Bijapur Fort

Bijapur fort has a plethora of historical monuments of architectural importance built during the rule of Adil Shahi dynasty.

As a result, the buildings seen in and around Bijapur Fort and the town have been rightly called as the Agra of South India.

He was later, in 1481, appointed as the Governor of Bijapur for his loyalty and bravery shown in the active defense of the sultanate.

The fort and the citadel or Arkilla and the Faroukh Mahal were built by him with the skilled architects and artisans whom he had inducted into his employment from Persia, Turkey and Rome.

But he was also a minor when he was crowned and his mother Chand Bibi effectively protected him, acting as the regent of Bijapur.

Ibrahim, the fifth king of the dynasty of Bahmanis, was a tolerant and an intellectual king who forged good relationship between Hindus and Muslims and also between Shia and Sunni Muslims in his kingdom and ushered harmony among the people of his kingdom; history has therefore titled him with the name of "Jagadguru Badshah".

He built the world-famous Gol Gumbaz (the second biggest dome in the world with whispering galleries).

The gun is a massive arsenal of 4.45 metres (14.6 ft) length, which is seen even now at the same location in a good condition.

With this defeat, the 200-year rule of Adil Shahi dynasty ended and Bijapur sultanate was incorporated into the Mughal Empire, in 1686.

During this period, Adil Shah had started building his mausoleum, called the Bara Kaman, but he died before he could complete it.

[2][7] Two centuries later, in 1877, during the British rule, due to scarcity (famine conditions) Bijapur city was found in a desolate and deserted state that was compared to similarly placed ruined cities of Baalbek in Bekaa Valley of Lebanon or Pompeiopolis in Rome.

The circumferential length of the fort’s outer wall, which encloses the old city, measures 10 kilometres (6.2 mi).

In the days when Bijapur Sultanate commanded almost the whole of the Deccan territory, the strongly fortified fort had more than 1000 canons made of brass and iron.

[13] Jamia Masjid located in the southeast part of the city, the largest mosque of Bijapur, was started in 1565, but not fully completed.

It has an arcaded prayer hall with fine aisles supported on massive piers and has an impressive dome in the façade which has nine bays.

In 1636, the arched shaped mehrab in the mosque was gilded and inscribed with Persian verses, at the instance of Muhammad Adil Shah.

Aurangzeb also got the mosque extended with an eastern gate and verandahs to the east, the south and the north.

[3][9][15][16] Though modestly sized, Mehtar Mahal dated to 1620 is one of the most elegant structures in the fort; the entry gate in particular has been built in Indo-Islamic architecture style.

The carvings are in Hindu architectural style, in the form of brackets supporting the balconies and stone trellis work.

It was initially called as Ali Roza, but Shah Nawab Khan changed its name to Bara Kaman, as this was the 12th monument built during his reign and was planned with 12 arches.

[9][18] The Malik-i-Maidan (Master of the Battlefield), also called Burj-E-Sherz, was erected by Ibrahim Adil Shah II.

The gun is cool when touched even during the hot summer season and when tapped gives soft resonating sound.

with a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon and, as she writes 'No steps are heard in the ruined hall.

[18][25][26] A picture of Assar Mahal, Beejapore by Thomas Boys was published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1833 along with a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon (wrongly described as Ruins near Agra).

Barakaman- unfinished tomb of Ali Adil Shah