Makka Darwaza inscription, Golconda (1559)

The Makka Darwaza is one of the eight gates of Golconda Fort.¹ Syed Ali Asgar Bilgrami says it was so named “because it faces the Mecca”.¹ He describes a strong, wide gate of teak, studded with sharp iron spikes.¹ The spikes were put there “with a view to protect the gate from the battering of elephants”.¹

The longest inscription of the fort runs across the front of this gate.² Bilgrami measured it at 46 ft 2 in long and 1 ft 6½ in wide.² It is engraved “in Naskh script and Tughra style”.² He wrote that “Notwithstanding the boldness of the letters the style is graceful and masterly”.²

The text

Bilgrami’s translation begins with a play on the picture of a fortress.³¹ It opens: “In the name of God, who made the word of His unity an impregnable fort, the gates of which have been opened to us through his mercy”.³¹

It then says that “this gate which is of fortune and fort of felicity was, verily, built during the days of the administration of the greatest of sovereigns”.³¹ This sovereign is “the shadow of God in the world, the namesake of Khalilul-lah (the Friend of God) (Prophet Ibrahim), Humayooni Azam Qutbshah”.³¹

The work was done “By the noble efforts of the pillar of his powerful empire”.¹ This was a minister “better known among the people by the name of Kamaluddin Husain and entitled Mustafa Khan on account of his high rank”.¹ The text ends: “In the months of the year 967 A.H. (1559 A.D.) written by Muhammad of Isphahan”.¹

The king is not named outright.¹ Bilgrami explains that Ibrahim Qutb Shah “has been metaphorically referred to as ‘Khalilul-lah’ which is the nom-de-plume of the Prophet Ibrahim”.¹ Bilgrami published a plate of the inscription.³

Mustafa Khan and the walls of Golconda

Bilgrami adds some facts from the Qutb Shahi histories.¹ The battlements and gates of Golconda, “which form a circumference of 8,000 yards were completed in the course of 9 months”.¹ The work was supervised by Sayyid Kamaluddin of Ardistan, entitled Mustafa Khan, and it cost twenty lakhs.¹ Mustafa Khan was also made peshwa (chief minister) and vakil (agent).¹

The Golconda chronicle, translated by John Briggs, tells why the walls were built.⁴⁵ The armies of Bijapur and Vijayanagara had camped near Golconda.⁴⁵ After this, Ibrahim decided “to rebuild the fort of Golconda with stone and mortar”.⁴⁵ The chronicle lists “The fortifications around the hill of Golconda” first among the buildings of his reign.⁴⁵

The inscription is the dated record of that work.⁴⁵ The chronicle also gives Mustafa Khan a share in forming the alliance that defeated Vijayanagara in 1565.⁶ See the Qutb Shahis.

Footnotes

1. Bilgrami, Landmarks of the Deccan (1927), p. 122 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷

2. Syed Ali Asgar Bilgrami, Landmarks of the Deccan (1927), p. 120 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. Bilgrami, Landmarks of the Deccan (1927), p. 121 and plate (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

4. Golconda chronicle, in Muhammad Qasim Ferishta, tr. John Briggs, History of the Rise of the Mahomedan Power in India, Vol. III (1829), p. 409 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

5. Golconda chronicle, in Briggs, Rise of the Mahomedan Power, Vol. III (1829), p. 446 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

6. Golconda chronicle, in Briggs, Rise of the Mahomedan Power, Vol. III (1829), p. 413 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