Gulbarga Fort
Encyclopedia
The Gulbarga FortThe Gulbarga Fort (kn
: ಗುಲ್ಬರ್ಗ located in Gulbarga City in the Gulbarga district
of North Karnataka
, India was originally built by 1347 by Al-ud-din Bahmani of the Bahmani Dynasty
after he cut off his ties with the Delhi Sultanate
; Islamic monuments such as mosques, palaces, tombs, and other structures were also built later within the refurbished fort. The Jami Masjid built later, within the fort, in 1367, is a unique structure built in Persian architectural style, fully enclosed, with elegant domes and arched columns, which is unlike any other mosque in India. It was built to commemorate the establishment of the dynastic rule of the Bahmani kingdom at Gulbarga fort between 1327 and 1424. It remained the capital of the Bahmani Kingdom till 1424 where after the capital was shifted to Bidar Fort
, as Bidar
had better climatic conditions.
s ruled over the area. The Chalukyas won back their domain and ruled for over two hundred years. At the end of the 12th century, it came under the reign of the Yadavas of Devagiri and the Hoysalas
of Halebidu . During this Gulbarga district and Raichur District
.
In the early 14th century, the Deccan was occupied by Muhammad bin Tughluq
of the Delhi Sultanate
, which included Gulbarga. The revolt of the Muslim officers appointed from Delhi resulted in founding of the Bahmani Sultanate
in 1347 by Hassan Gangu, who chose Gulbarga (named as 'Ahsenabad' during this period) to be his capital. Gulbarga was the capital of the Bahmani kingdom (1347–1527) (with headquarters at the Gulbarga fort), a newly founded independent state, until 1424 when the capital was transferred to Bidar. It is said that with the establishment of the Bahmani Kingdom, the Muslim rule took firm roots in the Deccan. Ahmad Shah Wali Bahmani had inducted immigrants from Iraq
, Iran
and Central Asia
, which changed the soci-cultural and religious life in the Deccan but was well amalgamated with Hindu
traditions.
The Gulbaraga fort was razed to the ground by the Vijayanagar Emperor but was subsequently rebuilt by Yusuf Adil Shah
(1459–1511), who established the Adil Shah dynasty
or Bijapur Sultanate, when he defeated the Vijayanagar emperor. The Vijayanagara Empire was plundered and with this rich booty, the Gulbarga fort was refurbished.
The Bahmanis ruled over most of the Deccan until the late 15th and early 16th century, when the kingdom was divided into five independent states.
The fort and the Gulbarga district were a part of Bangalore rule. After India became independent in August 1947 . In 1956, the Indian Most of the Gulbarga district became part of the then Mysore state
, later renamed Karnataka
.
and Bhima River
drain the district and Bhima river flows close to the fort. The soil formation in the region is predominantly of black cotton soil.
Fort is in the drought
prone district and experiences a meagre average rainfall of 777 millimetres (30.6 in) with only 46 normal rainy days.
Climate is dry and cold in the winter but summer is hot. South west monsoon
brings rains. Temperature during summer is a high of 45 °C (113 °F), the minimum recorded in winter is 5 °C (41 °F).
id=aHcfv6zkJgQC&pg=PA68&dq=Gulbarga+Fort&lr=#v=onepage&q=Gulbarga%20Fort&f=false|publisher= Cambridge University K
Some of the important structures built are elaborated.
Fort
It was subsequently substantially fortified in West Asian and European military architectural style by Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah, the ruler of the Bahmani dynasty; particular mention is made of the citadel that was added in the centre of the fort. The fort has an area of 0.5 acre (0.202343 ha) and periphery length of 3 kilometres (1.9 mi). It is well fortified with double fortification. A 30 feet (9.1 m) wide moat surrounds the fort. The fort is a monumental structure highly fortified with 15 towers mounted with 26 guns; each gun located inside the fort is 8 metres (26.2 ft) long and is still well preserved.
It is said that the Bahmani Sultanate claimed lineage of the Sasanians
and the motifs on their buildings, particularly the crowns of the arches that they built depicted an emblem of the crescent
and occasionally a disk that was closely reminiscent of the crowns of the Sassanian emperors. Many religious or secular buildings in the fort area depict this emblem.
Jami Masjid
The mosque, one of the first in South India
, was built to commemorate Gulbarga as the capital of the Bahmanid Sultanate. The mosque though simple in design but has a symmetrical plan with well organized constituent parts. The masjid, only one of its kind in India, has dimensions of 216 feet (65.8 m)x176 feet (53.6 m) and was built on the lines of the Great Mosque of Córdoba in Spain. The masjid, which was in ruins, has been well tended now.
