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	{{Use dmy dates\|date=July ~~2022~~}}		{{Use dmy dates\|date=July 2020}}
	{{Use Indian English\|date=July ~~2022~~}}		{{Use Indian English\|date=July 2020}}
	{{More citations needed\|date=September ~~2022~~}}		{{More citations needed\|date=September 2020}}
	{{Infobox military installation		{{Infobox military installation
	\|name = Arnala fort		\|name = Arnala fort

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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2017}}
{{Refimprove|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox military structure
|name = Arnala fort
|native_name =
|partof = the [[Maratha Empire]]
|location =
|image = Arnala killa.jpg
|caption = Arnala fort bastion viewed through one of the fort's windows
|map_type =India Maharashtra
|coordinates = {{Coord|19.46577|72.73247|type:landmark_region:IN-MH|display=inline,title}}
|map_size =
|map_alt =
|map_caption =
|type =
|code =
|built =
|builder =
|materials =
|height =
|used =
|demolished =
|condition = Protected Ruins
|ownership =
|open_to_public = Yes
|controlledby = {{noflag}}[[Bijapur Sultanate|Bijapur]] {{noflag}}Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj {{flagcountry|Portugal|1707}} (c.1530-1737) {{flagcountry|Maratha Empire}} (1737-1818) {{flagcountry|United Kingdom}}
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the British East India Company (1801).svg}} [[East India Company]] (1818-1857)
* {{flagicon image|British Raj Red Ensign.svg}} [[British India]] (1857-1947)
{{flagcountry|India}}
|garrison =
|current_commander =
|commanders =
|occupants =
|battles =
|events =
|image2 =
|caption2 =
}}


'''Arnala Fort''' is built on a small island of the port town of [[Arnala]], located around 13 km (8 miles) north of [[Vasai]], [[Maharashtra]], [[India]].<ref name="fof">{{cite web|url=http://www.fortsofsahyadri.friendsofforts.com/list_of_maharashtraforts.htm |title=Friends of Forts |access-date=2009-02-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090405125744/http://www.fortsofsahyadri.friendsofforts.com/list_of_maharashtraforts.htm |archive-date=2009-04-05 }}</ref> Being an island fort, it is also called '''Jaldurg''' or '''Janjire-Arnala'''. The [[Portugal|Portuguese]], who built the present fort,<ref name="portugal">{{cite book|last=Scholberg|first=Henry|title=Fortress Portugal in India|publisher=NorthStar Publications|year=1995|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oxhuAAAAMAAJ&q=arnala&dq=arnala&lr=&ei=OaSHSf2kFY_GlQTKkvC8Bg&client=firefox-a&pgis=1|access-date=2009-02-02}}</ref> called the island '''Ilha das vacas'''.

== History ==
In 1516 a local chieftain in Gujarat, Sultan Mahmud Begda, constructed the fort on the island, strategically located at the mouth of the [[Vaitarna river]]. In the 1530s the Portuguese had established their operations in the coastal area, headquartered at [[Bassein Fort|Fort Bassein]], and soon gained control of the island. The Portuguese captain of Bassein donated the island to a Portuguese nobleman who tore down the old fort and began construction of a {{convert|700|x|700|ft|m|adj=on}} fort. The nobleman never completed the fort. Still, it remained under Portuguese control for two centuries; they used it to control shipping and navigation along the northern [[Konkan]] coast.

During the late 17th and early 18th centuries, after a long struggle with the [[Mughal Empire]], the [[Maratha Confederacy]] came to dominate the region. In 1737 the then Peshwa [[Baji Rao I]] sent his brother, [[Chimaji Appa]], to take the Bassein Fort from the Portuguese. After winning the [[Battle of Vasai]], his general, [[Shankarji Pant]], persuaded Chimaji to launch an assault on Fort Arnala, for its strategic importance to the Maratha navy in assaulting Portuguese interests. Their first assault, coordinated with a Maratha naval force commanded by Manaji Agre, was routed by a superior Portuguese naval force. A second assault on the fort on 28 March 1737, caught the Portuguese by surprise and forced them to abandon the fort. The victory was commemorated by a plaque installed on the northern wall of the fort and is still visible today. The Marathas then rebuilt the fort, constructing three bastions Bahirav, Bhavani, and Bava.

