Golconda Fort

Darbar hall (btw Makki Darwaja road and Bada bazaar road), Hyderabad, India

About

Golkonda, also known as Golconda or Golla konda ("shepherd's hill"), a ruined city of Southern India and capital of ancient Golconda Sultanate (c.1518-1687), is situated 11 km west of Hyderabad.The region is universally famous for the mines that have produced the world's most famous and coveted gems, including The Hope Diamond, Idol's Eye, The Koh-i-Noor and Darya-i-Noor.

The most important builder of Golkonda was Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah Wali, the fourth Qutub king of the Qutub Shahi Dynasty. Ibrahim was following in the spirit of his ancestors, the Qutub Shahi kings, a great family of builders who had ruled the kingdom of Golkonda from 1512. Their first capital, the fortress citadel of Golkonda, was rebuilt for defense from invading Mughals from the north