This article needs additional citations for verification .(August 2011) |
Siege of Golconda (1687) | |||||||||
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Part of Mughal conquests in the Deccan | |||||||||
Painting of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb at the Siege of Golconda Fort, c. 1760 | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Mughal Empire | Qutb Shahi dynasty | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Aurangzeb Kilich Khan † Feroze Jung I Anup Singh Mir Jumla II Shaista Khan Munnawar Khan Lutfullah Khan | Abul Hasan Qutb Shah Muqarrab Khan [2] (defector) | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
90,000 – 120,000 men 240 cannons 50,000 cavalry | 35,000 men 110 cannons 10,000 cavalry | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
1,000 killed or wounded | 5,000 killed or wounded |
The siege of Golconda was a siege of Golconda Fort between the Qutb Shahi dynasty and the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, occurring in January 1687, lasting 8 months. The fort was home of the Kollur Mine. The Golconda Fort was considered to be an impregnable fort on the Indian subcontinent. [3] At the end of the siege, Aurangzeb and the Mughals entered Golconda victorious.
After conquering two Muslim kingdoms, the Nizamshahis of Ahmednagar and the Adilshahis of Bijapur, the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb assembled an army and began the siege on Golconda Fort. [4] Aurangzeb assigned Mir Jumla who had previously served Golconda until 1655 and later joined the Mughals.
Ghaziuddin Khan Siddiqi Firuz Jang, son of Khwaja Abid Siddiqi Kilich Khan and father of Nizam I of Hyderabad, Qamaruddin Khan Siddiqi, was assigned to bombard the walls of the fort using almost 100 cannons. [5]
The Mughal admiral Munnawar Khan was assigned to deliver food and weapons to the besieging Mughal army. The general Dilir Khan was assigned to command the Matchlock Sepoys that tried to penetrate the defenses of Golconda Fort. While Shaista Khan, Murshid Quli Khan and Ibrahim Khan commanded the rest of the army and its reserves around Golconda Fort and throughout all the Qutb Shahi territory. [6] Anup Singh, who led the final Mughal charge against Golconda. [7]
Qutb Shahi ruler of Golconda, Abul Hasan Qutb Shah refused to surrender to the Mughals. He and his servicemen fortified themselves at Golconda Fort, and fiercely protected the Kollur Mine, which was then the world's only diamond mine. His most experienced Golconda commander, Muqarrab Khan, defected to the Mughals. [2] The Qutb Shahis had constructed massive fortifications throughout successive generations on a granite hill over 400 feet high with an enormous 8-mile wall enclosing the city. The main gates of Golconda was able to repulse any war elephant attack, as they had iron spikes on the gates to deter the advancing Mughal elephants.
In January 1687, Aurangzeb led his Mughal army against the Deccan Qutb Shahi ruler taking refuge in Golconda Fort. Aurangzeb had surrounded Golconda Fort and alongside about 100 cannons began siege operations. In order to breach the granite walls of Golconda Fort, Firuz Jang was appointed to utilize the massive Rahban, Fateh Rahber and the cannon known as the Azhdaha-Paikar (python body). It had the ability to shoot cannonballs weighing over 50 kg. In response to the Mughal bombardment, Abul Hasan Qutb Shah fired from his high-vicinity mortar called the Pata Burj. According to Saqi Mustad Khan, bamboo rockets were also utilized day and night on Mughal encampments. [8]
Meanwhile, due to heavy rains, the Manjera River overflowed its banks and the scarcity of food supplies became a severe complication, leading to the death of many animals and caused malnourished troops to get ill. Fearing a possible counterattack organized from the fort, Aurangzeb ordered the construction of a fortified position made of wood and mud, which would house and organize Mughal attacking parties.
The intense cannon fire from Golconda Fort against the approaching Mughals eventually caused the death of the experienced Mughal commander Kilich Khan Khwaja Abid Siddiqi. Aurangzeb was furthermore grieved by the death of his long-time commander Gaziuddin Khan Siddiqi Bahadur Firuz Jang, who died of natural causes.
