The Ahhichatragarh Fort of Nagaur
To testify to its strategic geographical position and its unique historic role the town of Nagaur has a magnificent fort. The earliest historical reference to Nagaur dates from the reign of King Harsha in the first half of the seventh century. However, archaeological evidence suggests that the Nagavanshi kings first established the site in the fourth century AD, when they built a mud brick fort around its natural hillock.
Nagaur, strategically situated along trade and invasion routes, gained further importance during the Muslim incursions of the eleventh and twelfth century. Mohammed Bolin, Governor of Punjab, made Nagaur his seat of power after wresting independence from the Sultan Behram Shah. The governor replaced the older mud fort with the present stone fortifications in the years 1119-1121. It was from here that he raided and conquered neighbouring territories. The Rajput ruler, Chauhan Someshwar, gained control of Nagaur in the mid-twelfth century, for in 1154 he made modifications to the Fort. For the following four centuries, Nagaur Fort remained as it was.
The Mughal emperors (1556-1857) kept the Rajput states in check by a complicated -- often arbitrary -- system of rewards and punishments. They used Nagaur as a coveted prize, granting it to one state and then to another.
In the mid-seventeenth century, the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan granted Nagaur to Rai Singh, son of Amar Singh Rathor. From this rival branch, Nagaur passed into the possession of the main lineage of the Maharajas of Jodhpur, with whom it remains even today.
The Mughals formally granted Nagaur to Maharaja Abhai Singh of Jodhpur (reigned 1724-49), who gave it to his younger brother Bakht Singh. Maharaja Bakht Singh (who lived from 1706-1752) built several palace apartments in the Nagaur fort; many still exist today.
by Simon Digby, art historian.
Nagaur, strategically situated along trade and invasion routes, gained further importance during the Muslim incursions of the eleventh and twelfth century. Mohammed Bolin, Governor of Punjab, made Nagaur his seat of power after wresting independence from the Sultan Behram Shah. The governor replaced the older mud fort with the present stone fortifications in the years 1119-1121. It was from here that he raided and conquered neighbouring territories. The Rajput ruler, Chauhan Someshwar, gained control of Nagaur in the mid-twelfth century, for in 1154 he made modifications to the Fort. For the following four centuries, Nagaur Fort remained as it was.
The Mughal emperors (1556-1857) kept the Rajput states in check by a complicated -- often arbitrary -- system of rewards and punishments. They used Nagaur as a coveted prize, granting it to one state and then to another.
In the mid-seventeenth century, the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan granted Nagaur to Rai Singh, son of Amar Singh Rathor. From this rival branch, Nagaur passed into the possession of the main lineage of the Maharajas of Jodhpur, with whom it remains even today.
The Mughals formally granted Nagaur to Maharaja Abhai Singh of Jodhpur (reigned 1724-49), who gave it to his younger brother Bakht Singh. Maharaja Bakht Singh (who lived from 1706-1752) built several palace apartments in the Nagaur fort; many still exist today.
by Simon Digby, art historian.
