Pune Forts

Sindhudurg

Perhaps the most famous of Shivaji’s forts. It is built offshore, near Malvan in District Sindhudurg near Goa and is protected by chains of forts which are described below. The sole approach lay through a narrow channel, which ran between two small islands, on which the forts of Padmadurg and Dhontara were built. Otherwise the area consists of rock reefs.

The location makes a stealthy approach impossible. It is one of three large coastal forts intended to protect the Maharashtra coast.

At this point in our research, we are not aware of why sea approaches had to be covered: as far as we know, the Moguls and their tributary kingdoms were without navies. Nonetheless, the coastal and Arabian Sea trade was vigorous, and the Europeans had begun taking territory in India.

It appears likely, however, that the sea forts must have provided anchorages for Shivaji’s navy. We know that the fort of Vijaydurg, off Bombay, was used in this manner, and capable of taking in vessels of up to 500-ton within its walls. We will see below that Sindhudurg was also capable of protecting inland anchorages. The availability of three natural streams of water was probably a key factor in the choice of the site. The fort was put under construction on November 25^th, 1664, and finished three years later by a workforce of about 6000.

Shivaji was a master builder of forts, and each is laid out with minute attention to detail. For example, Sindhudurg features 52 embrasures for artillery. It features Shivaji’s signature hidden entrance: to find the entrance an invader had to reconnoiter the folds of the wall from close, where he was vulnerable to fire from the walls. Sindhudurg’s walls are about 3.2 kilometers in length. The foundation walls are 4 meters thick and laid in lead; the rampart walls rise to 10 meters. The enclosed area is about 15 hectares.

Sindhudurg As Part Of a Coastal Fort System

A fascinating aspect of Sindhudurg’s location is that it lies at the center of a fort system.

Immediately protecting the fort from the landward side was the fort of Padmadurg, now almost disappeared into the sea. Padmadurg lay between the Sindhudurg and the coast, and featured a dry dock – a narrow tongue of water between two rock walls. It was Shivaji’s main ship construction yard as well as being part of Sindhudurg’s defenses.

North of Malwan were two additional forts, Rajkot and Sarjekot. Rajkot was northwest of the town, and stood on a promontory, and three of its four faces was protected by the sea. Sarjekot was also on a hilly headland, and it lay 2-km north of Rajkot. Its north face looked seawards; a ditch protected the other three sides.

Sarjekot was constructed in 1668 at the mouth of Kalavali Creek. The creek was navigable inland for 11+ kilometers, and it runs in zig-zags, thus producing natural safe inland anchorages. Presumably many of Shivaji’s ships could shelter in the creek during storm season.

But even these three forts were not enough for Shivaji. The two forts to the north of Malwan had two counterparts to the south of the town, Nivti and Yashavantgad. The latter was at the mouth of a creek like Sarjekot.

There were two more forts, Bhagavantagad to the north and Bharatgad to the south of the creek near Masure.

Shivaji and Afzal Khan

Historian Jadunath Sarkar in his book Shivaji and his times notes that after the Mughal invasion of the Deccan in 1657 rolled back, the Bijapur government (then a powerful force in the Deccan) had decided to punish its refractory vassals. The Sultan deputed Afzal Khan, a general of the "highest standing in the kingdom", to take on Shivaji, who was emerging as a threat to the Bijapur kingdom. Shivaji invited Afzal Khan for a meeting on November 10, 1659 at the foothills of Pratapgarh. Anticipating an attempt by the Bijapur general to kill him, Shivaji had prepared himself well. The encounter eventually resulted in the death of Afzal Khan. Shivaji's men beheaded Afzal Khan and buried his head beneath a tower called Abdullah Burj on the southeastern side of the Pratapgarh fort. Later Shivaji apparently gave land in Pratapgarh for the burial of Afzal Khan's body.

Shivaji and The Adil Shahi Dynasty of Bijapur

The history of Shivaji is inextricably entwined with the history of Bijapur, for his father Shahaji was in the military service of that kingdom.

Bijapur: Origins The name is a form of "Vijaypur", or City of Victory. "Bijapur formed a part of Gulbarga province of the Bahmani kingdom founded by Alla- ud-in Hassan Gangu Bahmani in 1347. When the Bahmani kingdom lost its power in the last decades of 15^th century, the kingdom was broken up and Yusuf Adil Khan of Bijapur was one of provincial governors who declared independence. Bijapur, thus became a separate kingdom under the Adil Shahi rulers in 1489.

Shivaji began his career by seizing the fort of Torangarh from Bijapur.

