| Loharu Fort | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Status | State protected monument [1] |
| Type | Fort [1] |
| Architectural style | Combination of Rajput, Mughal and British colonial [1] |
| Location | Loharu, Haryana [1] |
| Country | India |
| Completed | 1570 CE [1] |
Loharu Fort, built in 16th century, is a state protected archaeological monument in Loharu town in Haryana state of India. [2] [1] Fort is part of interstate Shekhawati region which lies on the either side of Haryana-Rajasthan border in the sandy bagar tract.
After its foundation in 1570 CE, the control of Loharu fort passed from Shekhawati rulers to Alwar State, then to British raj who gave Loharu State as a jagir to Nawab Ahmed Baksh Khan, nawab of Loharu finally sold it to Government of Haryana (GoH) in 1971. [1]
In 1570 CE, Arjun Singh, thakur of Loharu constructed a mud fort at Loharu and which remain a kaccha mud fort till 1800. [1] Arjun Singh was a descendant of Loharu's founder, Rao Narhar Das. [3]
Rao Shekha , the Shekhawat Kachhwaha rajput ruler of Shekhawati, had originally divided Shekhawati into 33 thikanas, of which Loharu Fort was 33rd.
There have been 2 major battles fought over Loharu Fort. [1] 1671 battle of Loharu or First battle of Loharu was fought in 1671 CE between Madan Singh of Loharu Thikana and the Mughal Governor of Hisar over former's refusal to pay the land revenue to Mughals during the reign of Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707).
The Second battle of Loharu was fought, some time around or after 1770s CE, between the Kirat Singh of Loharu Thikana and Bhopal Singh of Khetri Thikana of Jaipur State who claimed Loharu as part of Khetri. Bhopal Singh was killed in the battle outside Loharu Fort, and a commemorative chhatri was built at the place where he was cremated, which is located nearly 1 km from the fort.
The control of the fort later passed to Alwar State. [1]
In 1803, British gave Loharu and pargana of Ferozepur Jhirka to the Nawab Ahmed Baksh Khan of Loharu State, a princely state under company raj, who then converted the mud fort into a pucca (brick and masonry) fort. Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib was married to "Umrao Begum", niece of Loharu's Nawab, Ahmad Bakhsh Khan, and daughter of his younger brother, Mirza Ilahi Bakhsh Khan. [1]
In 1971, then nawabs of Loharu, Aminuddin Ahmed Khan sold it to the Government of Haryana.
In 2021, GoH announced that the fort will be given the status of a state protected monument. [1]
The Loharu Fort is built on 64 kanal and 18 marla, which is nearly eight acres. Present fort was built by Nawab Ahmed Baksh Khan in 1803 to replace the earlier Shekhwati mud fort constructed in 1570. The present fort combines three styles of architecture, Rajput, Mughal and British colonial. [1]
The Government of Haryana notification about the protected status for the fort states, [1]
"The south-wing of the fort contained the Diwan-e-khas (special royal hall) and the Sheesh Mahal or The Room Of Mirrors, which has Mughal/Rajput style details. The central part of the south wing contained a large Victorian style audience chamber and banquet hall. The right side of the south-wing consisted of the Zanana Mahal along with the kitchens. The left side of the south-wing was purely Mughal architecture. The east-wing was executed in the Delhi Haveli style which was considered very fashionable at the time and was distinct from the Shekhawati Haveli". [1] Since 1971, after being sold to the government of Haryana, the fort remained uninhabited, all of the north-wing collapsed and so did a part of the east-wing. Only the south-wing of the fort (containing the Farukh Manzil) survives in a dilapidated state.
In August 2021 GoH announced that after being given a State protected monument status, the fort will be conserved and developed into a tourist attraction. [1] The details of the subsequent conservation project efforts are awaited by the civic society.
Rajasthan is a state located in northern India. The state covers an area of 342,239 square kilometres (132,139 sq mi) or 10.4 percent of the total geographical area of India. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. Rajasthan is located on the northwestern side of India, where it comprises most of the wide and inhospitable Thar Desert and shares a border with the Pakistani provinces of Punjab to the northwest and Sindh to the west, along the Sutlej-Indus river valley. It is bordered by five other Indian states: Punjab to the north; Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to the northeast; Madhya Pradesh to the southeast; and Gujarat to the southwest. Its geographical location is 23.3 to 30.12 North latitude and 69.30 to 78.17 East longitude, with the Tropic of Cancer passing through the southernmost tip of the state.
Shekhawati is a semi-arid historical region located in the northeast part of Rajasthan, India this region is ruled by Shekhawat Rajput.
Mewat is a historical region of Haryana and Rajasthan states in northwestern India. The loose boundaries of Mewat generally include Hathin tehsil and Nuh district of Haryana, Alwar and Bharatpur districts of Rajasthan, and Chhata Tehsil of Mathura district in Uttar Pradesh. The main centre areas of Mewat are Firozpur Jhirka, Nuh, Ramgarh, Paharisikri and Punahana. Mewat region lies in between Delhi-Jaipur-Agra. In simple words Mewat region consists of Nuh district, eastern part of Alwar district and western part of Bharatpur district. The region roughly corresponds to the ancient kingdom of Matsya, founded in the 5th century BCE. Mewati dialect, a slight variant of the Haryanvi and Rajasthani dialects of Hindi, is spoken in rural areas of the region. Mewati Gharana is a distinctive style of Indian classical music.
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Nawab Qasim Jan was a courtier in the royal courts of Mughal Delhi. He first lived in Lahore, attached to the court of the Governor, Moin-ul-Mulk, in the 1750s, thereafter he moved to Delhi, and joined the court of Delhi, in reign of Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam II.
Haryana is a state in India. The Haryana dates back thousands of years. The state houses several sites from the Indus Valley Civilization, which was a cradle of civilization. In the Mahabharata, Haryana is mentioned as Bahudanayak Region.
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Loharu State was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. It was part of the Punjab States Agency and was a nine-gun salute state.
Madhogarh Fort is located on top of Madhogarh Hill in the Aravalli mountain range, near Madhogarh village, in the Mahendragarh district of Haryana state in India. It is located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from Mahendragarh, reachable via Satnali Chowk or via Mahendragarh- Satnali- Loharu road.
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Coordinates: 28°25′49″N75°48′27″E / 28.43028°N 75.80750°E
