Daulatabad fort

Daulatabad fort

Daulatabad fort, in Aurangabad is a rare kind of construction, which is a combination of the ground fort and the hill fort. The imposing fort is built on an isolated pyramid-shaped natural mountain peak. The rock around is chiselled sklifully making the climb impossible.

The fort area is sorrounded by three concentric walls (fortifications) known as kots. The outer one, Amberkot covers the Daulatabad old town (a few shopts on both sides of the road). The National Highway 211, connecting Aurangabad to Ellora passes through the area covered by Amberkot.The second one, Mahakot, is currently the boundary of the fort for all practical purposes. Around Mahakot, sorrounding the fort is a water body (it is dry now). The main entrance is in Mahakot and has eight gates. The third one is Kalakot.

It is believed that this fort, originally known as Deogiri, was built by theRashtrakuta kings, who built the world famous Kailas caves. The earliest recorded history is that Yadav dynasty ruled this fort between 1187 to 1318 AD. In 1294, Alauddin Khilji attacked this fort, but the kingdome remained with the then rulers under a treaty. This was followed by Malik Kafur's attack in 1307 and later by Qutubuddin Mubarak Khilji in 1318.

The most noteworthy monuments inside the fort are Jami Masjid, Bharatmata Mandir, the Chand Minar, Elephant Tank, Royal Places and 'Chini Mahal' or Chinese Palace. 

Built by Ala-ud-din Bahmani in the honor of his conquest of the fort in 1435, the Chand Minar is a 30 m high tower inside the Fort. It was used as a prayer hall and comprised of four storeys. 

'Chini Mahal' or Chinese Palace has a great significance in the history. It is located a little higher than Chand Minar. The last king of Golcunda, Abdul Hasan Tana Shah was imprisoned here for 13 years until his death by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. 

Jami Masjid was built by Qutub-ud-din Mubarak in 1318. It is a mosque inside the fort comprising 106 pillars. 

The large Elephant Tank was the water supply system of the Fort. The water was channeled through the two enormous terracotta pipes from the hills into the fruit and vegetable gardens.