Devgarh

Deogarh was the hilltop capital of a powerful Gond kingdom in central India. Its fort rises above a deep valley and forests, with a gate, palace remains and a reservoir remembered as the Mortitanka. Tradition credits the Gond founder Jatba with the fort, while its architecture also reflects later Mughal influence. From this stronghold the dynasty governed territory extending toward the plains of Nagpur.

Jatba is remembered as overthrowing the earlier Gaoli rulers. In the late seventeenth century Bakht Buland expanded the kingdom, acquired Seoni and other districts from Mandla, and encouraged cultivators and artisans to settle in his lands. His successor Chand Sultan made Nagpur his capital. After Chand Sultan’s death in 1739, a succession dispute invited intervention by Raghoji Bhonsle. By 1743 the Maratha chief held effective power, though a Gond king remained on the throne in name.