India · 12th century
Golconda is a fortified citadel and ruined city located on the western outskirts of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparudra in the 11th century out of mud walls. It was ceded to the Bahmani Kings (Before it fragmented into 5 other kingdoms known as the "Deccan Sultanates") from Musunuri Nayakas during the reign of Bahmani Sultan Mohammed Shah I, during the first Bahmani–Vijayanagara War. Following the death of Sultan Mahmood Shah, the Sultanate disintegrated and Sultan Quli, who had been appointed as the Governor of Hyderabad by the Bahmani Kings, fortified the city and made it the capital of the Sultanate of Golconda.
Because of the vicinity of diamond mines, especially Kollur Mine, Golconda flourished as a trade centre of large diamonds known as Golconda diamonds. The complex was put by UNESCO on its "tentative list" to become a World Heritage Site in 2014, with other forts in the region, under the name Monuments and Forts of the Deccan Sultanate (despite there being a number of different sultanates).
Text adapted from “Golconda” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Golconda ranks #109 of 9,035 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #5 of the 223 mapped in India. Founded c. 1150, it is older than 80% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 763 atlas entries founded in the 12th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 25,825 times in the last 60 days, more than 98% of the atlas. 3 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how India compares in the castle statistics.
View on the interactive castle map →