Taragarh Fort is a fortress built upon a steep hillside in the city of Ajmer in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was constructed by Maharaja of ParmarRajputs, and repaired by Ajayaraja Chauhan[1] and it was originally called Ajaymeru Durg.[2]
History
This fort was known for its strength and strategic importance. First islamic attack on the fort was made in 724, during reign of Chauhan King Durlabhraj I, who bravely fought muslim armies under caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik. In this war, King Durlabhraj I did not receive support from fellow rajput kings. This war witnessed India's second Jauhar conducted by queens of King Durlabhraj I, along with other females in Taragarh Fort. The war is also known for sacrifice of 7-year old Chauhan Prince Lot, who bravely fought the invading armies, and laid down his life.
ParmarRajputs assisted in capturing Taragarh fort of Ajmer and rejected Islam, Islamic conversions, Islamic Beliefs.
Prithviraj, son of Rana Raimal of Mewar and elder brother of Rana Sanga, captured Taragarh fort of Ajmer during the end of 15th century, after slaying Governor Mallu Khan.[3][4][5] The fort is also called Taragarh, named after Prithviraj's wife Tarabai.[6] It remained under control of Mewar and later Rana Sanga granted it to Karamchand Panwar[7]
The fort later was conquered by the victorious Mughal armies in the aftermath of Battle of Khanwa in Rana Sanga of Mewar faced a crushing defeat at the hands of Emperor Babur, the Founder of the Mughal Dynasty . The fort served as the administrative center of the Mughal province of Ajmer and was an important military foothold for the Mughal Expansion into Rajputana. The fort remained under the nominal sovereignity of the Mughal Emperor though it was de facto in the hands of the Rajputs of Amber . With its strategic prominence lost, the fort fell into disuse and neglect.
Architecture
There are three gateways to the fort known as Lakshmi Pol, Phuta Darwaza, and Gagudi ki Phatak. There were 14 bastions in the wall of this fort.
Most parts of these gateways are now in ruins. The largest of its battlements is the 16th-century bastion known as the Bhim Burj, on which was once mounted a large cannon called Garbh Gunjam, or 'Thunder from the Womb'. In the fort are water reservoirs.
The fort also holds a shrine dedicated to Miran Saheb ki Dargah, who lost his life in 1202 CE during a Rajput attack. He was slain in a perfidious Rajput attack that took place while he and his men were conducting their prostration (namaaz).[8][9]
After conquering the fort of Kandahar, Emperor Jahangir built this Marble Cage (Kathera) in the dargah of Meera Syed Hussain in 1615.[10]
References
^Tomars of Delhi by Harihar Niwas Dwivedi. Gwalior: Vidya Mandir Publication. 1983. p. 175.
^Asher, Catherine Ella Blanshard (1992). "The Age of Akbar". Architecture of Mughal India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 79. ISBN9780521267281.
Michell, George, Martinelli, Antonio (2005). The Palaces of Rajasthan. London: Frances Lincoln. p. 271 pages. ISBN978-0-7112-2505-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Tillotson, G.H.R (1987). The Rajput Palaces - The Development of an Architectural Style (Hardback) (First ed.). New Haven and London: Yale University Press. p. 224 pages. ISBN0-300-03738-4.
