Defence Architecture in Early North Karnataka c17.s3.t1.16

c17.s3.t1.16

This gate (Illn. H1) is in the southern part of the fort. It is through this gate Aurangazēb (1659-1707 A.D.), the last Mughal emperor, after having conquerred this fort, in 1686 A.D. (Desai, P.B., et. al. 1970, P.400) entered the city of Bijāpur. In memory of his conquest, he named it as Fateh-gate (Fig.70, Schedule 7) meaning victory-gate. To this effect, there is a Persian inscription, which is fixed at the lintel level of the main entrance, flanked by two bastions. There is also another inscription in the eastern gate of Jumma Masjid, speaking of the conquest of Bijāpur by Aurangazēb, through this gate and taking over the city. Thus the gate is historically important. On account of this conquest, the rule of Adil Shāhis over the Bijāpur kingdom ended and the kingdom was added to Mughal empire.