The 9 Sultans

Adapted from RC Majumdar's "The Mughul Empire", which is Volume 7 in his monumental study "The History an Culture of the Indian People", pages 445-463. Bhartiya Vidhya Bhavan, Bombay. 1974.

1490 - 1510 Yusuf Adil Shahi A son of Murad II of Turkey, his mother managed to save him from customary execution of all other sons when the Crown Prince succeeded Murad. She had him smuggled to Persia, from where he eventually found service with the Bidar Sultanate. He attained the position of Governor of Bijapur, a province of the Bahamani Sultanate. He died in the war against Vijaynagar's emperor Krishnadevaraya.

1510 - 1534 Ismail Adil Shahi On Yusuf’s death, his wife – a Marattha princess – defended their young son, Ismail, against a palace coup, and thus preserved the dynasty.

1534 - 1535 Mallu Adil Khan Unfit to rule, and addicted to low vices, his excesses become intolerable to the point his own grandmother had him removed and blinded. He was replaced by his younger brother Ibrahim.

1535 -1557 Ibrahim Adil Shahi I Succeeded his unfit elder brother. Disestablished the Shia faith, replacing it with the Sunni.

1557 - 1580 Ali Adil Shahi I Elder son of Ibrahim, he became king though his father preferred the the younger brother. The younger, however, was even more adamant in his faith of Shia Islam than the elder brother, so he was given the throne. Nonetheless, he moves to restore the Shia faith.

Ali I was initially an ally of Vijaynagar. The latter, however, attacked Ahmadnagar, one of the four original survivor states of the Bahamani Sultanate, which included Bijapur. Accordingly, Ali I led an alliance of the four states against Vijaynagar, defeating the latter in the Battle of Talikota in 1558.

He then led an alliance against the expanding Portuguese, and was defeated. This led to his expansion in the south, at Vijaynagar's expense. In this also, ultimately, he was unsuccessful.

Lacking any son of his own, Ali I designated his nephew [the son of his younger brother] Ibrahim II as his successor. He fell to an assassin at his own court.

1579 - 1626 Ibrahim Adil Shahi II

Ibrahim Adil Shahi II

Ibrahim I had no sons, so on his death his nephew Ibrahim II ascended the throne, with his aunt, Chand Bibi, wife of Ibrahim I, as his regent.

Ibrahim II was a great patron of the arts and lover/composer of music. He was famous for his religious tolerance and attempts to reconcile different sects of Islam, and Islam and Hinduism. He is known to history not as a warrior, but as an aesthete.

1627-1656 Muhammad Ali Shahi

Muhammad Ali Shahi

Under him, the dynasty reached its zenith. He was a great builder.

1656 - 1672 Ali Adil Shahi II This was the ruler from whom Shivaji sought to wrest Bijapur.

Ali II faced an invasion of his kingdom from Aurangzeb, eventually sixth Mughul Emperor, who at this time as acting as regent for his farther Shah Jehan

1672 - 1680 Sikandar Adil Shahi – defeated by Aurangzeb, Bijapur passes to the Mughul Empire in 1680. [Please note some dates put Sikandar on the throne as late as 1686; if this is correct Aurangzeb must have restored Sikandar, this time as his vassal.]

Torangarh: the Start of Shivaji's Career

The following is from a popular modern retelling of Shivaji's story. Nonetheless, till we get better details, it serves to explain why he attacked forts belonging to his sovereign. It also helps to explain why he waited thirty years into his career to proclaim himself as king. Legally, all this time, he would have been a vassal of Bijapur.

Shivaji's major forts lie mainly west of the City of Pune [Poonay, Poona].

From a combination of the two circumstances, it also becomes clear why in most historical accounts Shivaji is referred to as a "chieftain" and not a king.

Bijapur did not permit Shivaji's father to control any fort. As a youngster, the charismatic Maratha gathered around him a band of men who were ready to follow him to any adventure.

In his early years, his band attacked the mountain fort of Torna about twenty miles from Poona. He took control from the fort as Governor. It was characteristic of him immediately to send word to the King of Bijapur, that he had done this purely in the king's interest as the ex-governor was not given all the revenue due to the king. This brought more time, and Shivaji used this technique of cunningness to conquer more and more such forts. The king eventually ordered Shivaji to stop these activities. But Shivaji knew that by now the whole region was behind him and thus ignored any warnings from the King of Bijapur.

The Wars and Campaigns of Chattrapati Shivaji 1657-1680

Torangarh: the Start of Shivaji's Career

1646-47 Seizes Tornagarh, Kondana, and Raigarh Forts from Bijapur. He is 19 years of age. [Some sources say he took Torangarh in 1643.]

