Golkonda
Golkonda ( Telugu : గోల్కొండ Gōlkoṇḍa , also Golconda or Golkanda ) is an old fortress and ruined city west of Hyderabad in the state of Telangana , India . From 1512 to 1687 it was the capital of the sultanate of the same name .
location
Golkonda lies at an altitude of 532 m above sea level. d. M. on an approx. 120 m high hill consisting of granite rocks just under 15 km (driving distance) west of the megacity of Hyderabad .
history
A first fortification in Golconda (old name Mankal ) was the significant regional Kakatiya probably Dynasty (1163-1323) rammed earth mixed built with stones; in 1364 it came into the hands of the Bahmani Sultanate (1347-1527). The governor sent hither Quli Qutb Mulk dissolved 1512 (officially from 1538) from the disintegrating state structure of the Bahmani Sultanate and established the Qutb Shahi dynasty and the down to the Bay of Bengal extending Sultanate of Golconda . Golkonda was close to the border with the Sultanate of Bidar to the west and was developed into a mighty fortress city by the subsequent sultans. From around 1590, the capital of the Sultanate of Golkonda was relocated to the newly founded Hyderabad; Golkonda remained a fortress. In 1687 conquered the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (r. 1658-1707), the region and incorporated it as a province ( subah ) the Mughal Empire one. Under the British , the princely state of Hyderabad, founded in 1724 with the support of the Marathas, remained largely autonomous; at its head was the nizam . The state of Hyderabad was divided in 1956 and Golkonda was added to the state of Andhra Pradesh . In 2014, Golkonda came to the newly formed state of Telangana .
Attractions
The fortress city is well preserved and consists of four different fortresses with a total of 87 semicircular bastions , some of which are still equipped with cannons . A total of 8 gates with 4 drawbridges secure it to the outside; Inside the complex there are royal apartments and halls, temples, mosques, warehouses, stables, etc. One of the bastions used to serve as a state prison and treasury of the British-Indian vassal state of Hyderabad .
Nearby outside the walls are 18 granite mausoleums with high domes and battlements belonging to the kings of the Qutb Shahi dynasty . They show imposing stone carvings and are surrounded by landscaped gardens.
Fortress walls
goal
Temple in the fort
Mosque in the fort
Aslah-Khana weapons depot
Mausoleums in the vicinity of the fort
Others
- The name "Golkonda" is said to come from the Telugu expression Golla Konda ("shepherd's hill ").
- Golkonda was known in earlier times for the diamonds that were found in the region and cut and polished here. The diamonds Koh-i-Noor , Hope-Diamant and Regent are said to have been found and worked here.
- The first European to report on Golkonda was the Russian traveling salesman Afanassi Nikitin .
- The surrealist painter René Magritte created a painting called Golconda in 1953 .
Web links
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 17 ° 22 ′ 40 ″ N , 78 ° 24 ′ 0 ″ E