Citadel of Ghazni

The Citadel of Ghazni (or Ghuznee, Ghazna) is a large medieval fortress located in Ghazni city, east-central Afghanistan. It was built in the 13th century surrounding the Ghazni town to form a walled city. The 50 metre (150 foot) high citadel dominates the skyline.

The citadel is at risk of destruction due to multiple threats. Already more than half of the citadel's 32 original towers have been destroyed or heavily damaged with the collapse of one tower being caught on video in June, 2019 and being shared widely on social media. The citadel is located in the center of the city and near major roads. A lack of funds to preserve the site, heavy rains, and the country's ongoing internal and external conflicts have further contributed to the citadel's collapse.

Built in order to defend the city of Ghazni, which served as the capital of the Ghaznavid Empire and where the Sultan resided, from threats of invaders such as the Ghurid Empire, which started a century prior and its expansion deemed a great threat to the power and land the Ghaznavids attained.

Text adapted from “Citadel of Ghazni” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Citadel of Ghazni ranks #1,415 of 3,734 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #5 of the 5 mapped in Afghanistan. Founded c. 1250, it is older than 73% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 397 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. See how Afghanistan compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