Rohtasgarh
Rohtasgarh , also Rohtas Fort , is a medieval and early modern fortress ( fort ) in the southwest of the Indian state of Bihar .
location
The fort is located near the village of Rohtas in the extreme southwest of Bihar above the Son River on the edge of the Vindhya Mountains in the transition to the Ganges plain at an altitude of almost 500 m above sea level. d. The next larger cities are Dehri, approx. 50 km (driving distance) to the north-east, and Sasaram, further 20 km to the west .
history
A surviving inscription from 1223 testifies that the medieval fortress was in the hands of a certain Śrī-Pratāpa , who had repulsed an attack by the Yadavas (meaning probably the Muslims ); however, only parts of the defensive walls have survived from this period. In 1539 the fort came under the power of Sher Khan Suri (r. 1539-1545), who, however, turned to the subjugation of Bengal in the following period . One of his agents built a three-domed mosque and a mausoleum was also built. After the end of the Surid dynasty, the Mughals again took control of northern India; Meanwhile, the Rajput general and later governor of Bihar and Bengal Man Singh I († 1594), who began building a palace, stayed in Rohtas on behalf of Akbar . After the death of Man Singh, the fort was in the care of the viziers of the Mughal court. In the years after 1621, Prince Khurram, who later became Mughal Mughal Shah Jahan , sought refuge here several times. His son and successor Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707) used the remote fort as a prison. In the 1760s it fell into the hands of the British who, however, did not use the fortress and even destroyed parts of it.
buildings
The main entrance to the palace area is the impressive so-called Elephant Gate ( Hathiya Pol ). In the core area of the fort are the Friday mosque ( jama masjid ), the hall for public audiences ( diwan-i-am ) and the ruins of the palace built by Man Singh I. Numerous buildings in the vicinity testify to the long history of the fort. The oldest component is the Ganesh Temple, located approx. 1.5 km northeast of the actual fort , the skeletal ruins of which are still impressive. Nearby are the Rohtasan or Chaurasan temple, which is located on a hill and dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva , with the obligatory lying Nandi bull in front of the door, as well as the Devi temple, whose actual function is unclear because it is architecturally speaking it is more like a mausoleum than a sacred building.
literature
- Wopendranath Ghosh: Rohtasgarh Fort. Prabhat Prakashan, 2017 (original edition 1908)
Web links
- Rohtasgarh - Photos, Info + Quotes (English)
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 24 ° 37 ′ 55 ″ N , 83 ° 57 ′ 41 ″ E