Golconda

Golconda rises above the Telangana plateau as a vast fortified city of granite walls, gateways and palaces. Its citadel became the seat of the Qutb Shahi sultans and gave its name to the diamonds traded through their kingdom. Although the mines lay in various parts of their dominions, the name of Golconda came to be associated with some of the most celebrated stones in the world. Nearby stand the domed tombs of the dynasty, a striking expression of Deccani architecture.

Originally a stronghold of the Kakatiya rulers, Golconda passed to the Bahmani kingdom in the fourteenth century. As Bahmani authority weakened, Sultan Quli established the Qutb Shahi dynasty and made the fortress the centre of an independent sultanate. Its rulers enlarged the defences and patronised a court culture drawing on both local and Persianate traditions. In 1591 Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah founded Hyderabad nearby, but Golconda remained a vital fortress and treasury. Emperor Aurangzeb besieged it in 1687; after months of resistance the citadel fell, ending Qutb Shahi rule and bringing its last sultan into Mughal captivity.