Mughal Fort

Realising the importance of Allahabad’s strategic location in the fertile and centrally situated Doab region, and the navigational potential of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, Akbar made this city a major centre of power in central India and called it Illahabad, a divine city. At the Sangam or Prayag, the confluence of rivers, he built one of his largest forts. The fort was built in 1583 with high walls and three massive gateways, with the additional protection of the rivers along which it is set. The fort encloses a tree, revered as the sacred banyan tree called Akshayavat, set in the Patalpuri Temple. When Prince Salim led a revolt against his father Akbar in 1602, he held a parallel imperial court in Allahabad fort. The fort was captured by the Marathas who built a couple of temples in Allahabad. The Pathans too held the fort for a brief time. After the 1765 Treaty of Allahabad, the British built their garrison at the fort which became their military headquarters after they took over the city in 1801.

The fort makes an impressive sight when seen from the river banks or from a boat on the Sangam. While most of the fort is under army control, you can enter from the eastern side facing the river to see the Patalpuri Temple with an underground shrine full of idols. This temple is an important place for pilgrimage because the banyan tree in its precincts is believed to be the undying fig tree called Akshayavat. At the main gates to the fort stands a poorly restored polished stone Ashoka Pillar, inscribed with the emperor’s 242 BC edicts.