At night, Aurangzeb's infantry assembled and erected scaffolding that allowed them to scale the high walls of the fort. Aurangzeb also ordered his men to throw huqqa (grenades) [9] while scaling the fortified wall and were reinforced by matchlocks and composite bows. While most of these attacks remained largely unsuccessful, they managed to demoralize the defenders of Golconda Fort.[ citation needed ] During the eight-month siege the Mughals faced small-scale famines, often for weeks at a time. Whenever the Mughal Admiral Munnawar Khan arrived with supplies and weapons with his river fleet, Aurangzeb would intensify the siege. [10]
While the Qutb Shahis maintained strong efforts defending their walls, the siege overwhelmed the officials in service of the Qutb Shahis. Sarandaz Khan revealed a back door that led into the fort and opened the gates that allows the Aurangzeb's army to enter.
The Mughal army, led by Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung I, the son of the fallen Kilich Khan Khwaja Abid Siddiqi, was among the first to enter the gates. He immediately charged towards the citadel of Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, eventually taking him prisoner by surprise. Firuz Jang and his forces occupied Kollur Mine and the Mughal reserves disarmed the defenders of the fort and paved their way for the entry of victorious Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Golconda Fort was later repaired and armed with superior cannons. Shaista Khan is known to have spared the Qutb Shahi servicemen. The ruler of Golconda, Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, however, was imprisoned in Daulatabad Fort by the orders of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.
After the capture Anup Singh, who led the final Mughal charge against Golconda, was granted the title Maharaja by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. [7] [11] Aurangzeb also granted him the royal honour of Mahi Maratib , and raised his mansabdar rank, first to 3500, and then to 5000. [12]
The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and his army managed to penetrate the walls by capturing a gate. This resulted in the Qutb Shahis of Golconda and the ruler Abul Hasan Qutb Shah surrendering peacefully and handing over the Nur-Ul-Ain Diamond, Great Stone Diamond, Kara Diamond, Darya-e-Nur, the Hope Diamond, the Wittelsbach Diamond and the Regent Diamond.[ citation needed ] The Golconda Sultanate was incorporated as a subah , or province of the Mughal Empire, called Hyderabad Subah. [13]
The Deccan sultanates is a historiographical term referring to five late medieval to early modern Indian kingdoms on the Deccan Plateau between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range that were created from the disintegration of the Bahmani Sultanate and ruled by Muslim dynasties: namely Ahmadnagar, Berar, Bidar, Bijapur, and Golconda. The five sultanates owed their existence to the declaration of independence of Ahmadnagar in 1490, which was followed by Bijapur and Berar in the same year. Bidar became independent in c. 1492, and Golconda in 1512.
The Sultanate of Golconda was an early modern kingdom in southern India, ruled by the Persianate, Shia Islamic Qutb Shahi dynasty of Turkoman origin. After the decline of the Bahmani Sultanate, the Sultanate of Golconda was established in 1512 by Quli Qutb Shah, as one of the five Deccan sultanates.
Abdullah Qutb Shah was the seventh ruler of the kingdom of Golconda in southern India under the Qutb Shahi dynasty. He ruled from 1626 to 1672.
Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, also known as Abul Hasan Tana Shah was the eighth and last ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, sovereign of the Kingdom of Golconda in South India. He ruled from 1672 to 1686. The last Sultan of this Shia Islamic dynasty, Tana Shah is remembered as an inclusive ruler. Instead of appointing only Muslims as ministers, he appointed Brahmin Hindus such as Madanna and Akkanna brothers as ministers in charge of tax collection and exchequer. Towards the end of his reign, one of his Muslim generals defected to the Mughal Empire, who then complained to Aurangzeb about the rising power of the Hindus as ministers in his Golconda Sultanate. Aurangzeb sent a regiment led by his son, who beheaded Tana Shah's Hindu ministers and plundered the Sultanate. In 1687, Aurangzeb ordered an arrest of Tana Shah, who was then imprisoned at the Daulatabad Fort. He died in prison in 1699.
