[1][2][3][4][5] Around the 6th century CE, Devagiri emerged as an important uplands town near present-day Sambhajinagar, along caravan routes going towards western and southern India.

Much of the lower slopes of the hill has been cut away by Yadava dynasty rulers to leave 50-meter vertical sides to improve defenses.

The only means of access to the summit is by a narrow bridge, with the passage for not more than two people abreast, and a long gallery, excavated in the rock, which has, for the most part, a very gradual upward slope.

[14] The fort had the following specialties which are listed along with their advantages : Daulatabad (19°57’N 75°15’E) is located at a distance of 16 km northwest of Chatrapati Sambhajinagar, the district headquarters and midway to the Ellora Caves.

[23] In 1328, Muhammad bin Tughluq of the Delhi sultanate transferred the capital of his kingdom to Devagiri, and renamed it Daulatabad.

The Chini Mahal, located further inside the fort, is believed to date back to the Nizam Shahi dynasty.

Later, it was repurposed as a prison by the Mughals, reputedly holding Abul Hasan Qutb Shah of the Golconda Sultanate of Hyderabad.

[1] The Mughal Governor of the Deccan under Shah Jahan, captured the fortress in 1632 and imprisoned the Nizam Shahi prince.

[26][27] Daulatabad is a fortified city that is the cumulative result of 1000 years of building history, overseen by successive rulers of the Deccan.

There is no evidence tying it to any specific builder[citation needed]; it likely originates from the early days of the dynasty, and takes its name from blue/white tiles set into its facade.

[35] Balakot also contains a ruined royal residence dating to the 15th century, built by the Bahmani dynasty during its early days.

It was built by Tughluq commanders as an expansion to Balakot, occupying its northern and eastern flanks, adjoining the base of the Devagiri hill.

Located within a sector of the fort called Mahakot, it is an exceptionally tall tower built by Alauddin Bahmani in 1446 to commemorate his capture of Daulatabad.

The Devagiri Express regularly operates between Mumbai and Secunderabad, Hyderabad, via the city of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.