The mosque has no open courtyard. The outer passageways surround the prayer hall on three sides and have low open arcades with arches. They form a rectangular layout with ten bays each on the north and the south, and seven bays on the east. The square bays on the corners are topped by domes. The roofed interior bays are covered with low domes, faceted by pendentives. The front yard in front of the mihrab
has nine bays with a single large dome. Trefoil
interiors and elongated lobes are seen on sloping arches of the drum. The main roof drum is mounted on a cubic clerestory
. The wooden screens that existed on the outer arcade openings have been removed over the years. They have been replaced, in recent times, by an arched entrance portal on the north face. On the whole, the mosque displays distinct Persian architectural style with five large domes (One large and four small at the corners) and 75 small domes with 250 arches.
Tomb of Kwaja Bande Nawaz
Apart from the above monuments the other building of interest is the tomb of the Sufi saint Syed Mohammad Gesu Daraz, popularly known as Kwaja Bande Nawaz, built in the Indo-Saracenic
style. It is a large complex where the tomb of the Sufi saint, who came to Gulbarga in 1413, exists. The tomb walls have paintings; the arches of the Dargah
are in Bahmani architecture while the paintings on the walls and ceiling have a fusion of Turkish
and Irani influence. The Mughals also built a mosque close to the tomb. An annual fair or Urs
is held here in November, which attracts large number of devotees of all religious communities.
line connecting to Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi
and India.
It is well connected by National Highways with Bangalore , which are 610 kilometres (379 mi) away from Gulbarga. Road distances to other cities within the state are: Basavakalyan
-80 kilometres (49.7 mi), Bidar
-120 kilometres (74.6 mi), and Bijapur
- 160 kilometres (99.4 mi).
Kannada language
Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...
: ಗುಲ್ಬರ್ಗ located in Gulbarga City in the Gulbarga district
Gulbarga District
Gulbarga district is one of the 30 districts of Karnataka state in southern India. Gulbarga city is the administrative headquarters of the district...
of North Karnataka
North Karnataka
North Karnataka is an arid plateau from elevation in the Karnataka state of southwest India. It is drained by the Krishna River and its tributaries the Bhima, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha, and Tungabhadra...
, India was originally built by 1347 by Al-ud-din Bahmani of the Bahmani Dynasty
Bahmani Sultanate
The Bahmani Sultanate was a Muslim state of the Deccan in southern India and one of the great medieval Indian kingdoms...
after he cut off his ties with the Delhi Sultanate
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived, Delhi based kingdoms or sultanates, of Turkic origin in medieval India. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty...
; Islamic monuments such as mosques, palaces, tombs, and other structures were also built later within the refurbished fort. The Jami Masjid built later, within the fort, in 1367, is a unique structure built in Persian architectural style, fully enclosed, with elegant domes and arched columns, which is unlike any other mosque in India. It was built to commemorate the establishment of the dynastic rule of the Bahmani kingdom at Gulbarga fort between 1327 and 1424. It remained the capital of the Bahmani Kingdom till 1424 where after the capital was shifted to Bidar Fort
Bidar Fort
Bidar Fort is situated in North Karnataka in Bidar district of the northern plateau of Karanataka, India. Sultan Alla-Ud-Din Bahman of the Bahmanid Dynasty shifted his capital from Gulbarga to Bidar in 1427 and built his fort along with a number of Islamic monuments.Bidriware is a very popular...
, as Bidar
Bidar
Bidar is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the north-eastern part of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Bidar District....
had better climatic conditions.
History
Early history of the region dates back to the 6th century when the RashtrakutaRashtrakuta
The Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian Subcontinent between the sixth and the 10th centuries. During this period they ruled as several closely related, but individual clans. Rastrakutas in inscriptions represented as descendants of Satyaki, a Yadava well known...
s ruled over the area. The Chalukyas won back their domain and ruled for over two hundred years. At the end of the 12th century, it came under the reign of the Yadavas of Devagiri and the Hoysalas
Hoysala Empire
The Hoysala Empire was a prominent South Indian Kannadiga empire that ruled most of the modern day state of Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur but was later moved to Halebidu....
of Halebidu . During this Gulbarga district and Raichur District
Raichur district
Raichur District is an administrative district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located in the northeast part of the state and is bounded by Yadgir district in the north, Bijapur and Bagalkot district in the northwest, Koppal district in the west, Bellary district in the south, Anantapur...
