View source for Taragarh Fort, Ajmer

{{Short description|Fort in Ajmer, Rajasthan, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2019}}

{{Infobox monument
|name=Taragarh Fort
|type=Fort
|coordinates={{coord|26.442154|74.618288}}
|image=The Fort Wall of Taragarh, Ajmer.JPG
|location=[[Ajmer]], [[Rajasthan]], [[India]]
|extra_label=built by
|extra=Parmar Rajputs and [[Ajayaraja I]]
}}
'''Taragarh Fort''' is a fortress built upon a steep hillside in the city of [[Ajmer]] in the Indian state of [[Rajasthan]]. It was constructed by Maharaja of [[Parmar (Rajput clan)|Parmar]] [[Rajput]]s, and repaired by [[Ajayaraja I|Ajayaraja Chauhan]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=|first=|title=Tomars of Delhi by Harihar Niwas Dwivedi|publisher=Vidya Mandir Publication|year=1983|isbn=|location=Gwalior|pages=175}}</ref> and it was originally called '''Ajaymeru Durg'''.<ref>[[#History of mughal|Ajmer, Historical and Descriptive]], pp. 50.</ref>

==History==
This fort was known for its strength and strategic importance. First Islamic attack on the fort was made in 724, during reign of Chauhan King [[Durlabharaja I|Durlabhraj I]], who bravely fought Muslim armies under caliph [[Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik]]. In this war, King [[Durlabharaja I|Durlabhraj I]] did not receive support from fellow rajput kings. This war witnessed India's second [[Jauhar]] conducted by queens of King [[Durlabharaja I|Durlabhraj 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.

[[Parmar (Rajput clan)|Parmar]] [[Rajput]]s assisted in capturing Taragarh fort of Ajmer and rejected Islam, Islamic conversions, Islamic Beliefs.

[[Prithviraj Sisodia|Prithviraj]], son of [[Rana Raimal]] of Mewar and elder brother of [[Rana Sanga]], captured Taragarh fort  of Ajmer during the end of 15th century, after slaying Governor Mallu Khan.{{sfn | Dhoundiyal | 1966 | p=54}}<ref>[[#Sanga|Maharana Sanga The Hindupat]], p28</ref><ref>[[#History of mughal|Ajmer:Historical and Descriptive]], p45</ref> The fort is also called Taragarh, named after Prithviraj's wife Tarabai.{{sfn | Rajawat | 1991 | p=87}} It remained under control of Mewar and later [[Rana Sanga]] granted it to Karamchand Panwar{{sfn | Dhoundiyal | 1966 | p=55}}

The fort later was conquered by the victorious Mughal armies in the aftermath of [[Battle of Khanwa]] in Rana Sanga of Mewar faced a crushing defeat at the hands of [[Babur|Emperor 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 the [[Battle of Haldighati|Mughal 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.

==Architecture==
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 to [[Syed Meeran Hussain Khing Sawar|Miran Saheb ki Dargah]], who lost his life in 1202 CE during a [[Rajput]] attack. He was slain in a perfidious Rajput attack that took place while he and his men were conducting their prostration (namaaz).<ref name="Rough">{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aL_kDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT271|title=The Rough Guide to India|chapter=Ajmer and around|isbn=9780241295397|last1=Guides|first1=Rough|date=3 October 2016|publisher=Rough Guides UK }}</ref><ref name="Asher1992">{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ctLNvx68hIC&pg=PA79|title=Architecture of Mughal India|last=Asher|first=Catherine Ella Blanshard|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1992|place=Cambridge|page=79|chapter=The Age of Akbar|isbn=9780521267281}}</ref>

After conquering the fort of Kandahar, Emperor Jahangir built this Marble Cage (Kathera) in the dargah of Meera Syed Hussain in 1615.<ref>[[Taragarh Fort, Ajmer#Author:R. Nath,  History of Mughal architecture|#Author:R. Nath, 
History of Mughal architecture]], pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ha5fG13V3XcC&dq=khing+sawar&pg=PA259 259]</ref>

== References ==
<references />

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|author1=Crump, Vivien |author2=Toh, Irene |title= Rajasthan|location=London|publisher=Everyman Guides|year=1996|type = hardback| isbn = 1-85715-887-3| page = 400}}
*{{cite book|author=Michell, George, Martinelli, Antonio| title=The Palaces of Rajasthan| year = 2005| publisher=Frances Lincoln| location=London| isbn = 978-0-7112-2505-3| page = 271 pages}}
*{{cite book| last = Tillotson | first = G.H.R| title = The Rajput Palaces - The Development of an Architectural Style| year = 1987| type = Hardback| edition = First| publisher = Yale University Press| location = New Haven and London| isbn = 0-300-03738-4| page = 224 pages}}
* {{cite book | last=Rajawat | first=D.S. | title=Glimpses of Rajasthan: Off the Beaten Track | publisher=Delta Publications | year=1991 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=edofAAAAIAAJ | access-date=2022-04-07}}
* {{cite book | last=Dhoundiyal | first=B.N. | title=Rajasthan District Gazetteers: Ajmer. Gazetteer of India. Ajmer. Hauptbd | publisher=Bharat Printers | year=1966 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0vzttgAACAAJ | access-date=2022-04-07}}
* {{cite book|title=Maharana Sanga, The Hindupat |last=Sarda|first=Har Bilas|ref=Sanga|publisher=Scottish Mission Industries Company Limited|year=1918|edition=1st|location=Ajmer}}
* {{cite book|title=Ajmer Historical and Descriptive|last=architecture|first=mughal|ref=History of mughal|publisher=Abhinav, New Delhi, 1982-<2005>, Ajmer|year=1982|location=Delhi}}ref=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/History_of_Mughal_Architecture_The_trans/ha5fG13V3XcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=khing+sawar&pg=PA259&printsec=frontcover

{{Forts in Rajasthan}}
{{Forts in India}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Forts in Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Rajput architecture]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Ajmer]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Ajmer]]