The British captured the fort on 18 January 1781 during the [[First Anglo-Maratha War]].<ref name=Naravane>{{Cite book |last=Naravane |first=M.S. |title=Battles of the Honorourable East India Company |publisher=A.P.H. Publishing Corporation |year=2014 |isbn=9788131300343 |pages=61}}</ref>

The Marathas controlled the fort until 1817. During the [[Third Anglo-Maratha War|third British-Maratha war]], despite successfully defending the fort, the Marathas were forced to surrender the fort to the British due to their superior naval power. The treaty of Salabai returned the Arnala and Bassien forts to the Marathas, but the British regained the forts under the [[Treaty of Poona]]. Today the fort is in a state of disrepair.<ref name="coast">{{cite book|last=Naravane|first=A.V.H.|title=The Maritime and Coastal Forts of India|publisher=APH Publishing|year=1998|pages=43–44|isbn=81-7024-910-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k59aVCIlFB8C&pg=PA43&dq=arnala&lr=&ei=O6OHSfaEA4PKkQTV6t3uBQ&client=firefox-a#PPA43,M1|access-date=2009-02-02}}</ref>

== Features ==
[[File:Arnala-fort-octagonal-reservoir.jpg|thumb|Octagonal water reservoir inside the fort.]]


=== Octagonal Water Reservoir and Temples ===
There is a large [[octagonal]] fresh water reservoir inside the fort. Inside the fort are the temples of Ambakeshwar, the goddess Bhavani, Lord Shiva, and the tombs of Shahali and Hajjali. The 'paduka' or sacred sandals of [[Shrinityanand Maharaj]] are housed in a dome on the eastern face of the fort.

=== The Entrance ===
The main entrance of the fort faces approximately north. [[File:Arnala-fort-entrance.jpg|thumb|Main entrance as seen from North side.]]
The solid stone doorway is adorned with pictures of tigers and elephants. [[File:Arnala-fort-entrance-detail.jpg|thumb|Detail of images of Tiger and elephant on the entrance door.]]

=== Ramparts and Walls ===
The external ramparts are in a fairly good condition, and a roughly three-meter-wide path exists along the outer walls.
.<ref name="popular">{{cite book|last=Kantak|first=M.R.|title=The First Anglo-Maratha War, 1774-1783: A Military Study of Major Battles|publisher=Popular Prakashan|year=1993|pages=150|isbn=81-7154-696-X|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cdXnVOKKkssC&pg=PA150&dq=arnala&ei=u6GHSblAlNyTBP_AiO8F&client=firefox-a|access-date=2009-02-02}}</ref>

===Southern Watch Tower===
There exists a lone [[Martello tower]] about 550 meters from the main fort, on the southern end of the island. This tower has no entrance gate.
[[File:Arnala-fort-south-watch-tower.jpg|thumb|Martello tower on Arnala Island]]

== See also ==

*[[Bassein Fort]]
*[[Portuguese India]]
*[[List of forts in Maharashtra]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Fort Arnala}}
* [http://www.funonthenet.in/content/view/150/31/ Arnala Fort Pictures] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182933/http://www.funonthenet.in/content/view/150/31/ |date=3 March 2016 }} Pictures of Forts in Maharashtra
* [https://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/unitedit/places/Arnala/Arnala_fort.htm&date=2009-10-25+23:35:11 Arnala Fort Page] A Vasai Cultural Information Website in GeoCities.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060528005146/http://arbit-raj.blogspot.com/2006/04/arnala-fort-trip.html Arnala fort Trip] A Blog Post on Arnala by a blogger.
* [http://www.timetotravel.co.in/2010/01/arnala-fort-jivdani-temple.html Arnala Fort & Jivdani Temple - * How to go, places to visit, things to do]
* [http://trekking95.blogspot.in/2015/01/virar.html Trekking Tourism - Virar - विरार - ویرار]

{{Forts in Maharashtra}}
{{Forts in India}}
[[Category:Maratha Navy]]
[[Category:Forts in Palghar district|Arnala]]
[[Category:Portuguese forts in India]]
[[Category:History of Vasai]]
[[Category:Rebuilt buildings and structures in India]]
[[Category:16th-century forts in India]]
[[Category:1530s establishments in Portuguese India]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Palghar district]]
[[Category:Forts in Maharashtra]]

Arnala fort - Revision history

Bot: robot: Create/update articles. If there is a mistake please report on my talk page.

Bot: robot: Create/upgrade articles. If there is a mistake please report on my talk page.

>Pratishkhedekar: added category