Golkonda also known as Golla konda (shepherd's hill) a ruined city of south India and capital of ancient Kingdom of Golkonda (c.1518–1687), is situated 11 km west of Hyderabad. It is also a mandal of Hyderabad District. The region is universally famous for the mines that have produced the world's most famous and coveted gems, including The Hope Diamond, Idol's Eye, The Koh-i-Noor and Darya-i-Noor.
The most important builder of Golkonda was Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah Wali, the fourth Qutub king of the Qutub Shahi Dynasty. Ibrahim was following in the spirit of his ancestors, the Qutub Shahi kings, a great family of builders who had ruled the kingdom of Golkonda from 1512. Their first capital, the fortress citadel of Golkonda, was rebuilt for defense from invading Mughals from the north. They laid out Golkonda's splendid monuments, now in ruins, and designed a perfect acoustical system by which a hand clap sounded at the fort's main gates, the grand portico, was heard at the top of the citadel, situated on a 300-foot (91 m)-high granite hill. This is one of the fascinating features of the fort.
They ruled over most of present day Andhra Pradesh before the British Raj. After transferring Northern Circars to British, they ruled the Telanganaregion and some parts of present day Karnataka and Maharashtra.
There are nine villages in Golkoda Mandal:
- Dargah Hussain Shahwali
- Golconda
- Hyder Shah Kote
- Ibrahim Bagh Lines
- Kakatiya Nagar
- Lunger House
- Nanakramguda
- Sakkubai Nagar
- Toli Chowki
History
The 13th century Golkonda Fort was built by the Kakatiyas. The Kakatiya’s ascent to power can be traced to the reign of the Western Chalukyas. Kakartya Gundyana, a subordinate of the Eastern Chalukyan monarch, Amma II (945 CE-970 CE), established the Kakatiya dynasty.[2] The dynasty's name comes either from its association with a town known as Kakatipura (since the kings bore the title “Kakatipuravallabha”) or from their worship of a goddess called Kakati. A temple dedicated to goddess Kakatamma exists in Warangal so Kakatipura could be another name for Warangal itself. Kakatiyas' ancestors belonged to the Durjaya family.[3]
In the 16th century, Golkonda was the capital city of the Qutb Shahi kingdom, near Hyderabad. The city was home to one of the most powerful Muslim sultanates of the region and was the flourishing center of diamond trade.
The city and fortress are built on a granite hill that is 120 meters (400 ft) high and is surrounded by massive crenelated ramparts. The beginnings of the fort date to 1143, when the Hindu Kakatiya dynasty ruled the area. The Kakatiya dynasty were followed by the state of Warangal, which was later conquered by the Islamic Bahmani Sultanat. The fort became the capital of a major province in the Sultanate and after its collapse the capital of theQutb Shahi kings. The fort finally fell into ruins after a siege and its fall to Mughal emperor Aurangazeb.
After the collapse of the Bahmani Sultanat, Golkonda rose to prominence as the seat of the Qutb Shahi dynasty around 1507. Over a period of 62 years the mud fort was expanded by the first three Qutb Shahi kings into a massive fort of granite, extending around 5 km in circumference. It remained the capital of the Qutb Shahi dynasty until 1590 when the capital was shifted to Hyderabad. The Qutb Shahis expanded the fort, whose 7 km outer wall enclosed the city. The state became a focal point for Shia Islam in India, for instance in the 17th century Bahraini clerics, Sheikh Ja`far bin Kamal al-Din and Sheikh Salih Al-Karzakani both emigrated to Golkonda.[4]
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