Golconda (disambiguation)
Golconda is a ruined city and fortress 8 km (5 mi) west of the city of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh state. The city and fortress are built on a granite hill that rises 120 meters from the surrounding plain. The beginnings of the fort date to the 1143, when the Hindu Kakatiya dynasty ruled the area. The Kakatiyas were followed by the state of Warangal, which was later conquered by the Muslim Bahmani Sultanate.
Golconda became the capital of a country of the same name, one of the Muslim Deccan sultanates founded after the collapse of the Bahmani kingdom. In 1518, Quli Qutb Shah, a Turkish governor of the Bahmani eastern province, founded the sultanate, and the Qutb Shahi dynasty ruled the state from Golconda fort until 1590, when the capital shifted to Hyderabad. The Qutb Shahis expanded the fort, whose 11 km outer wall enclosed the city, replacing the earlier brick walls with walls of solid stone. The Qutb Shahi sultanate lasted until its conquest by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in 1687. The fortress held out against Aurangzeb for eight months, falling to the Mughals through treachery.
The tombs of the Qutb Shahi sultans lie about one kilometer north of Golconda's outer wall. These graceful structures are made of beautifully carved stonework, and surrounded by landscaped gardens .
The territory around Golconda was home to rich mines, including diamond mines, and Golconda became mythologized as a place of great wealth. The wealth of the Golconda mines enriched the ruling Nizams of Hyderabad, which ruled the area from their independence from the Mughals in 1724 to 1948, when Hyderabad was annexed by India to become an Indian state. Hyderabad state was broken up in 1956, and Golconda became part of Andhra Pradesh state.
The mining town of Golconda, Arizona, now a ghost town, was named for the Golconda mines. See also Golconda, Illinois.