Krishnagiri Fort

Krishnagiri Fort is one of the strongest forts in the Krishnagiri district and is now one of the monuments protected by the Archaeological Survey of India. The fort was built by King Krishnadevarayar of the Vijayanagar Empire. For this reason, the town and the fort got the name Krishnagiri ("Krishna" from the king’s name, "giri" meaning hill). The fort and the surrounding areas, then called "baramahal", were given to Jagadevarayar by the Vijayanagar for his valour in the wars. Jagadevarayar made Jagadevi his capital.

Krishnagiri Fort
Part of History of Tamil Nadu
krishnagiri district
Krishnagiri Fort in 1792
Krishnagiri Fort
Coordinates12°32′21.64″N 78°12′44.33″E
TypeMilitary Fort
Site information
OwnerArchaeological Survey of India
Controlled byArchaeological Survey of India
Open to
the public
Yes
ConditionRuins
Site history
Built16th century
Built byKrishna Deva Rayar
In usecirca early 1800s
MaterialsGranite

In the 17th century the fort and baramahal were occupied by Bijapur Sultanate and it was given to Shahji as jagir. Shahji made Bangalore his headquarters and ruled these areas. After the death of Shahji, his younger son Vyankoji (Ekoji) became the ruler. In the 1670s Chatrapati Shivaji captured this fort from his younger brother Vyankoji during his Deccan expedition.

In the 18th century Hyder Ali captured this fort and baramahal on the instruction of Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar, king of Mysore. Later, Hyder Ali retained these areas when he got separated from the king of Mysore and made his own capital Srirangapatna. In 1768 this fort surrendered to the British after a long blockade in the First Anglo-Mysore war. In November 1791 British troops under Lt. Col. Maxwell attacked the fort, during the third Anglo-Mysore war, resulting in 50 British casualties. With almost all their officers wounded or dead they were forced to retreat. The fort remained in Tipu Sultan’s possession until the Treaty of Srirangapatna in 1792 which ceded it to the British.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.