Golconda is a fortified citadel and ruined city located on the western outskirts of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparudra in the 11th century out of mud walls. It was ceded to the Bahmani Kings from Musunuri Nayakas during the reign of the Bahmani Sultan Mohammed Shah I, during the first Bahmani-Vijayanagar War. Following the death of Sultan Mahmood Shah, the Sultanate disintegrated and Sultan Quli, who had been appointed as the Governor of Hyderabad by the Bahmani Kings, fortified the city and made it the capital of the Golconda Sultanate. Because of the vicinity of diamond mines, especially Kollur Mine, Golconda flourished as a trade centre of large diamonds known as Golconda Diamonds. Golconda fort is currently abandoned and in ruins. The complex was put by UNESCO on its "tentative list" to become a World Heritage Site in 2014, with other forts in the region, under the name Monuments and Forts of the Deccan Sultanate.
The Qutub Shahi Tombs are located in the Ibrahim Bagh, close to the famous Golconda Fort in Hyderabad, India. They contain the tombs and mosques built by the various kings of the Qutub Shahi dynasty. The galleries of the smaller tombs are of a single storey while the larger ones are two-storied. In the centre of each tomb is a sarcophagus which overlies the actual burial vault in a crypt below. The domes were originally overlaid with blue and green tiles, of which only a few pieces now remain.
Toli chowki is a neighbourhood in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The name Tolichowki comes from the Urdu word 'Toli', meaning 'troupe', and 'Chowki', meaning 'post'. It is close to the IT corridor like Gachibowli, Madhapur, Manikonda and Kondapur, hence making it a preferred residential for people working in the IT industry. The real estate sector has received a boost due to its proximity to high-end technology firms. Tolichowki has also had a boost in the restaurant and fast food industry. It is known to attract many customers from all around due to having multi-cuisine meals all around the area. There has been an emergence of Arab cuisine in the area due to Middle Eastern people's moving in the area for medical or academic purposes. This in return has improved Tolichowki's market value for foreigners
Khawaja Abid Khan Siddiqi, or Nawab Khawaja Abid Siddiqi, better known as Kilich Khan, was a Nawab and military general under Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. He was a loyal general of the Mughal Empire. He was the father of the Mughal general Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung I and the grandfather of Mir Qamar-ud-din Siddiqi, Asaf Jah I. Kilich Khan was a descendant of Abu Bakr, first Rashidun caliph.
Mir Shihab-ud-Din Siddiqi, known by his title Ghaziuddin Khan, was a leading military general and noble of Central Asian origin in the Mughal Empire. He was a favoured member of emperor Aurangzeb's court, and the father of Chin Qilich Khan, founder of Hyderabad State. Under Aurangzeb, he distinguished himself in key battles over the Deccan, and held the governorship of Berar Subah. He briefly served as the governor of Gujarat Subah during the reign of Aurangzeb's successor Bahadur Shah, and died in office. He is buried in a madrasa complex he founded during his lifetime, known as Madrasa Ghaziuddin Khan, which is located in Old Delhi.
Madanna and Akkanna were two Brahmin brothers who rose to prominence in the 17th-century in the final two decades of the Golkonda sultanate. They helped Abul Hasan Qutb Shah come to power, who appointed them as ministers in his court. He made them responsible for collecting jizya taxes from the Hindus – predominant part of the Sultanate's population. By the 1680s, according to the colonial era Dutch India archives, they controlled all the tax collection and the exchequer of the Golkonda Sultanate. According to Gijs Kruijtzer – a historian specializing in Deccan Sultanates, the Madanna and Akkanna brothers can be viewed as early "nationalists" seeking the welfare of their people and the general public. They can also be viewed as "communalists" who criticized the Muslim elites as exploitative who do not care about non-Muslims, who serve the interest of their holy land in Arabia, and seek personal gain. The two brothers spent the taxes they collected in Golconda on the "welfare of the public", states Kruijtzer, which included furthering trade with the colonial Dutch, building public sarai, as well as restoring and building temples.
