Tughlaqabad Fort

Synopsis

Both imposing and desolate, the Tughlaqabad fort lies in Delhi’s southern periphery. It was built by sultan Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq in 1321-23 AD to protect the city from Mongol invasions, but was soon abandoned after his death. The s … Read more

Both imposing and desolate, the Tughlaqabad fort lies in Delhi’s southern periphery. It was built by sultan Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq in 1321-23 AD to protect the city from Mongol invasions, but was soon abandoned after his death. The story goes that Tughlaq incurred the wrath of the Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya after he poached his workers for the construction of the fort. Auliya’s curse foretold that the fort would only be occupied by shepherds. Today, the massive half-broken walls enclose halls, public buildings, reservoirs, mosques as well as Tughlaq’s tomb, a spare building of red sandstone and marble. Adilabad, a smaller fort built by Ghiyasuddin’s son Muhammad bin Tughlaq, lies opposite the fort. Read less