Ahmednagar Fort

En un regard

Le château en bref

Built on flat ground on the outskirts of the city of Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar), this oval fort is one of the most remarkable examples of a plains fortress in Maharashtra. It was the seat of power of the Nizam Shahi sultans, and was rebuilt in stone in the mid-16th century by Hussain Nizam Shah. Its walls, some thirty feet high from the bottom of the moat, extend for about 1.7 km and are punctuated by around twenty bastions of two to three storeys. A wide moat, once filled with water, completely isolates the enclosure; it was formerly crossed by removable bridges. The main gate still retains its iron spikes, intended to stop elephants. The fort entered history with Chand Bibi's resistance against the Mughals in 1596, and in the 20th century it served as a place of detention for the leaders of the Quit India movement; Jawaharlal Nehru wrote ‘La Découverte de l’Inde’ there. Occupied by the Indian Army, it may be visited upon presentation of an identity document, and photography is not permitted inside.