Tughlakabad Fort

Description:

The Tughlaqabad fort was once a symbolic of the might of the Tughlaq dynasty. The Tughlaqabad fort was built by Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, the founder of the Tughlaq dynasty. The fort is spread over an extensive area and a piece of architectural marvel.This was the period of political unrest and there was continuous danger of Mongol attack from the North western borders of the Empire. To save the Empire and his subjects from the marauding Mongols, Ghiyas-ud-din built the Tughlaqabad fort.

The Tughlaqabad fort served twin purpose of a defensive structure as well as the imperial capital of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq.There are a number of monuments within the precincts of this massive fort.

The Tughlaqabad fort was completed in a short period of four years (1321-25). The fort's massive ramparts and bastions (as high as 15-30 m, built of enormous blocks of stone and walls 10 m thick in places) speak volumes about the might of the Sultanate. Within fort's high walls, double-storied bastions and massive towers were housed magnificent palaces, grand mosques and audience halls. The city lay on the eastern outskirts of the massive fort. On the southern side of the fort is the tomb of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, which was built by the ruler himself. The tomb is enclosed in a courtyard with fortified walls and a fine example of Indo-Islamic architecture.

Tughlaqabad stands divided into three segments. The eastern segment is entered through from the Qutub-Badarpur road. It is a rectangular area enclosed within high walls and bastions and used to serve as the citadel. On the west side of the Tughlaqabad Fort is a wider area that once contained the palaces and is surrounded by walls and bastions. A huge reservoir stands on the southern side of the Tughlaqabad Fort at Delhi. Bunds were put up between hills to the east to create the reservoir, which is linked with Ghiyas-ud-Din's tomb through a causeway.

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Tughlakabad Forte-Delhi