.
In the early 14th century, the Deccan was occupied by Muhammad bin Tughluq
Muhammad bin Tughluq
Muhammad bin Tughluq was the Turkic Sultan of Delhi from 1325 to 1351. He was the eldest son of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq.He was born in Kotla Tolay Khan in Multan. His wife was daughter of the raja of Dipalpur...
of the Delhi Sultanate
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived, Delhi based kingdoms or sultanates, of Turkic origin in medieval India. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty...
, which included Gulbarga. The revolt of the Muslim officers appointed from Delhi resulted in founding of the Bahmani Sultanate
Bahmani Sultanate
The Bahmani Sultanate was a Muslim state of the Deccan in southern India and one of the great medieval Indian kingdoms...
in 1347 by Hassan Gangu, who chose Gulbarga (named as 'Ahsenabad' during this period) to be his capital. Gulbarga was the capital of the Bahmani kingdom (1347–1527) (with headquarters at the Gulbarga fort), a newly founded independent state, until 1424 when the capital was transferred to Bidar. It is said that with the establishment of the Bahmani Kingdom, the Muslim rule took firm roots in the Deccan. Ahmad Shah Wali Bahmani had inducted immigrants from Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
, which changed the soci-cultural and religious life in the Deccan but was well amalgamated with Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
traditions.
The Gulbaraga fort was razed to the ground by the Vijayanagar Emperor but was subsequently rebuilt by Yusuf Adil Shah
Yusuf Adil Shah
Yusuf Adil Shah , referred as Adil Khan or Hidalcão by the Portuguese, was the founder of the Adil Shahi dynasty that ruled the Sultanate of Bijapur for nearly two centuries...
(1459–1511), who established the Adil Shah dynasty
Yusuf Adil Shah
Yusuf Adil Shah , referred as Adil Khan or Hidalcão by the Portuguese, was the founder of the Adil Shahi dynasty that ruled the Sultanate of Bijapur for nearly two centuries...
or Bijapur Sultanate, when he defeated the Vijayanagar emperor. The Vijayanagara Empire was plundered and with this rich booty, the Gulbarga fort was refurbished.
The Bahmanis ruled over most of the Deccan until the late 15th and early 16th century, when the kingdom was divided into five independent states.
The fort and the Gulbarga district were a part of Bangalore rule. After India became independent in August 1947 . In 1956, the Indian Most of the Gulbarga district became part of the then Mysore state
Mysore State
The Kingdom of Mysore was one of the three largest princely states within the erstwhile British Empire of India. Upon India gaining its independence in 1947, the Maharaja of Mysore merged his realm with the Union of India...
, later renamed Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
.
Geography
It is located on a plateau land in the northeastern part of Karnataka. Krishna RiverKrishna River
The Krishna River , is one of the longest rivers in central-southern India, about . It is also referred to as Krishnaveni in its original nomenclature...
and Bhima River
Bhima River
The Bhima River originates in Bhimashankar hills near Karjat on the western side of Western Ghats, known as Sahyadri, in Maharashtra state in India. Bhima flows southeast for 861 km through Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh states...
drain the district and Bhima river flows close to the fort. The soil formation in the region is predominantly of black cotton soil.
Fort is in the drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
prone district and experiences a meagre average rainfall of 777 millimetres (30.6 in) with only 46 normal rainy days.
Climate is dry and cold in the winter but summer is hot. South west monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
brings rains. Temperature during summer is a high of 45 °C (113 °F), the minimum recorded in winter is 5 °C (41 °F).
Legend
Bangaloreid=aHcfv6zkJgQC&pg=PA68&dq=Gulbarga+Fort&lr=#v=onepage&q=Gulbarga%20Fort&f=false|publisher= Cambridge University K
Structures
With the establishment of the Bahmani Kingdom in the Deccan from 1347, the architectural styles of the Persian architecture of Iran made impressive and lasting impacts, which are seen in the Gulbarga fort. The mosques, arches, gardens and the palaces were built within and also outside the fort in the Gulbarga town. Within the fort the buildings built are impressive with Indo-Persian architecture that evolved in the Deccan. Professor Desai has observed:
A distinct Indo-Persian architectural style of Deccan came into existence after the establishment of the Bahmani dynasty in 1347.
Some of the important structures built are elaborated.
