Tughlaqabad
Encyclopedia
Tughlaqabad Fort is a ruined fort in Delhi
, stretching across 6.5 km, built by Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, the founder of Tughlaq dynasty
, of the Delhi Sultanate
of India
in 1321, as he established the fifth historic city of Delhi, which was later abandoned in 1327. It lends its name to the nearby Tughlaqabad residential-commercial area as well as the Tughlaqabad Institutional Area. Tughalaq also built Qutub-Badarpur
Road, which connected the new city to the Grand Trunk Road
. The road is now known as Mehrauli-Badarpur Road.
wati suggested that the king build a fort on a hillock in the southern portion of Delhi
. The king jokingly told Ghazi Malik to build the fort himself when he was the king.
In 1321 AD, Ghazi Malik drove away the Khiljis and assumed the title of Ghias-ud-din Tughlaq, starting the Tughlaq dynasty
. He immediately started the construction of his fabled city, which he dreamt of as an impregnable, yet beautiful fort to keep away the Mongol marauders. However, destiny would not be as he would have liked.
that all labourers in Delhi must work on his fort. Saint [Nizamuddin Auliya], a Sufi mystic, got incensed as the work on his baoli (well) was stopped. The confrontation between the sufi saint and the royal emperor has become a legend in India. The saint uttered a curse which was to resonate throughout history right until today: Ya rahey hissar, ya basey gujjar (may it [the fort] remain unoccupied/infertile, or else the herdsmen may live here).
at this time. He was successful and was on his way to Delhi. However, his son, Muhammad bin Tughlaq, met him at Kara
in Uttar Pradesh
. Allegedly at the prince's orders, a Shamiana (Tent
) fell on the Emperor, who was crushed to death (1324 AD).
The 'Mausoleum of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq' is connected by a causeway to the southern outpost of the fortification. This elevated causeway leads across a former artificial lake and is nowadays pierced by the Mehrauli
-Badarpur
road. After passing an old Pipal tree, the complex of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq's tomb is entered by a high gateway made up of red sandstone
with a flight of steps.
The actual mausoleum is made up of a single-domed square tomb
(about 8 m x8 m) with sloping walls crowned by parapet
s. In contrast to the walls of the fortification made up of granite, the sides of the mausoleum are faced by smooth red sandstone and inlaid with inscribed panels and arch boders from marble
. The edifice is topped by an elegant dome
resting on an octagonal drum that is covered with white slabs of marble.
Inside the mausoleum are three graves: The central one belongs to Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq
and the other two are believed to be those of his wife and his son and successor Muhammad bin Tughluq
. In the north-western bastion
of the enclosure wall with its pillared corridors is another octagonal tomb in similar style with a smaller marble dome and inscribed marble and sandstone slabs over its arched doors. According to an inscription over its southern entrance this tomb houses the remains of Zafar Khan
. His grave has been at the site prior to the construction of the outpost and was consciously integrated into the design of the mausoleum by Ghiyath al-Din himself.
s and strengthened by circular bastion
s of up to two stories height. The city is supposed to once have had as many as 52 gates of which only 13 remain today. The fortified city contained seven rainwater tanks.
Tughluqabad is divided into three parts;
Today most of the city is inaccessible due to dense thorny vegetation. An ever increasing part of the former city area is occupied by modern settlement, especially in the vicinity of its lakes.
South of Tughluqabad was a vast artificial water reservoir within the fortified outpost of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq's Tomb. This well preserved mausoleum
remains connected to the fort by an elevated causeway that still stands today.
Well visible in the southeast are the remains of the Fortress of 'Adilabad, built years later in a similar style.
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...
, stretching across 6.5 km, built by Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, the founder of Tughlaq dynasty
Tughlaq dynasty
The Tughlaq dynasty of north India started in 1321 in Delhi when Ghazi Malik assumed the throne under the title of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq. The Tughluqs were a Muslim family of Turkic origin...
, 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...
of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1321, as he established the fifth historic city of Delhi, which was later abandoned in 1327. It lends its name to the nearby Tughlaqabad residential-commercial area as well as the Tughlaqabad Institutional Area. Tughalaq also built Qutub-Badarpur
Badarpur, Delhi
Badarpur is a historic town in South Delhi district in Delhi, at a distance of 17 km in south east. Situated close to its edge with Haryana state, Faridabad district, the area is commonly known as "Badarpur Border"...
Road, which connected the new city to the Grand Trunk Road
Grand Trunk Road
The Grand Trunk Road also formerly known as Uttarapatha, Shah Rah-e-Azam or Sadak-e-Azam or Badshahi Sadak is one of South Asia's oldest and longest major roads...
. The road is now known as Mehrauli-Badarpur Road.
History
Ghazi Malik A.K.A. Ghias-ud-din Tughlaq was a feudatory of the Khalji rulers of Delhi, India. Once while on a walk with his Khilji master, swati suggested that the king build a fort on a hillock in the southern portion of 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...
. The king jokingly told Ghazi Malik to build the fort himself when he was the king.
In 1321 AD, Ghazi Malik drove away the Khiljis and assumed the title of Ghias-ud-din Tughlaq, starting the Tughlaq dynasty
Tughlaq dynasty
The Tughlaq dynasty of north India started in 1321 in Delhi when Ghazi Malik assumed the throne under the title of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq. The Tughluqs were a Muslim family of Turkic origin...
