fort (Devagiri fort) near Aurangabad, MH.
The following are the enchanting facts of the Golconda Fort of Hyderabad, India:
01. The fortress rests on a granite hill 120 meters high while huge crenellated ramparts surround this structure; it has three lines of massive fortification walls one within the other.
02. Though the region has lots of volcanic rocks called basalt, Hyderabad and adjacent areas have outcrops of Archaean rocks that are dated back to 3.5 billion years - made of granitic rocks and gneisses that are highly weathered.
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| Golconda fort, Hyderabad, India dreamstime.com |
03. The outer fort occupies an area of three square kilometers. The adjacent moat runs all around, covering a vast area of the town with a circumference of 7 km that included the town. Actually, it has four distinct forts and the outer one has a circumference of 10 km. The state became a focal point for Shia Islam in India centuries ago.
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| curved passage & Fateh Darwaza Golconda fort, India flickr.com/ |
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| spiked doorway Golconda fort, India hemapen.wordpress.com |
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| Fateh Rahbar cannon with Persian inscription, Golconda |
(By Mohan Sainath (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
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| Light cannon and balls, Golconda fort. hyderabadstory.blogspot.com |
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| Golconda fort hyderabadstory.blogspot.com |
05. These semicircle bastions were well built to protect the soldiers and each one was surmounted by rust proof cannons of varying caliber and firing power. The mogul emperor used the cannon power and ended the siege. This cannon assembly was mounted on a metal pivot embedded in the floor of the bastion. The advantage is it is easy for the cannon operators to turn the gun from side to side and could accurately target any spot they wanted within the cannon’s range from the fort.
06. The Fateh Rahbar meaning 'guide to victory' cannon used during the siege of Golconda by Aurangzeb's army played a major role. A large bronze cannon with a length of 486 cm, the diameter of its muzzle is 70 cm (bore 26 cm and end of the barrel is 84 cm), the total weight is 16.59 ton. It was believed to be a powerful cannon mounted on the bastian called Petla Burj, on the western wall.
07. With visible open firing range and wide rampart, it used to be a tough fort in the medieval Deccan region to penetrate. The fort's double wall winding up hill is strengthened by a third masonry wall connecting the rocky boulders.
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| Golconda fort, Hyderabad, India. youthkiawaaz.com |
08. Initially called Shepherd’s Hill, meaning Golla Konda in Telugu, the Hindu Kakatiya ruler of Warangal Pratāparudra had a mud fort built in 1143 after hearing that a Shepard boy had found a Hindu idol there.
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| The Golconda fort, Hyderabad. India bskartwork.artstation.com |
09. Later it was fortified by the Bahmani Sultans and the Qutub Shahi dynasty between the 14th and 17th centuries.
10. During the reign of Sultan Muhammad Shah (1358–1375 A.D.) of the Bahmani Sultanate, Golconda region flourished and the fort was one of the strong fort complexes in India. Because of Diamond mines in the kingdom Golconda was a famous trade centre of large diamonds, accounting for most of the world famous diamonds. The Kollur mines have become defunct.
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| Golconda fort, Hyderabad, India dreamstime.com |
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| Golconda fort, Hyderabad, India dreamstime.com |
11. The Golconda fort, it is said, used to have a thick walled vault where the famous Koh-I-Noor and Hope diamonds were once stored along with other diamonds for safety.
12. Qutub Shahi kings (AD 1518-1687) who took control of the fort from Bhamini Sultans converted this into massive granite fort extending 5 km in circumference with massive fortification walls having bastions and battlements
13. It was a self-contained fort and could withstand long siege. The inner fort has the remains of palaces, mosques, and a hilltop pavilion which rises about 130 meters high and gives a panoramic vista of nearby buildings and part of the neighborhood.
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| Ruined Darbar hall, Golconda fort, Hyderabad, India dreamstime.com |
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| interior, Golconda fort, Hyderabad, India dreamstime.com |
14. The fort still has mounted cannons, four drawbridges, eight gateways, and various halls, magazines, and stables. The outermost enclosure Fateh Darwaza, or Victory Gate has amazing acoustical effects and the reverberation can be heard clearly at the hilltop pavilion - Bala Hisar. about one kilometre away - a sort of a warning system for the fort's inhabitants then. A well protected town within the fort.
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| Golconda fort, stone walled. Hyderabad, India dreamstime.com |
16. The amazing palaces, buildings had an ingenious water supply system, but now it is in ruins. Sadly, the unique architecture of the fort is now losing its charm.
17.The ventilation of the fort is so planned with fine designs, cool breeze could reach the interiors of the fort, providing a great relief from the hot summer heat.
18. About one kilometer north of Golconda's outer wall lie the tombs of the Qutb Shahi sultans. The structures made of beautifully carved stonework, lie in the midst of landscaped gardens. They are open to public .
19. Much of the damages seen here were caused by Mogul ruler Aurangzeb. In 1687 on a land grabbing mission to control the deccan region, after a pretty long siege lasting 8 months, he successfully captured the kingdom and intentionally left the stunning fort in ruins. He ended the Qutb Shahi reign and took the last Golconda king, Abul Hassan Tana Shah captive.
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| Golconda fort, Hyderabad.India, hall of whisper. madhulikaliddle.com |
21. Beyond the outer fort wall, there's a double wall around the base of the hill. Inside this double wall, there's a third wall that winds up the mountain and In 1724 AD, an extension of the outer wall covering small area covering 115-acre was built by the Mogul beyond the outer wall on the northeast side, now called Naya Qila. The famous fort is in the western part of Hyderabad city and is about 11 km from the city.I believe, it is not open to public.
22. Aurangzeb appointed Asaf Jah as the Subedar of the Deccan province. When the power of Mogul dynasty was declining, Asaf Jah declared independence in AD 1713 as Nizam-ul-Mulk and the Nizams controlled the region till 1948. The Nizams proved themselves to be effective secular administrators and had close rapport with both East India company and the British Crown administration after 1859. Photo credits: dreamstime.com, etc
https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienman/22501223623
https://hyderabad.telangana.gov.in/tourist-place/golconda-fort