Naya Qila is an extended portion of Golkonda Fort in Hyderabad, India. It was built in 1656 by Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah as further defence for the Mughal armies. This integral part of the Golkonda fort contains many historic structures. There are strange figures and animals worked out of stone and stucco on the walls of the outer fort facing the Naya Qila. It is one of the least explored heritage sites of India, partly because it has become part of a golf course, which makes access for visitors complicated.
The siege of Bijapur began in March 1685 and ended in September 1686 with a Mughal victory. The siege began when Aurangzeb dispatched his son, Muhammad Azam Shah, with a force of nearly 50,000 men to capture Bijapur Fort and defeat Sikandar Adil Shah, the then Sultan of Bijapur, who refused to be a vassal of the Mughal Empire. The siege of Bijapur was among the longest military engagements of the Mughals, lasting more than 15 months until Aurangzeb personally arrived to organise a victory.
Muqarrab Khan of Golconda, also known as Khan Zaman Fath Jang Dakhini, was an Indian Deccani Muslim, who was the most experienced commander of Qutb Shahi Dynasty, during the reign of Abul Hasan Qutb Shah. He is known for betraying Abul Hasan Qutb Shah during Siege of Golconda. He arrested Maratha Emperor Sambhaji at Sangameshwar.
During the final Siege of Wagingera, the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb sent for Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung who arrived on March 27, and the next day attacked Lal Tikri Hillock which was lost to the Bedars in the early days of the siege and retook it. The Bedars retreated to the village at the foot of Talwargera and began operating from behind its mud wall. Many Rajputs fell in this daring attack. But Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung did not stop there. He sent Rao Dalpat Bundela to another mound which was taken and the Bedars fled to the village of Dhedpura, where he was ambushed. But Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung held his position. A few days afterwards Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung made a strategic move and captured the wells from where the Bedars used to draw their water. He attacked Talwargera on April 27 taking the village.
Hyderabad is the capital of the Indian state of Telangana. It is a historic city noted for its many monuments, temples, mosques and bazaars. A multitude of influences have shaped the character of the city in the last 400 years.
The history of Telangana, located on the high Deccan Plateau, includes its being ruled by the Satavahana Dynasty, the Kakatiya Dynasty (1083–1323), the Musunuri Nayaks (1326–1356), the Delhi Sultanate, the Bahmani Sultanate (1347–1512), Golconda Sultanate (1512–1687) and Asaf Jahi dynasty (1724–1950).
Mubariz Khan was the Mughal governor of Gujarat and Hyderabad Subah. He was the governor of Golconda from 1713 to 1724 until he was killed during the Battle of Shakar Kheda where he fought against Nizam-ul-Mulk, Asaf Jah I. His is known to have ruled Golconda with a free hand and brought it under stable rule from constant Maratha Raids to extract Chauth. He is generally described as a proto-dynastic figure by John F. Richards.
Khwaja Sabir, Nasiri Khan or Khan-i-Dauran was an Indian Muslim viceroy of the Deccan and one of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s leading sardars. He received the title "Khan Dauran" during the conquest of Daulatabad. He died in Lahore in 1645 from a knife wound from his own attendant, a Kashmiri Brahmin. He hald the rank of 7,000 horse.
Hyderabad Subah, also known as Golconda Subah, was a province of the Mughal Empire encompassing the eastern Deccan region of the Indian subcontinent. It was created in 1687, during the reign of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, by the annexation of the Golconda Sultanate. Hyderabad Subah later began to secede in the 18th century, as the Mughal Empire declined, and became fully independent as part of the Nizam-administered Deccan.
Mir Bahadur Dil, known by the title Jan Sipar Khan, was a noble of the Mughal Empire. He was active during the reign of emperor Aurangzeb, and held offices in the Deccan region of the empire. His most notable position was in the Mughal province of Hyderabad Subah, where he served as its first permanent subahdar (governor) for twelve years, dying in office.