The Legend and History of the Attur Fort

Muskaan Gupta

The Legend and History of the Attur Fort

Attur Fort, located in the Salem district of Tamil Nadu, is a lesser-known historic landmark. What is the cultural, mythological, and historical significance of this mysterious marvel?

A building in the Attur Fort, Source-Wikipedia

About 56 kilometers from Salem, along the banks of the Vashishta River, is a long-forgotten historic fort—Attur Fort speaks of a long history of dynasties, wars, and conquests as well as popular folklore and mythologies.

According to the Puranic scriptures, Thirthagiri founded a dynasty here during the Kaliyuga and handed its authority to Ananthagiri, from whom the name ‘Attur’ is derived. Attur was a component of Kongu Nadu, which was ruled initially by the Chera dynasty during the Sangam Age.

Attur is located in the Western Ghats. In the first century, because of the famed Roman trade route that ran from the port of Arikamedu on India's east coast to Muziris on the west coast, Attur thrived as a result of the booming trade.

By the tenth century, Attur had come under the control of the Chola Empire, and by the fifteenth century, it had fallen under the control of the Vijayanagara Empire. After the Vijayanagara Empire fell apart in 1565 at the Battle of Talikotta, the Madurai Nayaks, erstwhile military governors of the Vijayanagara Empire, became the real leaders of this region. Ramachandra Nayakar, a Polygar feudatory under the Madurai Nayaks and a descendant of the Gatti Mudaliar dynasty, is said to have erected this minor fort between 1580 and 1650. His authority, which was centred at Taramangalam, extended to the modern-day districts of Salem, Karur, Erode, and Coimbatore.

The fort, its base a perfect rectangle, was surrounded by superb natural defences—the Vashishta River in the east, moats in the west, and ditches on the other two sides. The fort's trenches were built in a way that they were filled by river water from the south, which then joined the course downstream. The fort was secured by stone walls that were 30 feet high and 15 feet wide. The fort had a harem, a court, and a roof supported by pillars with pointed, obtuse arches. A rather conspicuous element of the fort was the watergate for the fort's pool house, one of the many luxuries of the royal family.

The fort covers an area of about 62 acres, and its architecture and opulence are a great feat—the walls, whose building material is said to have come from the Kalladithankundru, are adorned with wedge-shaped cut-stones that are set without mortar. The fort consists of two magazine points, two palaces, a court, three treasuries, and three temples.

What also enriches the fort is its long and quite dramatic history. As a consequence of many battles fought between the Mysore Kingdom and the Thirumalai Nayaks of Madurai, Attur Fort was annexed by the Mysore monarchs in the late seventeenth century. It was used primarily as a watchtower and an arsenal under the rule of the Wodeyars and of Hyder Ali of Mysore and saw no significant additions.

When the Mysore monarch Kantireva Narasa Raja Wodeyar captured certain regions from the Gatti Mudaliars in 1641, he captured the fort as well. Dodda Deva Raja Wodeyar seized the remaining regions in 1667, renaming Attur as 'Attur Ananthagiri.’ In 1761, the fort and the surrounding region became the property of Hyder Ali, who displaced the Wodeyar ruler from his throne.

When the First Anglo-Mysore War broke out between the East India Company and Sultanate of Mysore in 1767, a cat-and-mouse game ensued between the company's soldiers and the united armies of the Mysore monarch Hyder Ali and Nizam Asaf Jah II. The company, in order to break the coalition, secretly signed a pact with the Nizam on February 23, 1768. Consequently, the Nizam left the battle and retired to his royal court, deserting Hyder Ali in the battlefield.

After being deserted, Hyder Ali initiated assaults in Bangalore and the surrounding districts. Nevertheless, he suffered significant setbacks, including the fall of Attur Fort to Wood, a member of the Madras Council. A year later, however, on March 29, 1769, he signed the Treaty of Madras, which terminated the war. One of the things Hyder Ali was able to reclaim through the treaty was Attur Fort, which he needed as a defence against the East India Company's expanding power.

However, the Third Anglo-Mysore War, followed by the Treaty of Seringapatnam in 1792, resulted in the Attur Fort, among many others, ceding to the East India Company. The 23rd Madras Battalion was stationed at Attur Fort following the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799, when the British acquired control of the Mysore area. It was designated an ordnance station on Lord Richard Wellesley's advice and served as a significant military outpost until 1854. This is when the British erected two bomb-proof cells and one of the courts within the fort was converted into a Roman Catholic chapel. Additional bastions were constructed, and the tombs of several British officers were included. The fort ceased to function as an active stronghold after 1854, and the area was included in the newly created Salem District under the Madras Presidency.

At present, the fort is under the authority of the Archaeological Survey of India. Its once-strong walls are now steadily collapsing, and except for a few structures that are looked after, much of the fort has been overtaken by slums and other encroachers. Nevertheless, the Attur Fort continues to remain a testament to Tamil Nadu's rich cultural history and is a must see for anybody interested in the history and architecture of the region.