Kalan Kot Fort

From Jatland Wiki
(Redirected from Kalán-kot)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Kalan Kot Fort (Urdu: كلاں كوٹ قلعه, Old name Tughlikabad: جام تغلق آباد) was built probably in 14th century along with Thatta.

Variants

Location

History

Sámúí deserves notice from the attempt which has been made to establish it as the celebrated Minnagara of the ancient geographers. It was the capital of the Jáms of the Samma Dynasty, and, according to the Tuhfatu-l Kirám, it was founded by Jám Pániya, under the Makli Hill, about three miles north-west of Thatta. Kalan Kot means the great fort.

Subsequently, the fort of Tughlikábád was built by Jám Taghúr or Tughlik, on the site of the older Kalá-kot, about two miles south of Thatta; but that, as well as its predecessor, was left unfinished by its founder (p. 272). By a strange vicissitude, the name of Tughlikábád is now comparatively forgotten, and that of Kalá-kot erroneously called Kalán-kot (the great fort), though for a time superseded, has restored the just claims of Rájá Kalá, and still attracts the attention of the traveller. Lt. Burton calls it Kallián-kot. I fear to differ from so good a local authority, but believe Kalá-kot to be more strictly correct.[1]

The ruins of Sámúí, Samúiya, or Samma-nagar, “the city of the Sammas,” are to be traced near Thatta; and, under the wrong and deceptive spelling of Sa-minagar, have induced Col. Tod, Sir A. Burnes, and many who have too readily followed them—including even Ritter, who considers the question settled “incontestably,”— to recognise in that name the more ancient and more famous Minna-gara. The easy, but totally unwarrantable, elision of the first and only important syllable has led to this fanciful identification.

Nawwáb Muríd Khán was by birth the son of a Rája, and newly converted to the Muhammadan faith. In the year 1099 H. (1688 A.D.) corresponding with the 31st of the reign, he was appointed to the government of Thatta. When he was dismissed, he remained for some time at the fort of Tughlikábád, better known as Kalánkot, as he found the air suited to the complaint under which he was suffering, of weakness of sight. The king, out of regard to him, did not oppose this arrangement, but when his successor arrived at Thatta, he was summoned to the court. Some of the present defences and buildings of the fort of Tughlikábád are of his construction.[2]


External links

References


Back to Jat Places in Pakistan