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 Interactive map of Taragarh Fort | |
| Location | Ajmer,Rajasthan,India |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 26°26′32″N74°37′06″E / 26.442154°N 74.618288°E /26.442154; 74.618288 |
| Type | Fort |
| built by | Parmar Rajputs andAjayaraja I |
Taragarh Fort is a fortress built upon a steep hillside in the city ofAjmer in the Indian state ofRajasthan. It was constructed by Maharaja ofParmarRajputs, and repaired byAjayaraja Chauhan[1] and it was originally calledAjaymeru Durg.[2]
This fort was known for its strength and strategic importance. First Islamic attack on the fort was made in 724, during reign of Chauhan KingDurlabhraj I, who bravely fought Muslim armies under caliphHisham ibn Abd al-Malik. In this war, KingDurlabhraj I did not receive support from fellow rajput kings. This war witnessed India's secondJauhar conducted by queens of KingDurlabhraj I, along with other females in Taragarh Fort. The war is also known for sacrifice of 7-year old Chauhan Prince Lot, who bravely fought the invading armies, and laid down his life.
ParmarRajputs assisted in capturing Taragarh fort of Ajmer and rejected Islam, Islamic conversions, Islamic Beliefs.
Prithviraj, son ofRana Raimal of Mewar and elder brother ofRana Sanga, captured Taragarh fort of Ajmer during the end of 15th century, after slaying Governor Mallu Khan.[3][4][5] The fort is also called Taragarh, named after Prithviraj's wife Tarabai.[6] It remained under control of Mewar and laterRana Sanga granted it to Karamchand Panwar[7]
The fort later was conquered by the victorious Mughal armies in the aftermath ofBattle of Khanwa in Rana Sanga of Mewar faced a crushing defeat at the hands ofEmperor Babur, the Founder of the Mughal Dynasty . The fort served as the administrative center of the Mughal province of Ajmer and was an important military foothold for theMughal Expansion into Rajputana. The fort remained under the nominal sovereignty of the Mughal Emperor though it was de facto in the hands of the Rajputs of Amber . With its strategic prominence lost, the fort fell into disuse and neglect.
There are three gateways to the fort known as Lakshmi Pol, Phuta Darwaza, and Gagudi ki Phatak. There were 14 bastions in the wall of this fort. Most parts of these gateways are now in ruins. The largest of its battlements is the 16th-century bastion known as the Bhim Burj, on which was once mounted a large cannon called Garbh Gunjam, or 'Thunder from the Womb'. In the fort are water reservoirs.
The fort also holds a shrine dedicated toMiran Saheb ki Dargah, who lost his life in 1202 CE during aRajput attack. He was slain in a perfidious Rajput attack that took place while he and his men were conducting their prostration (namaaz).[8][9]
After conquering the fort of Kandahar, Emperor Jahangir built this Marble Cage (Kathera) in the dargah of Meera Syed Hussain in 1615.[10]
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