Daulatabad

		On the way to Ellora, one passes the famous medieval fortress of Daulatabad, a rock-hewn citadel dominating the landscape, from a 600 ft. high mesa-like plateau. Built in the twelfth century by Raja Bhillamraj, it was called Deogiri, the hill of the Gods, and was considered to be invulnerable! European travelers of those days have described it as the most powerful in India. But it fell, nevertheless, to the Sultan of Delhi in 1308. When Muhammad Tughlak ascended the Delhi throne, he was so taken by the fortress that he decided to move his court and capital there, renaming it Daulatabad, the City of Fortune.
A transplantation rather than a move, he ordered the entire population of Delhi, men, women, children, old, sick and dying, rich and poor alike, to move out en masse to the new capital! No one was exempted, and the thousand-mile journey exacted a terrible toll in human misery, and thousands of people perished on the way. And it was all in vain. Fifteen or so years later, the Sultan regretted his decision and, repeating his act of madness, he ordered the whole population to move back to Delhi. Ah! the charms of absolute power!! Eventually, the fortifications were extended, ramparts and bastions were built, mounted with huge bronze cannons, several rings of walls with battlements guarded the approach. Several inner walls with heavy iron gates fitted with elephant spikes were encircled by a six kilometer outer wall. Inside these walls is a 40 ft. deep moat, with a drawbridge, leading to the original citadel. Abdul Hasan Tana Shah, the last ruler of Golconda, was imprisoned for 13 years until his death, by moghul emperor Aurangzeb. The plateau's solid rock sides were then scraped vertically flat to a height of 250 ft., for extra added unease of access. I'll pass on the outlandish defensive apparatus, suffice it to say it bordered on sadism, and had it not been for treachery, the fortress might indeed never have been taken!