The siege of Golconda occurred in January 1687, when the

Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled ...

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

led his forces to besiege the

Qutb Shahi dynasty The Qutb Shahi dynasty also called as Golconda Sultanate ( Persian: ''Qutb Shāhiyān'' or ''Sultanat-e Golkonde'') was a Persianate Shia Islam dynasty of Turkoman origin that ruled the sultanate of Golkonda in southern India. After the col ...

at Golconda Fort, home of the Kollur Mine. The siege of

Golconda Fort (Telugu: గోల్కొండ, romanized: ''Gōlkōnḍa'') is a historic fortress and ruined city located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was originally called Mankal. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparu ...

lasted 8 months, and on various occasions it pushed the massive

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

army to its limits. The Golconda Fort was considered to be an impregnable fort on the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...

. At the end of the Siege,

and the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

entered Golconda in a decisive victory.

Command

After the

and the

army had conquered two Muslim kingdoms: Nizamshahis of

Ahmednagar Ahmednagar (), is a city located in the Ahmednagar district in the state of Maharashtra, India, about 120 km northeast of Pune and 114 km from Aurangabad. Ahmednagar takes its name from Ahmad Nizam Shah I, who founded the town in 1 ...

and the Adilshahis of Bijapur; the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb assembled a

army and began his siege on Golconda Fort. Aurangzeb had assigned Mir Jumla who served to Golconda till 1655 and later to Mughal Sultanate. Ghaziuddin Khan Siddiqi Firuz Jang son of Khwaja Abid Siddiqi Kilich Khan and Father of Nizam I of Hyderabad Qamaruddin Khan Siddiqi was assigned to bombard the walls of the fort using almost 100 cannons. The Mughal admiral

Munnawar Khan Munnawar Khan ( fa, منور خان; d. 1671) was a Mughal Empire admiral during the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb. Biography Khan was born to a Muslim family in the city of Agra. He entered service during the rule of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, durin ...

was assigned to deliver food and weapons to the besieging Mughal army. The general Dilir Khan was assigned to command the

Matchlock A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of rope that is touched to the gunpowder by a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or trigger with his finger. Befo ...

Sepoy ''Sepoy'' () was the Persian-derived designation originally given to a professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its oth ...

s that tried to penetrate the defenses of Golconda Fort. While Shaista Khan, Murshid Quli Khan and Ibrahim Khan commanded the rest of the army and it's reserves around Golconda Fort and throughout all the Qutbshahi territory.

Siege

As the Qutbshahi ruler of

, Abul Hasan Qutb Shah refused to surrender to the Mughals, he and his servicemen fortified themselves at Golconda Fort, and fiercely protected the Kollur Mine, which was then the world's only diamond mine at that time. His most experienced Golconda commander Muqarrab Khan defected to the Mughals. The Qutbshahis had constructed massive fortifications throughout successive generations on a granite hill over 400 feet high with an enormous 8-mile wall enclosing the city. The main gates of

had the ability to repulse any

War elephant A war elephant was an elephant that was trained and guided by humans for combat. The war elephant's main use was to charge the enemy, break their ranks and instill terror and fear. Elephantry is a term for specific military units using elepha ...

attack, as they had iron spikes on the gates to damage the advancing Mughal elephants. In January 1687, the

Aurangzeb led his grand

army against the

Deccan The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by t ...

Qutbshahi ruler taking refuge in Golconda Fort. Aurangzeb had surrounded Golconda Fort and alongside about 100

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder duri ...

s began siege operations. In order to breach the

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies und ...

walls of Golconda Fort, Firuz Jang was appointed to utilize the massive ''Rahban'', ''Fateh Rahber'' and the most impressive cannon during the siege known as the ''Azhdaha-Paikar'' (python body) it had the ability to shoot cannonballs weighing over 50 kg. In response to the Mughal bombardment Abul Hasan Qutb Shah fired from his powerful high-vicinity mortar called the ''Pata Burj'', and according to Saqi Mustad Khan bamboo rockets were also utilized day and night against Mughal encampments. Meanwhile, due to heavy rains the Manjera River over-flooded and the scarcity of food supplies became a dire complication, this led to the death of many animals and caused malnourished troops to get ill. Fearing a possible counterattack organized from the fort, Aurangzeb ordered the construction of a fortified position made of wood and mud, which would house and organize Mughal attacking parties. The intense cannon fire from Golconda Fort against the approaching

eventually caused the death of the experienced

commander Kilich Khan Khwaja Abid Siddiqi and furthermore Aurangzeb was grieved by the death of his long-time commander Gaziuddin Khan Siddiqi Bahadur Firuz Jang, who died of natural causes. Although the Qutbshahi's maintained impregnable efforts defending their walls, at night the

Aurangzeb and his infantry of assembled and erected complex

scaffold Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other man-made structures. Scaffolds are widely used ...

ing that allowed them to scale the high walls. Aurangzeb also ordered his men to throw ''huqqa'' ( grenades) while scaling the fortified wall and were reinforced by

s and

Composite bow A composite bow is a traditional bow made from horn, wood, and sinew laminated together, a form of laminated bow. The horn is on the belly, facing the archer, and sinew on the outer side of a wooden core. When the bow is drawn, the sinew (s ...

s. While most of these attacks remained largely unsuccessful, they managed to demoralize the defenders of Golconda Fort. During the eight-month siege the

s faced many hardships like small-scale famines for weeks at a time, but whenever the

Admiral

arrived with supplies and weapons with his river fleet,

would intensify the siege. Although the Qutbshahi's maintained formidable efforts defending their walls, the siege had become unbearable for the officials in service of the Qutbshahi's and finally Sarandaz Khan revealed a back door that led directly to the Golconda Fort, immediately after the Mughals stormed the fort, Sarandaz Khan opened the gates that allows the

's army to enter. The

army led by Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung I, the son of the fallen Kilich Khan Khwaja Abid Siddiqi was among the first to enter the gates. He immediately charged towards the citadel of Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, eventually taking him prisoner by surprise. Firuz Jang and his forces occupied Kollur Mine and the

reserves, disarmed the defenders of the fort and paved their way for the entry of victorious

. Golconda Fort was later repaired and armed with superior cannons. Shaista Khan is known to have spared the Qutbshahi servicemen, the ruler of

, Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, however, was imprisoned in Daulatabad Fort by the orders of the

Aftermath

The

and his army managed to penetrate the walls by capturing a gate prompting the Qutbshahi's of

and the ruler Abul Hasan Qutb Shah to surrender peacefully and hand over the Nur-Ul-Ain Diamond, Great Stone Diamond, Kara Diamond, Darya-e-Nur, the Hope Diamond, the Wittelsbach Diamond and the Regent Diamond.

References

{{Authority control

History of Telangana 1687 in India