Bangalore Fort

Bangalore Fort began in 1537 as a mud fort. The builder was Kempe Gowda I, a vassal of the Vijaynagar Empire and the founder of Bangalore. King Hyder Ali in 1761 replaced the mud fort with a stone fort and it was further improved by his son King Tipu Sultan in the late 18th century. Though damaged during an Anglo-Mysore war in 1791, it still remains a good example of 18th-century military fortification. The army of the British East India Company, led by Lord Cornwallis on 21 March 1791 captured the fort in the siege of Bangalore during the Third Mysore War (1790–1792). At the time the fort was a stronghold for King Tipu Sultan. Today, the fort's Delhi gate, on Krishnarajendra Road, and two bastions are the primary remains of the fort. A marble plaque commemorates the spot where the British breached the fort's wall, leading to its capture. The old fort area also includes King Tipu Sultan's Summer Palace, and his armoury. The fort provided the setting for the treasure hunt in the book Riddle of the Seventh Stone.

The confirmed history of the Bangalore Fort is traced to 1537, when Kempe Gowda I (pictured), a chieftain of the Vijayanagara Empire, widely held as the founder of modern Bangalore, built a mud fort and established the area around it as Bengaluru Pete, his capital.

Kempe Gowda I, who showed remarkable qualities of leadership from childhood, had a grand vision to build a new city. This intention was further fueled by his visits to Hampi, now a UNESCO heritage city, then the beautiful capital city of the Vijayanagar Empire. He persevered with his vision and got permission from King Achutaraya, the ruler of the empire, to build a new city for himself. The King gifted 12 hoblis (revenue subdivisions) with an annual income of 30,000 varahas (gold coins) to Kempe Gowda to meet the expenses of his venture of building a new city.

Kempe Gowda moved from his ancestral land of Yelahanka to establish his new principality, having obtained support from King Achutaraya. One version for the site selection process for the fort and the Bengaluru Pete is that during a hunting expedition along with his Advisor Gidde Gowda, Kempe Gowda went westward of Yelahanka and reached a village called Shivasamudra (near Hesaraghatta), some 10 miles (16 km) from Yelahanka where, in a tranquil atmosphere under a tree, he visualized building a suitable capital city with a fort, a cantonment, tanks (water reservoirs) and temples for people of all trades and professions. It is also said that an omen of an uncommon event of a hare chasing away a hunting dog at the place recommended its selection. A dream of the goddess Lakshmi (the Hindu Goddess of wealth) that prophesied a prosperous future, further sealed his decision on the place for his capital. Therefore, on an auspicious day in 1537, he conducted a ground breaking ritual and festivities by ploughing the land with four pairs of decorated white bulls in four directions, at the focal point of the junction of Doddapet and Chikkapet, the junction of the present day Avenue Road and Old Taluk Kacheri Road (OTC).

Thereafter, Kempe Gowda constructed a mud fort (now in the western part of the city), with a moat surrounding it, and nine large gates. The building of the mud fort is also steeped in a legend. During the construction of the fort it was said that the southern gate would collapse no sooner than it was built and human sacrifice was necessary to ward off the evil spirits. When Kempe Gowda would not accept human sacrifice, his daughter-in-law, Lakshamma, realising her father-in-Law's predicament, beheaded herself with a sword at the southern gate under the cover of night. Subsequently, the fort was completed without any mishap. In her memory, Kempe Gowda built a temple in her name in Koramangala. Thus, Kempe Gowda's dream came to fruition and the Bengaluru Pete evolved around the mud fort called the Bangalore Fort.

In 1637–38, the Bangalore Fort under Kempe Gowda's rule was very prosperous. Rustam i Zaman (Randaula Khan), the commander under the Bijapur Sultanate who was on a war campaign, havinf captured the Sira Fort close to Bangalore, wanted to capture the Bangalore Fort and the city. However, Kasturi Ranga Nayak, who had been given the Sira Fort to hold, prevailed on Rustam i Zaman not to attack the fort, after the town hab been taken and the fort surrounded with 30,000 strong cavalry. Kempe Gowda managed to get Nayak to withdraw the troops. Randaula Khan, who was not convinced about the action of Nayak in withdrawing the troops, met Nayak in his tent and promised him more rewards and also recognition under the Bijapur rulers, Nayak relented but advised Randaula not to attack the fort at that time, since he would manage surrender of the fort by Kempe Gowda eventually. Soon enough he prevailed on Kempe Gowda to surrender the fort with all its riches and without any battle. Rustam i Zaman then took over the fort and handed over its management to Shahji, along with other territories that he had recently conquered, with Bangalore as his headquarters.

This mud fort was enlarged during Chikkadeva Raya Wodeyar's rule between 1673 AD and 1704 AD. In 1761, it was renovated by Hyder Ali, who fortified it with stones. A part of the fort was subject to bombardment by the British when they fought a battle against Tipu Sultan, son of Hyder Ali. Tipu Sultan repaired the fort later. Inside the fort, there is a temple dedicated to Lord Ganapathy.

In March 1791 the army of the British East India Company led by Lord Cornwallis laid siege to the Bangalore Fort during the Third Mysore War. Following tough resistance by the Mysore army led by the Commandant Bahadur Khan, in which over 2000 Mysore soldiers were killed, on 21 March the British breached the walls near the Delhi Gate and captured it. In the words of the British chronicler Mark Wilks, "Resistance was everywhere respectable." With the capture of the Bangalore Fort the Army of British East India Company replenished supplies and obtained a strategic base from where it could attack Srirangapatna, Tippu Sultan's capital.