Shivaji and The Adil Shahi Dynasty of Bijapur

1656 After lying low for 10 years, on account of his father’s imprisonment, in this year he captured Javali, a small state that became the foundation of his kingdom. Shivaji's use of treachery to kill its ruler, Chandra Rao More, after promising to marry his daughter, should be considered in the context of the times, when treachery was a standard weapon of warfare and diplomacy.

He then captured Raigarh, his future capital. Facing the overwhelming power of the Mughals, represented by Aurangzeb acting as his father Shah Jehan’s Viceroy for the Deccan, Shivaji decides to make peace with the Mughuls; Aurangzeb, however, leaves for the North before a treaty is signed, due to the outbreak of the war for succession after Shah Jehan’s death.

1657 With Aurangzeb occupied elsewhere, Shivaji seizes the opportunity to loot the territories of the Emperor. He raids Ahmednagar, and thus for the first time comes into conflict with the Empire; adds to his holdings and invades the Konkan. The King of Bijapur asks Shivaji’s father to control his son; the latter says he cannot do anything.

1659 Bijapur sends its general Afzal Khan against Shivaji. Afzal Khan is killed in a scuffle during negotiations and Shivaji defeats Bijapur.

Shivaji and Afzal Khan

Shivaji captures the fort at Panhala from Bijapur, only to lose it to a counteroffensive by the Bijapur Army in 1660.

1663 Now Shivaji again resorts to raiding Mughul territory. Aurangzeb sends his mother’s uncle, Shaysta Khan, against Shivaji. Shaysta Khan overruns the area and sets up his HQ at Poona [Anglicized pronunciation for Pune – said as Poonay.] Shivaji counterattacks during the rainy season when no one campaigns; Shaysta Khan barely escapes with his life.

From this campaign arises one of the best known romantic stories about Shivaji. Shyasta Khan was with his harem women when Shivaji struck and wounded the Mughul general. While the general got away, his son was killed.

1664 In this year Shivaji sacks Surat, leaving with booty worth Rupees 10 million. [At the time, Rupees 5 purchased a milch cow and was a decent cash wage for a year.]

He begins construction of Sindhudurg, one of the three major coastal forts of his reign.

Sindhudurg

1665 A worried Aurangzeb sends his son, and one of his greatest generals, the Rajput Jai Singh, against Shivaji. Facing defeat while under siege at Purandhar Fort, Shivaji agrees to terms by the Treaty of Purandhar.

King Jai Singh attempts to win Shivaji over by diplomacy, and persuades the latter to visit the Imperial Court.

1666 Shivaji reaches the court at Agra. Instead of the honors he hoped for, however, Shivaji is made to stand among the Panjhazari Mansabdars. These are leaders of 5,000 men, and approximately similar in rank to English barons. As a king is his own right, Shivaji is enraged and accuses the Emperor of bad faith.

Shivaji and his son Shambhuji are arrested and jailed, but they trick their way to escape and return to the Deccan.

Now it is Aurangzeb who proposes peace, acting at the behest of his son and the Rajput king Jaswant Singh, another famous general. Shivaji’s title as king is made official. Shambhuji is made Mansabdar of 5,000.

1670 Nonetheless, Aurangzeb remain distrusting of Shivaji, a situation not helped when demobilized Imperial soldiers join the Marattha king. To meet the financial exigencies arising from the Emperor’s constant warfare, Aurangzeb seizes Berar, a jagir (land holding) he had given Shivaji.

This leads Shivaji to again war on the Mughals, and to sack Surat for a second time. Shivaji is aided by quarrels between the Mughul commanders. He raids Khandesh, and annexes Baglana.

1674 Shivaji crowns himself Chattrapati, loosely translated as King of Kings. The celebrations bankrupt him and he raids Baglana and Khandesh. [At this point we are unclear why he should raid his own territory, as he had annexed the former four years earlier.]

Shivaji makes peace with Bijapur, which he has used many times in the past to replenish his treasury.

1675 The truce is broken when Shivaji captures Phonda, a fort of Bijapur’s, and annexes the Kanara coast.

1676 Shivaji attacks Bijapur’s holdings in the Karanatic. He also makes an alliance with the King of Golkunda. The fort of Jinji is captured; Vellore falls a few days later.

1678 Aurangzeb sends his general Diler Khan against Shivaji. The Marattha king’s son Shambhuji deserts to the Mughals. Shivaji raids Mughal territories without much success.

1680 With war against the Empire underway, Shivaji dies. He is 53 years of age.