Fort
It was subsequently substantially fortified in West Asian and European military architectural style by Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah, the ruler of the Bahmani dynasty; particular mention is made of the citadel that was added in the centre of the fort. The fort has an area of 0.5 acre (0.202343 ha) and periphery length of 3 kilometres (1.9 mi). It is well fortified with double fortification. A 30 feet (9.1 m) wide moat surrounds the fort. The fort is a monumental structure highly fortified with 15 towers mounted with 26 guns; each gun located inside the fort is 8 metres (26.2 ft) long and is still well preserved.
It is said that the Bahmani Sultanate claimed lineage of the Sasanians
Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
and the motifs on their buildings, particularly the crowns of the arches that they built depicted an emblem of the crescent
Crescent
In art and symbolism, a crescent is generally the shape produced when a circular disk has a segment of another circle removed from its edge, so that what remains is a shape enclosed by two circular arcs of different diameters which intersect at two points .In astronomy, a crescent...
and occasionally a disk that was closely reminiscent of the crowns of the Sassanian emperors. Many religious or secular buildings in the fort area depict this emblem.
Jami Masjid
The mosque, one of the first in South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
, was built to commemorate Gulbarga as the capital of the Bahmanid Sultanate. The mosque though simple in design but has a symmetrical plan with well organized constituent parts. The masjid, only one of its kind in India, has dimensions of 216 feet (65.8 m)x176 feet (53.6 m) and was built on the lines of the Great Mosque of Córdoba in Spain. The masjid, which was in ruins, has been well tended now.
The mosque has no open courtyard. The outer passageways surround the prayer hall on three sides and have low open arcades with arches. They form a rectangular layout with ten bays each on the north and the south, and seven bays on the east. The square bays on the corners are topped by domes. The roofed interior bays are covered with low domes, faceted by pendentives. The front yard in front of the mihrab
Mihrab
A mihrab is semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla; that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying...
has nine bays with a single large dome. Trefoil
Trefoil
Trefoil is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism...
interiors and elongated lobes are seen on sloping arches of the drum. The main roof drum is mounted on a cubic clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
. The wooden screens that existed on the outer arcade openings have been removed over the years. They have been replaced, in recent times, by an arched entrance portal on the north face. On the whole, the mosque displays distinct Persian architectural style with five large domes (One large and four small at the corners) and 75 small domes with 250 arches.
Tomb of Kwaja Bande Nawaz
Apart from the above monuments the other building of interest is the tomb of the Sufi saint Syed Mohammad Gesu Daraz, popularly known as Kwaja Bande Nawaz, built in the Indo-Saracenic
Indo-Saracenic
The Indo-Saracenic Revival was an architectural style movement by British architects in the late 19th century in British India...
style. It is a large complex where the tomb of the Sufi saint, who came to Gulbarga in 1413, exists. The tomb walls have paintings; the arches of the Dargah
Dargah
A Dargah is a Sufi shrine built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint. Local Muslims visit the shrine known as . Dargahs are often associated with Sufi meeting rooms and hostels, known as khanqah...
are in Bahmani architecture while the paintings on the walls and ceiling have a fusion of Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
and Irani influence. The Mughals also built a mosque close to the tomb. An annual fair or Urs
Urs
Urs is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint in South Asia, usually held at the saint's dargah . South Asian Sufis being mainly Chishtiyya, refer to their saints as lovers and God as beloved...
is held here in November, which attracts large number of devotees of all religious communities.
Access
Gulbarga is well connected by railway lines and roads. Gulbarga is an important rail head on the Central Southern RailwaySouthern Railway Zone (India)
The Southern Railway is the earliest of the 16 zones of the Indian Railways created in independent India. It was created on April 14, 1951 by merging three state railways namely Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, the South Indian Railway, and the Mysore State Railway. The South Indian Railway...
line connecting to Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
and India.
It is well connected by National Highways with Bangalore , which are 610 kilometres (379 mi) away from Gulbarga. Road distances to other cities within the state are: Basavakalyan
Basavakalyan
Basavakalyan is a town in Bidar District of the state of Karnataka, India, and was historically known as Kalyan.-History:Basavakalyan's history dates back to 3000 years with its name being mentioned in Guru Charitra....
-80 kilometres (49.7 mi), Bidar
Bidar
Bidar is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the north-eastern part of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Bidar District....
-120 kilometres (74.6 mi), and Bijapur
Bijapur, Karnataka
Bijapur Urdu:بیجاپور city is the district headquarters of Bijapur District of Karnataka state. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural importance built during the rule of Adil Shahi dynasty...
- 160 kilometres (99.4 mi).