Gulbarga Fort

The early history of the region dates back to the 6th century when the Rashtrakutas ruled over the external areas, except Gulbarga. The Chalukyas won back their domain and ruled for over two hundred years. The Kalachuris of Kalyani succeeded them and ruled till the 12th century. At the end of the 12th century, it came under the reign of the Yadavas of Devagiri and the Hoysalas of Halebid. During this period, the Kakatiya dynasty, kings of Warangal were also powerful and took control of the present-day Kalaburagi district and Raichur district.[4][5]

The Kakatiya power was subdued in 1321, and the northern Deccan, including the district of Gulbarga, passed under the control of the Sultanate of Delhi.[4][5]

In the early 14th century, the Deccan was occupied by Muhammad bin Tughluq of the Delhi Sultanate, which included Gulbarga. The revolt of the Muslim officers appointed from Delhi resulted in the founding of the Bahmani Sultanate in 1347 by Alauddin Hassan, who chose Gulbarga (named as 'Ahsenabad' during this period) to be his capital. Gulbarga was the capital of the Bahmani kingdom (1347–1527) (with headquarters at the Gulbarga Fort), a newly founded independent state, until 1424 when the capital was transferred to Bidar. It is said that with the establishment of the Bahmani Kingdom, the Muslim rule took firm roots in the Deccan. Ahmad Shah Wali Bahmani had inducted immigrants from Iraq, Iran and Central Asia, which changed the social, cultural and religious life in the Deccan but was well amalgamated with Hindu traditions.[1][4][5][6][7]

The fort was razed to the ground by the Vijayanagar Emperor but was subsequently rebuilt by the Adil Shah dynasty or Bijapur Sultanate, when the Vijayanagar empire was defeated in battle of talikota. [8]

The Bahmanis ruled over most of the Deccan until the late 15th and early 16th century, when the kingdom was divided into five independent states.[5][7][9][10]

The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb (1658–1707) captured the fort in the 17th century (1687) and appointed Asaf Jah I ("Nizam-ul-Mulk") as the governor of the Deccan. In the early part of the 18th century, when Mughal Empire was declining, the Nizam became independent in 1724, and formed the Hyderabad State, of which Gulbarga area was a part.[4][5][9]

The fort and the Gulbarga district were a part of Kingdom of Hyderabad under the Nizams rule. After India became independent in August 1947, Hyderabad state was annexed to the Indian union in 1948. In 1956, the Indian state of Hyderabad was partitioned among neighbouring states along linguistic lines and renamed as Andhra Pradesh (now Telangana). Most of the Gulbarga district became part of the then Mysore State, later renamed Karnataka, excluding two taluks, which were given to Andhra Pradesh.[3]

It is located on a plateau land in the northeastern part of Karnataka. Krishna River and Bhima River drain the district. The soil formation in the region is predominantly of black cotton soil.[3][4][11]

Fort is in the drought prone district and experiences a meagre average rainfall of 777 millimetres (30.6 in) with only 46 normal rainy days.[4]

Climate is dry and cold in the winter but summer is hot. South west monsoon brings rains. Temperature during summer is a high of 45 °C (113 °F), the minimum recorded in winter is 5 °C (41 °F).[3][4][11]

With the establishment of the Bahmani Kingdom in the Deccan from 1347, the architectural styles of the Persian architecture of Iran made impressive and lasting impacts, which are seen in the fort. The mosques, arches, gardens, and the palaces were built within and also outside the fort in the Kalaburagi town. Within the fort, the buildings built are impressive with Indo-Persian architecture that evolved in the Deccan. Professor Desai has observed:

A distinct Indo-Persian architectural style of Deccan came into existence after the establishment of the Bahmani dynasty in 1347.

Some of the important structures built are elaborated.[12]

Tomb of Khaja Bande Nawaz

Dargah of Khaja Banda Nawaz

Apart from the above monuments the other building of interest is the tomb of the Sufi saint Syed Mohammad Gesu Daraz, popularly known as Khwaja Bande Nawaz, built in the Indo-Saracenic style. It is a large complex where the tomb of the Sufi saint, who came to Gulbarga in 1413, exists. The tomb walls have paintings; the arches of the Dargah are in Bahmani architecture while the paintings on the walls and ceiling have a fusion of Turkish and Irani influence. The Mughals also built a mosque close to the tomb. An annual fair or Urs is held here in November, which attracts large number of devotees of all religious communities.

According to painter and scholar Rehman Patel, who provided the photograph and other details of the Feroze Shah lake, says that this rare photograph finds a place in the album that was made for the Nizam.

A study of the 19th Century photographs in India would be incomplete without a study of the prolific works of photographs by Raja Lal Deen Dayal. At a time when the world of the photograph was dominated by British and European photographers, Mr. Dayal was the sole Indian who photographed extensively and was immensely sought-after.

The sixth Nizam Mir Mahboob Ali Khan had conferred the prestigious ‘Musawwir Jung Raja Bahadur’ or ‘Bold Warrior of Photography’ title on Mr. Dayal.[5][18][19]

Kalaburagi is well connected by air, railway lines and roads.[3] It is an important rail head on the Central Southern Railway zone line connecting to Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad.

It is well connected by National Highways with Bangalore and Hyderabad, which are 610 kilometres (380 mi) and 225 kilometres (140 mi) away respectively, from Kalaburagi. Road distances to other cities within the state are: Basavakalyan-80 kilometres (50 mi), Bidar -120 kilometres (75 mi), Raichur - 155 kilometres (96 mi) and Bijapur - 160 kilometres (99 mi).[3]

Kalaburagi Airport is the nearest airport.

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  Arches Inside the Jama Mosque
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  Arches Inside the Jama Mosque
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  Jama Masjid interior
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  Long interior architectural view of the Jama Masjid