Forts of India

Daulatabad Fort, also known as Devgiri Fort or Deogiri Fort, is a historic fortified citadel located in Daulatabad village near Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. It was the capital of the Yadava dynasty (9th century–14th century CE), for a brief time the capital of the Delhi Sultanate (1327–1334), and later a secondary capital of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate (1499–1636).

Around the 6th century CE, Devgiri emerged as an important uplands town near present-day Chatrapati Sambhajinagar, along caravan routes going towards western and southern India.[6][7][8][9] The historical triangular fortress in the city was initially built around 1187 by the first Yadava king, Bhillama V.[10] In 1308, the city was annexed by Sultan Alauddin Khalji of the Delhi Sultanate, which ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent. In 1327, Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq of the Delhi Sultanate renamed the city from Devagiri to Daulatabad and shifted his imperial capital to the city from Delhi, ordering a mass migration of Delhi's population to Daulatabad. However, Muhammad bin Tughluq reversed his decision in 1334 and the capital of the Delhi Sultanate was shifted back to Delhi.[11]

In 1499, Daulatabad became a part of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, who used it as their secondary capital. In 1610, near Daulatabad Fort, the new city of Aurangabad, then named Khadki, was established to serve as the capital of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate by the Ethiopian military leader Malik Ambar, who was brought to India as a slave but rose to become a popular Prime Minister of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. Most of the present-day fortifications at Daulatabad Fort were constructed under the Ahmadnagar Sultanate.

Bidar Fort is a fort located in old city area, Bidar, Karnataka, India. The fort, the city and the district are all affixed with the name Bidar. Sultan Ahmad Shah I of the Bahmanid dynasty shifted his capital from Gulbarga to Bidar in 1427 and built his fort along with a number of Islamic monuments.There are over 30 monuments inside Bidar fort.

The complex was put by UNESCO on its "tentative list" to become a World Heritage Site in 2014, with others in the region, under the name Monuments and Forts of the Deccan Sultanate. The Bidar Fort has stood witness to a lot of historical milestones – the rise and fall of Bahmani dynasty, rise and separation of the five Deccan Sultans, capture by the Barid Shahi and Adil Shahi dynasties, and finally being won by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in the blockade of Bidar in 1657.

Bidar was the capital of Bahmani Kingdom in the 14th century. This fort was built by Ahmed Shah Wali Bahmani. The Fort was renovated in the 15th century by Sultan Ahmad Shah-I as he shifted his capital from Kalaburagi (Gulbarga) to Bidar.

The origins of the Golconda fort can be traced back to the 11th century. It was originally a small mud fort built by Pratāparudra of the Kakatiya Empire. The name Golconda is thought to originate from Telugu for "Cowherd's hill" (గొల్ల కొండ, romanized: Gullakōnḍa). It is also thought that Kakatiya ruler Ganapatideva 1199–1262 built a stone hilltop outpost — later known as Golconda fort — to defend their western region.[6] The fort was later developed into a fortified citadel in 1518 by Sultan Quli of the Qutb Shahi Empire and the city was declared the capital of the Golconda Sultanate.

The Bahmani kings took possession of the fort after it was made over to them by means of a sanad by the Rajah of Warangal. Under the Bahmani Sultanate, Golconda slowly rose to prominence. Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk (r. 1487–1543), sent by the Bahmanids as a governor at Golconda, established the city as the seat of his governance around 1501. Bahmani rule gradually weakened during this period, and Sultan Quli (Quli Qutub Shah period) formally became independent in 1518, establishing the Qutb Shahi dynasty based in Golconda. Over a period of 62 years, the mud fort was expanded by the first three Qutb Shahi sultans into the present structure: a massive fortification of granite extending around 5 km (3.1 mi) in circumference. It remained the capital of the Qutb Shahi dynasty until 1590 when the capital was shifted to Hyderabad. The Qutb Shahis expanded the fort, whose 7 km (4.3 mi) outer wall enclosed the city.

Amber was a Meena state, Which was ruled by his Susawat clan. After defeating whom Kakil Deo, son of Dulherai, made Amber the capital of Dhundhar after Khoh.

The state of Jaipur was earlier known as Amber or Dhundhar and was controlled by Meena chiefs of five different tribes who were under suzerainty of the Bargurjar Rajput Raja of Deoti. Later a Kachhwaha prince Dulha Rai destroyed the sovereignty of Meenas and also defeated Bargurjars of Deoli and took Dhundhar fully under Kachwaha rule.

The Amber Fort were originally built by Raja Man Singh. Jai Singh I expanded it. Improvements and additions were done to successive rulers over the next 150 years, until the Kachwahas shifted their capital to Jaipur during the time of Sawai Jai Singh II, in 1727. Amer was known in the medieval period as Dhundar (meaning attributed to a sacrificial mount in the western frontiers) and ruled by the Kachwahas from the 11th century onwards – between 1037 and 1727 AD, till the capital was moved from Amer to Jaipur. The history of Amer is indelibly linked to these rulers as they founded their empire at Amer.

