There is a legend associated with Ahmadabad. At the beginning of the fifteenth century, an independent sultanate ruled by the Muslim Muzaffarid dynasty was established Gujarat. In Sultan Ahmed Shah, while camping on the banks of the Sabarmati River, saw a hare chasing a dog. The sultan was intrigued by this and asked his spiritual adviser for explanation. The sage pointed out unique characteristics in the land which nurtured such rare qualities which turned a timid hare to chase a ferocious dog. Impressed by this, the sultan, who had been looking for a place to build his new capital, decided to found the capital here and called it Ahmadabad.
Archaeological evidence points to the occupation of the site from a much earlier period than that of Sultan Ahmed Shah. It was known in ancient times as Ashapalli or Ashaval. In the eleventh century the Solanki King Karandev I, ruler of Anhilwara (modern Patan), waged a war against the Bhil king of Ashaval. After his victory he established a city called Karnavati on the banks Sabarmati at the site of modern Ahmadabad. Solanki rule lasted until the thirteenth century, when Gujarat came under the control of the Vaghela dynasty of Dwarka.
Bhadra Fort was built by Sultan Ahmedshah In 1487, Mahmud Begada, the grandson of Ahmed Shah, fortified the city with an outer wall 10 km (6 miles) in circumference and consisting of twelve gates, 189bastions and over 6,000 battlements. In 1535 Humayun briefly occupied Ahmedabad after capturing Champaner when the ruler of Gujarat Bahadur Shah fled to Diu . Ahmedabad was then reoccupied by the Muzaffarid dynasty until 1573 when Gujarat was conquered by the Mughal emperor Akbar. During the Mughal reign, Ahmedabad became one of the Empire's thriving centres of trade, mainly in textiles, which were exported to as far as Europe. The Mughal rulerShahjahan spent the prime of his life in the city, sponsoring the construction of the Moti Shahi Mahal in Shahibaug. During a drought, the Deccan Famine of 1630–32 affected the city, as did famines in 1650 and 1686. Ahmedabad remained the provincial headquarter of the Mughals until 1758, when Mughals surrendered the city to the Marathas. During Maratha governance, the city lost some of its past glory, and was at the center of contention between two Maratha clans—The Peshwa of Poona and the Gaekwad of Baroda.
Old Ahmedabad city, Gujarat's commercial capital, was encompassed within a fort. This Bhadra fort had 12 darwajas (gates). Each of the darwaja has beautiful carvings, calligraphy and some of them even balconies.
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| Bhadra Fort |
Bhadra Fort was built by Sultan Ahmedshah In 1487, Mahmud Begada, the grandson of Ahmed Shah, fortified the city with an outer wall 10 km (6 miles) in circumference and consisting of twelve gates, 189bastions and over 6,000 battlements. In 1535 Humayun briefly occupied Ahmedabad after capturing Champaner when the ruler of Gujarat Bahadur Shah fled to Diu . Ahmedabad was then reoccupied by the Muzaffarid dynasty until 1573 when Gujarat was conquered by the Mughal emperor Akbar. During the Mughal reign, Ahmedabad became one of the Empire's thriving centres of trade, mainly in textiles, which were exported to as far as Europe. The Mughal rulerShahjahan spent the prime of his life in the city, sponsoring the construction of the Moti Shahi Mahal in Shahibaug. During a drought, the Deccan Famine of 1630–32 affected the city, as did famines in 1650 and 1686. Ahmedabad remained the provincial headquarter of the Mughals until 1758, when Mughals surrendered the city to the Marathas. During Maratha governance, the city lost some of its past glory, and was at the center of contention between two Maratha clans—The Peshwa of Poona and the Gaekwad of Baroda.
Old Ahmedabad city, Gujarat's commercial capital, was encompassed within a fort. This Bhadra fort had 12 darwajas (gates). Each of the darwaja has beautiful carvings, calligraphy and some of them even balconies.
These entrances to the city has a unique name. Pretty much the area surrounding these gates have adopted the name of darwaja as the name of the locality.
Teen Darwaja (Tran Darwaja, Three gates) - It is composed of 3 arched entrances was built by Sultan Ahmed Shah to serve as a royal entrance to Maidan Shahi. Mughal emperor Jehangir and his wife Nur Jahan used to watch the Tazia procession of Mahuram from over these gates.
§ Sarangpur Darwaja
§ Panchkuva Darwaja
§ Prem Darwaja
§ Dariyapur Darwaja
§ Delhi Darwaja (Dilli Darwaja) - Entrance in the direction of Delhi.
§ Shahpur Darwaja
§ Khanpur Darwaja
§ Jamalpur Darwaja
§ Shahalam Darwaja
§ Gomtipur Darwaja
A pair of gates (Darwaza) of Ahmedabad are still in a village of Rajasthan namely Nimaj as during the reign of Sarbuland Khan, the Governor of Ahmedabad, it was attacked by Mharaja Abhay Singh of Jodhpur. Nimaj was one of the Thikanas of Marwar under the then Rathore rulers. The Jagridar of Nimaj took the gates of one of the Darwazas of Ahmedabad as a trophy after defeating the force of Sarbuland Khan. Jodhpur army camped at a place which is still known as 'Jodhpur Tekra' and 'Jodhpur village' in Ahmedabad.
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