Rachakonda Fort
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Rachakonda Fort | |
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General information | |
Country | India |
Completed | 1360 AD |
Rachakonda Fort is a historic fort located in Rachakonda, Yadadri Bhongir
district of Telangana, India.[1] It was built by the Recherla Nayaka king Anapotanayaka in the 14th century AD. Till that time the Recherla Nayakas had their capital at Anumagallu (present Amangal). At around 1360 AD, the capital was shifted by Anapotanayaka from Anumagallu to Rachakonda where he built a strong fort.[2]
Anapotanayaka split the Kingdom into two for administrative convenience and his brother Madanayaka ruled from Devarakonda. Devarakonda was subservient to Rachakonda. The Recherla Nayakas lost control of Rachakonda in 1430 AD to the Bahamanis but held onto Devarakonda till 1475 AD when the Recherla kingdom was finally extinguished and they joined the court of Hampi Vijayanagara kingdom.
Location
It is located in Samsthan Narayanpur Mandal, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri District, only 70 km away from Hyderabad. One has to take the highway up to Choutuppal and take a diversion from there and proceed another 25 km to reach Rachakonda.[3] Another alternative is to take Nagarjuna Sagar Highway and take a divertion from Ibrahimpatnam. It is a shorter route and 45 km away from L.B.Nagar
History
The fort of Rachakonda was constructed by Recherla Anapotanayaka, son of Recherla Singamanayaka, who was a commander of the Kakatiya King Prataparudra. The fort was constructed around 1360 AD.
Singamanayaka attacked the Jallipalli fort in around 1358 AD while he was extending his kingdom. While besieging the fort he was killed by the Somakula
The Rachakonda kingdom stretched up to Godavari in the north, Srisailam in the south, Bahamani kingdom in the west and Kondaveedu in the east.
The Rachakonda kings initially supported the Bahamani Kingdom but later in the war between the Bahamanis and Vijayanagara kings in 1424 AD, they switched their allegiance to the Vijayanagara Kingdom. This enraged the Bhamani sultan Firoz Shah who later signed a peace treaty with Vijyanagara and attacked the Rachakonda kingdom and conquered it. By the year 1433 AD, only a few forts remained in the control of kings of Rachakonda.
The Rachakonda kings then sought the help of
The Bahmani kingdom under Nizam Shah again attacked Orugallu in 1475 AD and the Kingdom was annexed by the sultan. Thus the Rachakonda kingdom originated in 1350-60 AD and was finally consumed by the Bahamanis in the year 1475 AD.
The Rachakonda and Devarakonda kings supported the Bahamani Sultan's for sometime, the Vijayanagara kings for sometime and the Gajapatis of Orissa for sometime and fought with their respective enemies.
References
- ^ Borah, Prabalika M. (29 August 2015). "Let's get away: Rachakonda" – via www.thehindu.com.
- ^ Reddy, T. Karnakar (9 October 2014). "Tourists can't ask for more at Rachakonda!" – via www.thehindu.com.
- ^ India, The Hans (22 July 2017). "Forts to have green cover soon". www.thehansindia.com.
Further reading
- "Andhra Vijana Sarvasvam" Telugu Samskriti Volume I, in Telugu Universityat Hyderabad. The article on Rachakonda Kingdom was authored by Mallampalli Somasekhara Sarma an Indian historian who wrote the "Forgotten History of Telugu Kingdoms"
- "Velugoativari Vamsavali" a compendium of the Velugoti family of Venkatagiri from the Mackenzie collection.