. He immediately started the construction of his fabled city, which he dreamt of as an impregnable, yet beautiful fort to keep away the Mongol marauders. However, destiny would not be as he would have liked.
The Curse of Nizamuddin Auliya
Ghias-ud-din is usually perceived as a liberal ruler. However, he was so passionate about his dream fort that he issued a dictateEdict
An edict is an announcement of a law, often associated with monarchism. The Pope and various micronational leaders are currently the only persons who still issue edicts.-Notable edicts:...
that all labourers in Delhi must work on his fort. Saint [Nizamuddin Auliya], a Sufi mystic, got incensed as the work on his baoli (well) was stopped. The confrontation between the sufi saint and the royal emperor has become a legend in India. The saint uttered a curse which was to resonate throughout history right until today: Ya rahey hissar, ya basey gujjar (may it [the fort] remain unoccupied/infertile, or else the herdsmen may live here).
The Death of the Emperor
Another of the saint's curses was Hunuz Dilli dur ast (Delhi is still far away). The Emperor was engrossed in a campaign in BengalBengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
at this time. He was successful and was on his way to Delhi. However, his son, Muhammad bin Tughlaq, met him at Kara
Kara (Kaushambi)
Kara is an old township situated near Sirathu, on the banks of Ganges, west of the city of Allahabad in Kaushambi district in Uttar Pradesh state in India...
in Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
. Allegedly at the prince's orders, a Shamiana (Tent
Tent
A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using guy ropes tied to stakes or tent pegs...
) fell on the Emperor, who was crushed to death (1324 AD).
Mausoleum of Ghiyas ud-Din Tughluq
Mehrauli
Mehrauli is a neighbourhood in the South West district of Delhi in India. It represents a constituency in the legislative assembly of Delhi. The area is located close to Gurgaon.-History:...
-Badarpur
Badarpur, Delhi
Badarpur is a historic town in South Delhi district in Delhi, at a distance of 17 km in south east. Situated close to its edge with Haryana state, Faridabad district, the area is commonly known as "Badarpur Border"...
road. After passing an old Pipal tree, the complex of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq's tomb is entered by a high gateway made up of red sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
with a flight of steps.
The actual mausoleum is made up of a single-domed square tomb
Tomb
A tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes...
(about 8 m x8 m) with sloping walls crowned by parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
s. In contrast to the walls of the fortification made up of granite, the sides of the mausoleum are faced by smooth red sandstone and inlaid with inscribed panels and arch boders from marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
. The edifice is topped by an elegant dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
resting on an octagonal drum that is covered with white slabs of marble.
Inside the mausoleum are three graves: The central one belongs to Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq
Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq
Ghiyas ud-Din Tughluq , real name Ghazi Malik was the founder and first ruler of the Turkic Muslim Tughluq dynasty in India, who reigned over Sultanate of Delhi . He has been the founder of the third city of Delhi called Tughluqabad.Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq was in origin a poor Qarauna who took...
and the other two are believed to be those of his wife and his son and successor 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...
. In the north-western bastion
Bastion
A bastion, or a bulwark, is a structure projecting outward from the main enclosure of a fortification, situated in both corners of a straight wall , facilitating active defence against assaulting troops...
of the enclosure wall with its pillared corridors is another octagonal tomb in similar style with a smaller marble dome and inscribed marble and sandstone slabs over its arched doors. According to an inscription over its southern entrance this tomb houses the remains of Zafar Khan
Zafar Khan
Zafar Khan was the Muslim Indian general of Alauddin Khilji of the Khilji dynasty, ruler of the Delhi Sultanate in northern India.Zafar Khan defeated an invading Mongol army near Jalandhar in 1297 which secured Alauddin Khilji's throne....
. His grave has been at the site prior to the construction of the outpost and was consciously integrated into the design of the mausoleum by Ghiyath al-Din himself.
Architecture
Tughluqabad still consists of remarkable, massive stone fortifications that surround the irregular ground plan of the city. The sloping rubble-filled city walls, a typical feature of monuments of the Tughluq dynasty, are between 10 and 15 meters high, topped by battlemented parapetParapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
s and strengthened by circular bastion
Bastion
A bastion, or a bulwark, is a structure projecting outward from the main enclosure of a fortification, situated in both corners of a straight wall , facilitating active defence against assaulting troops...
s of up to two stories height. The city is supposed to once have had as many as 52 gates of which only 13 remain today. The fortified city contained seven rainwater tanks.
Tughluqabad is divided into three parts;
- 1) the wider city area with houses built along a rectangular grid between its gates
- 2) the citadel with a tower at its highest point known as Bijai-Mandal and the remains of several halls and a long underground passage
- 3) the adjacent palace area containing the royal residences. A long underground passage below the tower still remains.
Today most of the city is inaccessible due to dense thorny vegetation. An ever increasing part of the former city area is occupied by modern settlement, especially in the vicinity of its lakes.
South of Tughluqabad was a vast artificial water reservoir within the fortified outpost of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq's Tomb. This well preserved mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
remains connected to the fort by an elevated causeway that still stands today.
Well visible in the southeast are the remains of the Fortress of 'Adilabad, built years later in a similar style.