Daulatabad Fort

While we were visiting the Ellora and Ajanta caves near Aurangabad we had a side trip to the 14th century fort at Daulatabad. The fort was built by Muhammad bin Tughluq who ruled India from 1325 until his death in 1351. Early in his reign he decided to move the capital of India to Daulatabad.

Instead of moving just his government offices there, he forcibly moved the entire population (including the cattles, horses, dogs, cats!) of Delhi to the new capital. Since this happened in summer, many people died because of inadequate water supply arrangements in Daulatabad; after only two years, the capital had to be shifted back again to Delhi, again at great loss, and it was said that Delhi was a ghost town for years after the move back.

The fort is very impressive in its design and it is said that no one has ever conquered the fort by force (it has only been taken by bribing the guards). The fort was designed to confuse the attackers with a series of 3 walls to be conquered, multiple pathways (some leading to dead ends), a crocodile filled moat, and most importantly a maze through a series of bat infested caves. The fort sits on top of a conical hill that is about 200m tall. Vertical walls have been cut, 50m tall, around most of the hill. The only way across the moat was by a very narrow bridge that could be retracted. If you did make it over the moat you entered the caves which are designed to further confuse the enemy and give the protectors ample opportunity to kill the attackers in great numbers. After the caves a long steep climb remains to the top with more walls, cannon, etc. More specifics on the fort can be found here... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daulatabad