Top row, from left : Saat Kaman, Kevda Masjid & Cenotaph, Serpentine channel at Amir’s Manzi. Middle row from left : Gabenshah’s Vav, Carvings on Minaret’s base, Jami Masjid. Bottom row, from left : Ek Minar ki Masjid, Sahar ki Masjid, remains of a minaret near Kamani Masjid.
Mehmud Begda’s successor was Sultan Muzaffar who ruled the region between 1511-26 AD. In 1535 AD, the Mughal emperor Humayun’s forces defeated Sultan Muzaffar and ransacked the city. Thus the population started deserting the area and the city apparently lost its glory. After the death of Bahadurshah in 1536 AD, the capital was shifted back to Ahmedabad. Champaner was a totally ignored city by 1611 AD and with downfall of Mughals, in 1727 AD, the Marathas conquered fort at Pavagadh. In 1803 AD, when the British took over Champaner, it was a lost city covered by a dense jungle and had a population of only about 500 inhabitants.
Why did the Rajput, Islamic & Maratha rulers find this particular site so very commanding and imposing? Probably because the hill appears impenetrable from south and west sides making it an ideal location to build a vastly secure fort. The Rajputs built an impressive defense system of forts, buildings and gateways. Fragments of one surviving temple, three jain temples on Mauliya plateau and several other remains of some more such structures indicate extensive temple building activity for a few hundred years before the Islamic rule.
3 comments:
History is boring but your pics are good!
Can you post some more recent pictures of the monuments?
Lesser known place. Is it worth exploring. Or is it just another picknic spot. Your pictures indicate an interesting site with an equally interesting history. Good show!
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