Initially, Warangal was under the rule of the Rashtrakuta dynasty in the 8 century AD and Western Chalukya Empire in 10th  century AD; in the 12th century, it came under the control of the sovereign Kakatiya dynasty.[4] Although precise dating of its construction and subsequent enhancements is uncertain, historians and archaeologists generally agree that an earlier brick-walled structure was replaced with stone by Ganapatideva (1199 AD-1262 AD), and was completed by his daughter Rudrama Devi, who ruled until 1289, and further strengthened by her grandson Prataparudra II II, whose reign came to be known as a "Golden Age". Twenty years later, the kingdom was conquered by the Delhi Sultanate.

Ganapatideva, Rudrama Devi, and Prataparudra II II all added to the fort's height, building gateways, square bastions, and additional circular earthen walls. This places the construction towards the end of the Kakatiya period.

In 1309, Malik Kafur, the general of Alauddin Khalji, attacked the fort with a large force of 100,000 men and surrounded it. Prataparudra II II and his people secured themselves within the formidable stone-walled fort and battled bravely for several months with the invading army. As the siege was unable to be lifted for more than six months, Prataparudra II II agreed to a truce with Kafur, as the latter had unleashed massive destruction on the neighboring towns and villages. This truce included the notable Koh-i-Noor diamond along with various precious treasures, which he took it back to Delhi.

Tughluqabad Fort is a ruined fort in Delhi, India built by Ghiyasuddin Tughluq, the founder of the Tughlaq dynasty, of the Delhi Sultanate of India in 1321, as he established the third historic city of Delhi, which was later abandoned in 1327. It lends its name to the nearby Tughluqabad residential-commercial area as well as the Tughluqabad Institutional Area. Ghiyasuddin Tughluq also built the Qutub-Badarpur Road, which connected the new city to the Grand Trunk Road. The road is now known as Mehrauli-Badarpur Road. 

Surroundings are an important biodiversity area within the Northern Aravalli leopard wildlife corridor stretching from Sariska Tiger Reserve to Delhi. Historical places around the sanctuary are Badkhal Lake, 6 km (3.7 mi) northeast, the tenth century ancient Surajkund reservoir and Anangpur Dam, Damdama Lake, Tughlaqabad Fort and Adilabad ruins (both in Delhi). It is contiguous to the seasonal waterfalls in Pali-Dhuaj-Kot villages of Faridabad, the sacred Mangar Bani and the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary. There are several dozen lakes formed in the abandoned open pit mines in the forested hilly area of Delhi Ridge.

The Diu Fortress (Portuguese: Fortaleza de Diu or formally Fortaleza de São Tomé) is a Portuguese-built fortification located on the west coast of India in Diu. The fortress was built as part of Portuguese India's defensive fortifications at the eastern tip of the island of Diu during the 16th century. The fortress, which borders on the town of Diu, was built in 1535 subsequent to a defense alliance forged by Bahadur Shah, the Sultan of Gujarat and the Portuguese when Humayun, the Mughal Emperor attempted to annex this territory. It was strengthened over the years, till 1546. The Portuguese ruled over this territory from 1537 until the Indian invasion of December 1961. Today it is a landmark of Diu and one of the Seven Wonders of Portuguese Origin in the World.

Before the Portuguese built the fortress in 1535, the ancient history of the place was linked to several Kings and Dynasties; the earliest quoted is of the Puranic period, followed by the Mauryans, the Kshatrapas from the 1st century to 415, Guptas from 415 to 467, by the Maitrakas from 470 to 788, by Chavda dynasty of Gujarat and Saurashtra from 789 to 941, by the Chalukyas (under the Chalukya as local Chieftains) and the last was that of the Portuguese colonial rule till Diu was taken, along with Goa and Daman, by the Government of India on 19 December 1961.

Gandikota is a village and historical fort on the right bank of the Penna river, 15 km from Jammalamadugu in Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The fort was the centre of power for various dynasties, such as the Kalyani Chalukyas, Pemmasani Nayakas, and the Golconda Sultanate. A sand fort was constructed by Kaka Raja, Vassals of Kalyani Chalukya rulers. Various additions of Islamic architecture were made during subsequent Muslim rule.

 Gandikota area was first identified and made Sand fort in 1123 by Kakatiya Raja of nearby Bommanapalle village and a subordinate of Ahavamalla Someswara I, Kalyani Chalukya ruler. Gandikota came under the rule of Kakatiya dynasty from 1239 A.D to 1304 A.D and ruled by their various subordinates.

The village transformed into major fort after the emergence of Pemmasani Nayakas.

Recently, Tavva Obul Reddy, a Mydukur-based historian, discovered a copper plate inscription on the history of Gandikonda Fort. The inscription dates back to the 16th century.