Kaulas Fort
Kowlas Fort (or Kaulas Fort) is a historic fort in western Telangana near Bichkunda town on National Highway 161 in India that was constructed by Rashtrakutas in the 9th century CE. It later came under the rule of Chalukyas of Badami, the Kakatiyas, Musunuri Nayaks, Bahmani Sultanate, Qutub Shahis, Mughals, Marathas and, finally, the Asaf Jahis (the Hyderabad State). It is the trijunction of Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra states, and has historically served as a strategic outpost contested by many kingdoms.[1][2]
| Kowlas Fort | |
|---|---|
| Part of Telangana | |
| Kowlas Near Bichkunda in India | |
  Kowlas Fort  Kowlas Fort | |
| Coordinates | 18.32386°N 77.69757°E |
| Site history | |
| Built | 9th century CE |
| Built by | Rashtrakutas |
History
The history of the fort dates back to the 9th century AD. According to historians, it was built in Indra IV’s period of the Rashtrakuta dynasty in their political capital and was later captured by the Chalukyas of the Kalyani dynasty in the third quarter of the 10th century before it was captured by the Kakatiyas in the 12th century.
The Kakatiya kingdom, which ruled from present day Warangal, held the Kowlas Fort till 1323 AD, a period more or less parallel to the one and only Kakatiya woman ruler, Rani Rudrama Devi. Later, the Kowlas region is said to have come under the rule of the Bahmanis, Qutb Shahis, Yadavas, Naikwaries, Mughals, Devagiri, Kalyani, Marathas, etc and finally under the Asaf Jahis (Nizams) (1724 to 1948).
The Nizams appointed Raja Gopal Singh Gaur, a Kshatriya or Rajput, as the Chief of Kowlas in the 1720s and his successors held this fort till 1948 when the Indian Union over took Hyderabad state.
References
- A slice of Telangana history: Exploring the once impregnable Kaulas Fort, News Minute, 23 September 2019.
- Monuments Kaulas Fort, Department of Heritage Telangana, 28 July 2018.
