Making Of Tughluqabad Ghiyath-ud-din Tughluq built the
walled city and the fort with its 13 gateways. Its construction
involved a legendary quarrel with the saint Nizam-ud-din.
When the Tughluq ruler took the workers
whom Nizam-ud-din wanted for work on his shrine the
saint cursed the king with the warning that only the
Gujjars (shepherds) would inhabit his city.
The dispute between the king and the
saint did not end with curse and counter-curse. When
the king prepared to take vengeance on the saint, Nizam-ud-din
calmly told his followers, in a saying that is still
current in India today, 'Delhi is a long way off'. Indeed
it was for the king was murdered on his way to Delhi
in 1325. Earlier, Ghiyath-ud-din had been
a general in Ala-ud-din Khalji's army.
Once while on the road with Ala-ud-din, Ghiyath-ud-din,
on spotting this area, mentioned to the sultan what
an ideal setting it seemed to provide for a new city.
Upon this the king indulgently replied, that when Ghiyath-ud-din
will become the king he should built one.
After the death of Ala-ud-din various
events conspired to put the general on the throne at
last. Then he fulfilled his long-cherished dream, of
building Tughluqabad. Tughluqabad Fort Tughluqabad Fort
was situated on high rocky ground, an ideal location
to withstand enemy attacks.
The fort walls were constructed of massive
blocks and outside the south wall of the city is an
artificial lake with king's tomb in its centre.
A long causeway connects the tomb to
the fort, both of which have walls that slope inwards.
The fort is half-hexagonal in shape. The outer walls
are built around the outline of the surrounding land
adding a formidable strength to the natural barriers.
Tughluqabad was built in just four years
and got abandoned in 1327. Muhammad-bin-Tughluq, was
probably one of those modern freethinking men who did
not want to be known by his father's laurels.
That's why he chose to make a city of
his own called Jahanpanah. With Ghiyath-ud-din Tughluq's
death, the city's short-lived glory came to an abrupt
end.
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