- Type
- Fortress
- Location
- Madhya Pradesh, India
- Coordinates
- 21.4711°, 76.2938°
History
According to tradition, the first stronghold on the hill was built by a herdsman called Asa Ahir, who gave it his name. Around 1400 the fort passed to the Faruqi sultans of Khandesh, who made it one of the strongest fortresses in India, guarding the road from the north into the Deccan. In 1600 Emperor Akbar's army besieged it, and in January 1601 the last sultan, Bahadur Shah, surrendered, probably more through bribery and disease among the garrison than through any assault. The fort later belonged to the Marathas, and in the 19th century the British captured it twice and kept a garrison there into the early 20th century.
What to see
The fort covers the flat top of a hill ringed by three circuits of walls: Asirgarh, Kamargarh and Malaygarh. On the summit stand a Faruqi-era mosque with two slender minarets, the Gupteshwar Mahadev temple to Shiva, water tanks and ruined palaces. There is also a small cemetery of the British garrison, and the walls look out over the wooded ranges of the Satpura.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q3630501
Popularity: articles about this site in 12 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).