Information on Bijapur Fort (Bijapur, Karnataka) - History & Architecture

Bijapur Fort is located in the district of Bijapur in the state of Karnataka, in south India. It is also known as Vijapur kote in Kanada language. It as built in a successful manner during the rule of Adil Shahi Dynasty. This particular fort largely has a plethora of historical monuments of architectural significance. It is to be remembered that for approximately 200 years, the Adil Shahi Sultans ruled this region. Bijapur is rightly known as the Agra of South India because of the majestic fort and surrounding town with medieval style residential buildings and other prominent structures.

Bijapur Fort Architecture

Bijapur Fort and other prominent structures on the Bijapur Fort largely reflect the architectural style of Ottoman Turkish, Persian and the Allied arts. This Fort is studded with beautiful palace, tombs, mosques and gardens. It is to be highly noted that Adil Shahis had great in unique architectural patterns and styles that was grandly followed during their period. Within the vicinity of the Fort lies the Jumma Masjid or Jamia masjid, Arkilla or Citadel, The tomb of Ibrahim Rozaor or Ali Rauza, The Gagan Mahal Palace, Taj Bavdo or Chand Bawdi, Jal Mahal, Malikah-e-Jahan Mosque and Dilkusha Mahal or Mahatar Mahal. He also built the Dattatreya temple that comprises a pair of foot sandals of Saint Narasimha Saraswati to the western side of the citadel.

According to the historians, the fort and the citadel as build in 1565 by Yusuf Adil Shah. In two perfect concentric circles, they were built with a lot of perfection. At the middle of the two concentric circles is the citadel that has a circumferential measurement length of nearly 1,300 ft or 400 metres. The Fort's east west axis measures about 1.9 miles or 3 kilometers. On the other hand, the outer wall of the fort encloses the old Bijapur city with measurement of approximately 6.2 miles or 10 kilometers. There are nearly ninety-six bastions of different sizes and various designs which make this fort really strong. There are five gateways for this fort. They are the Fateh gate, the Allahpur gate, the Bahmani gate, the Shahapur gate and the Makka gate. The height of the Fort walls largely varies from 15 to 50 feet.

Bijapur Fort History

Yusuf Adil Shah, the Sultan of Turkey and son of Murad II, had joined the Bidar court under the then Sultan Mohammed III of the sultanate in 1481. Mahmud Gavan, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom had actually purchased him as slave. Later, he was directly appointed as Bijapur's Governor because of his bravery and loyalty displayed in the active strong defense of the kingdom. The Faroukh Mahal, the fort and the citadel were built during his period with the assistance of skilled artisans and architects from Italy, Turkey and Persia.

Yusuf established the Adil Shahi dynasty in 1489. Bijapur Sultanate was one of the five kingdoms of this empire. In 1510, Ibrahim Adil Shah, son of Yusuf Adil Shah succeeded his father. He built the Jami Masjid within the fort premises. Ali Adil Shah I succeeded Ibrahim Adil. He built the Gagan Mahal, Chand Bawdi, Ali Rauza and the Jami Masjid. He was succeeded by his nephew Ibrahim II. He was a secular King who built the Ganapathi and Saraswati temples within the fort premises.

In 1646, Ali Adil Shah II who was the adopted son of the king came to power. The dynasty control later weakened. The Maratha ruler, Shivaji attacked Bijapur many times. Aurangzeb annexed finally the kingdom in the year 1686. Later it fell in the hands of the British after the end of the Mughal rule in 1877.

Bijapur Fort Tourism Importance

The Malik-i-Maidan is located on the fort's western ramparts in between the two bastions. It is locally known as Burj-E-Sherz or the Master of the Battlefield. It was actually named after the Battle of Talikota of 1565 and erected by Ibrahim Adil Shah II. Domestic and foreign tourists can get good glimpses and idea about the Adil Shahi Dynasty by visiting these places.