Tughlaqabad Fort

Adrita

Tughlaqabad Fort

When you travel along the Badarpur-Mehrauli route in South Delhi, you will come across scattered signs of a fort, half-broken sloping walls, massive bastions, and shattered arches. These are none other than the ruins of once a great fort built in the fourteenth century– the Tughlaqabad fort.

The Tughlaqabad Fort; image source: Adrita Buragohain

The history of Tughlaqabad Fort is as rich, varied, and intricate as that of any other architectural masterpiece in Delhi. Tughlaqabad was formerly intended to be a walled city for royalty and courtiers, an impenetrable fort guarded at all times against enemy attacks. However, fate had other ideas. It is a tale of a great emperor's power, ambition, and arrogance.

Ghazi Malik was a feudal lord serving the Khilji emperors of Delhi. He began his career as a governor during the rule of Alauddin Khilji. When Mubarak Khilji took over his father's throne, Ghazi Malik once advised the king to build a fort on a hillside in the southern part of Delhi. The king joked that when Ghazi himself becomes the king, he should build the fort on his own. He had no idea that his joke was a prophecy. In 1321, Ghazi Malik drove out the Khiljis, assumed the title of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, and founded the Tughlaq Dynasty.

Ghiyas-ud-din immediately began building his legendary city, which he envisioned as an impenetrable yet magnificent fort to keep the enemies, especially the Mongol invaders at bay. Tughlaqabad fort took four years to build, but it was never fully populated and was abandoned 15 years later.

Some speculate that this was due to a water deficit in the area. But according to the popular legend it was due to the curse of Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya. It is believed that Ghiyasuddin Tughluq was so passionate about building his fantasy fort that he made it mandatory for all Delhi labourers to work on it. So, during that time, the work on Saint Nizamuddin Auliya's baoli (well) was halted, which enraged him and he uttered a curse that echoed throughout history till today.

The saint cursed the fort, saying, "Ya rahey ujjar ya base gujjar," "May the fort remain uninhabited, or else remain occupy by herdsmen" The Empire is said to have failed as a result of this curse, and the fort-city was abandoned soon after.

Today all that remains are the ruins of the fort and hence it is commonly known as the “Ruined Fort”. It is a massive stone building with walls that rise to a height of 10-15 meters. Battlement parapets and bastions adorn the walls. Tughlaqabad's fort-city was supposed to have 52 gates, but only 13 are still standing today each having its own unique style.

The double-story bastions of Tughlaqabad's fort, as well as the tapered rubble-filled walls coated with Delhi quartzite, are a sight to behold. The massive slanting slopes supported the taller walls. The great stairwell at the fort's entrance was built for the elephants to use as they carried royalty inside.

Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq's self-built tomb, which looks like a tiny fortress, is connected to the fort's southern bastion by a causeway. The raised causeway, which is backed by 27 arches and leads through an artificial lake, stretches for 600 feet. The tomb complex includes a red sandstone entryway with a flight of steps leading to it after passing the ancient Peepal tree.

A single domed tomb in a square shape with parapets and sloping sides makes up the mausoleum. The sides are made of smooth reddish sandstone with engraved panels and marble arch borders. A beautifully formed dome sits atop an octagonal drum clad in white marble and slate slabs.

Three burials are located within the mausoleum: one belongs to Ghiyas ud-din Tughluq, while the other two are believed to be those of his wife and his son and successor Muhammad bin Tughluq. Another octagonal tomb of a similar design, with a smaller marble dome and inscribed marble and sandstone slabs over its arched doorways, can be found in the enclosure wall's north-western bastion with its pillared passageways. According to an inscription over the tomb's southern entrance, Zafar Khan is buried here.

Some say Djinns now inhabit the Tughlaqabad fort. Due to dense thorny vegetation, the majority of this great fort is now inaccessible. The modern settlement has taken up a growing portion of the historic city area, particularly around its lakes. The remains of the Adilabad Fort, built years later by Muhammad Bin Tughluq (1325–1351), are visible in the southeast and retain the same building characteristics as the Tughlaqabad fort. Nai ka Kot is another attraction that one can see nearby. It is a fourteenth-century structure that Muhammad Bin Tughlaq is reported to have built for his favorite barber. The nearby Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary is ideal for wildlife photographers and enthusiasts.