Golconda is a fortified citadel and ruined city located on the western outskirts of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparudra in the 11th century out of mud walls. It was ceded to the Bahmani Kings from Musunuri Nayakas during the reign of Bahmani Sultan Mohammed Shah I, during the first Bahmani-Vijayanagar War. Following the death of Sultan Mahmood Shah, the Sultanate disintegrated and Sultan Quli, who had been appointed as the Governor of Hyderabad by the Bahmani Kings, fortified the city and made it the capital of the Golconda Sultanate. Because of the vicinity of diamond mines, especially Kollur Mine, Golconda flourished as a trade centre of large diamonds known as Golconda Diamonds. Golconda fort is currently abandoned and in ruins. The complex was put by UNESCO on its "tentative list" to become a World Heritage Site in 2014, with other forts in the region, under the name Monuments and Forts of the Deccan Sultanate (despite there being a number of different sultanates).
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Golconda Fort in the context of Hyderabad
Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies 650 km (250 sq mi) on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of 536 m (1,759 ft), much of Hyderabad is situated on hilly terrain around artificial lakes, including the Hussain Sagar lake, predating the city's founding, in the north of the city centre. According to the 2011 census of India, Hyderabad is the fourth-most populous city in India with a population of 6.9 million residents within the city limits, and has a population of 9.7 million residents in the metropolitan region, making it the sixth-most populous metropolitan area in India.
The Qutb Shahi dynasty's Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah established Hyderabad in 1591 to extend the capital beyond the fortified Golconda. In 1687, the city was annexed by the Mughals. In 1724, Asaf Jah I, the Mughal viceroy, declared his sovereignty and founded the Asaf Jahi dynasty, also known as the Nizams. Hyderabad served as the imperial capital of the Asaf Jahis from 1769 to 1948. As the capital of the princely state of Hyderabad, the city housed the British Residency and cantonment until Indian independence in 1947. Hyderabad was annexed by the Indian Union in 1948 and continued as a capital of Hyderabad State from 1948 to 1956. After the introduction of the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, Hyderabad was made the capital of the newly formed Andhra Pradesh. In 2014, Andhra Pradesh was split to form the state of Telangana, and Hyderabad became the joint capital of the two states until 2024. Since 1956, the city has housed the Rashtrapati Nilayam, the winter office of the president of India.
Golconda Fort in the context of Siege of Golconda
The siege of Golconda (1687 CE) was an eight-month military siege of the Golconda Fort (in present-day Telangana, India). This siege was personally directed by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb against the Golconda Sultanate, ruled by king Abul Hasan Qutb Shah. It was the second Mughal siege of the fort, following an aborted attempt by Aurangzeb in 1656 as a prince of emperor Shah Jahan. The event served as the climax of the Golconda Sultanate, which was annexed into the Mughal Empire as a result of the victory of the siege. The military confrontation was one of the final stages in the Mughal Empire's expansion southwards in the Indian subcontinent.
The siege was lengthy and laborious, hampered by the strength of the fort, environmental conditions, and dissent within the Mughal administration. The siege was won only through treachery. It exacerbated drought, famine and epidemic in the region.
Golconda Fort in the context of Shia Islam in Pakistan
Shia Islam was brought to the Indian subcontinent during the final years of the Rashidun Caliphate. The Indian subcontinent also served as a refuge for some Shias escaping persecution from Umayyads, Abbasids, Ayyubids, and Ottomans. The immigration continued throughout the second millennium until the formation of modern nation-states. Shi'ism also won converts among the local population.
Shia Islam has a long history and deep roots in the subcontinent. However, the earliest major political influence was that of the Shia dynasties in Deccan. It was here that the indigenous and distinct Shia culture took shape. After the conquest of Golconda by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in the 17th century and subsequent establishment of hereditary governorship in Awadh after his death, Lucknow became the nerve center of Indian Shi'ism.