Bidar Fort

08.11.2024

Bidar Fort

Why in the news?                        

Recently, the Waqf Board identified 17 monuments inside the historic Bidar Fort in Karnataka as its property.

About Bidar Fort:

• It is situated in Bidar City on the northern plateau of Karnataka, India.
• The history of Bidar Fort dates back over 500 years, starting with the reign of the Western Chalukya dynasty.
• Sultan Ahmed Shah Wali of the Bahmani dynasty made Bidar his capital in 1430 and renovated it as an impressive citadel.

Architecture of the fort:

• It had been built of trap rock. Stone and mortar were used to build the fort walls.
• The entrance gate has a lofty dome, the interior of which had been painted in bright colours.

Bidar Fort includes:

○Islamic and Persian architecture,

○Seven main entrances,

○37 bastions (Balcony structures extending from the fort) of octagonal shape with metal-shielded cannons,

○Mosques and mahals,

○Thirty-plus Islamic monuments.

About Bahmani Kingdom:

• This Kingdom rose to power after the Turkish Governor Ala-ud-din Hassan Bahman Shan established an independent empire by revolting against the Sultan of Delhi Sultanate, Muhammad Bin Tughlaq in 1347.
• Bahmani Kingdom was the first independent Islamic kingdom in South India that rose to power.
• It was established in present-day Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh.
• They set up the capital in Ahsanabad (Gulbarga) between 1347 and 1425 and later moved to Bidar.
• There were a total of fourteen sultans ruling over this kingdom. Among them, Alauddin Bahman Shah, Muhammad Shah I and Firoz Shah were important.
• This kingdom reached its peak under the guidance of Mahmud Gawan, who served with great distinction as Prime Minister of three Bahamni Sultans for about twenty-three years from 1458 to 1481 AD.
• Mahmud Gawan extended the empire by reconquering Goa, which was under the Vijayanagar Empire at the time.
• Around 1518, Krishnadeva Raya of the Vijayanagar Empire defeated the last ruler of the Bahmani Empire.

                                                                        Source: Hindustan Times

The Bidar Fort is located in which one of the following states?

A.Gujarat

B.Madhya Pradesh

C.Maharashtra

D.Karnataka

Answer D