Davidcza: added first pg w/ sources

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added first pg w/ sources

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{{short description|Fort in Bathinda}}
{{distinguish|text=[[Qila Mubarak, Patiala|Qila Mubarak in Patiala]] or [[Qila Mubarak, Faridkot|Qila Mubarak in Faridkot]]}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Qila Mubarak
| native_language =
| image = Qila Mubarak in 2015(2).jpg
| image_size = 300px
| alt = Qila Mubarak in Bhatinda, Punjab, India
| caption = Qila Mubarak in 2015
| location = [[Bhatinda]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], [[India]]
| built = 6th century CE
| architect =
| architecture =
| coordinates = {{coord|30|12|29|N|74|56|15|E|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = India#India Punjab
| map_relief = yes
| map_caption = Location in Punjab
| height = 30 meters
| restored_by = [[Maharaja of Patiala]]
| governing_body = [[Government of Punjab, India]] (Since abolishment of Patiala state & accedence within Union of India )
}}
'''Qila Mubarak''',<ref>Hindustan times article [https://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/bathinda-s-gobindgarh-fort-crumbling-poses-threat-to-visitors/story-8S6CneBKbLtPhAE4VgMV5J.html Bathinda’s Gobindgarh Fort crumbling, poses threat to visitors]</ref> also known as '''Gobindgarh''' or '''Bathinda Fort''', is a [[historical monument]] in the heart of the city of [[Bathinda]] in [[Punjab, India]]. It is recognised as monument of national importance and maintained by [[Archaeological Survey of India]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://121.242.207.115/asi.nic.in/alphabetical-list-of-monuments-punjab/|title=Alphabetical List of Monuments – Punjab|website=[[Archaeological Survey of India]] - Chandigarh circle|access-date=25 June 2018|archive-date=25 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625194401/http://121.242.207.115/asi.nic.in/alphabetical-list-of-monuments-punjab/|url-status=dead}}</ref> It has been in existence from 1100 to 1200 AD in its current place and is the oldest surviving fort in India. It was here that [[Razia Sultana|Razia Sultan]], the first woman to take charge of the [[Delhi]] throne was incarcerated upon her defeat and dethroned.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/queen-razia-sultanas-story-crumbles-in-bathinda-fort/articleshow/58887331.cms|title=Queen Razia Sultana's story crumbles in Bathinda fort|date=29 May 2017|work=[[The Times of India]]|access-date=25 June 2018}}</ref> The bricks of the fort date back to the [[Kushana]] period when emperor [[Kanishka]] ruled over Northern [[India]]/[[Bactria]]. Raja Dab, along with emperor [[Kanishka]], is believed to have built the fort.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/bathinda-fort-heading-towards-collapse-cries-for-renovation/story-Q1KNUJbt7SAm6fQarh621N.html|title=Bathinda fort heading towards collapse, cries for renovation|last=Bathinda fort heading towards collapse, cries for renovation|date=4 November 2014|work=[[Hindustan Times]]|access-date=25 June 2018}}</ref> Qila Mubarak in latter part of the 10th Century was under the rule of [[Jayapala]], a ruler of the [[Hindu Shahi]] dynasty.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Vincent Arthur |url=http://archive.org/details/oxfordhistoryofi00smituoft |title=The Oxford history of India, from the earliest times to the end of 1911 |last2=Edwardes |first2=Stephen Meredyth |authorlink2=Stephen Edwardes |date=1919 |page=190 |publisher=Oxford, Clarendon Press |others=Robarts - University of Toronto}}</ref> Much of the fortress is closed-off to the public, aside from lawns and the gurdwaras.<ref name=":19">{{Cite web |last=Sidhu |first=Puneetinder Kaur |date=15 June 2014 |title=Forlorn fortifications |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140615/spectrum/main1.htm |access-date=23 December 2025 |website=The Tribune}}</ref>

== Architecture ==
The Imperial Gazetteer of India describes the fort having 36 bastions and a height of about 118 ft. It was a conspicuous landmark for many miles around.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V08_096.gif|title=Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 8, p. 89, p. 90. - BHATINDA TOWN|website=Digital South Asia Library.|access-date=9 July 2018|archive-date=9 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709153943/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V08_096.gif|url-status=dead}}</ref> A gurdwara located on its ramparts marks the visit of Guru Gobind Singh to the fort.<ref name=":19" /> The Rani Mahal located above the fort's entrance was a later addition.<ref name=":19" />

== History ==

=== Early history ===
The bricks used to construct the fort dates back to the [[Kushan Empire|Kushana period]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2025}} The fort was constructed by the king so that [[Huna people|Huns]] could not invade the kingdom of Emperor [[Kanishka]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}} The Qila Mubarak of Bathinda is purported to have been constructed by [[Raja Dab]], a local ruler.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |title=Handbook on Urban History of Early India |publisher=Springer Nature |year=2024 |isbn=9789819762309 |editor-last=Sen |editor-first=Aloka Parasher |pages=351–352 |quote=Bathinda was an important settlement from 300 to 1200 CE and even during the medieval period. It was called Govindgarh in earlier times. As per the tradition the fort was built by Raja Deb, an ancestor of Vena Pal, during the early centuries. The fort was originally made of mud bricks. It has witnessed several alterations at the hands of successive rulers. The excavation conducted by Shri Raghbir Singh at Bathinda Fort revealed pottery and mud-brick wall of the early medieval period.}}</ref> Raja Dab was the ancestor of [[Vena Pal]], another local ruler later on.<ref name=":2" /> According to Puneetinder Sidhu, the fortress was constructed around the early 9th century by the local [[Bhatti]] [[Rajput]] rulers of the region.<ref name=":19" /> Hindu chronicles of [[Kashmir]] described it as [[Jayapala|Jaipal's]] capital, and say it was captured by [[Mahmud of Ghazni]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2025}}

=== Sultanates and Mughals ===
In the later years, the fort has undergone various types of alteration done by the rulers of the area.{{Citation needed|date=December 2025}} Bhatinda appears in the works of the historians from early Muhammadan period as ''Batrinda'', often incorrectly converted into ''Tabarhind''.{{Citation needed|date=December 2025}} The location in the early Muslim chronociles is described as Tabarhind, ruled by [[Malik Altunia|Altunia]].<ref name=":19" /> [[Razia Sultana]], the first empress of Delhi had been imprisoned in Quila Mubarak by Altunia, who had rebelled against her rule.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Qila Mubarak Bathinda |url=http://www.viewpunjab.com/qila-mubarak-bathinda/ |access-date=9 July 2018 |archive-date=9 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709153744/http://www.viewpunjab.com/qila-mubarak-bathinda/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Razia Sultana escaped from the fort and married Altunia, with them re-capturing Delhi and later being killed.<ref name=":19" /> The fortress was enhanced many times under the rule of the [[Mughal Empire]], especially under [[Mughal Emperor]] [[Akbar]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2025}}

=== Sikh period ===
[[File:Photograph of Gurdwara Sri Qila Mubarak Sahib at Qila Mubarak (Bathinda Fort), Bathinda, Punjab, India, April 2023.jpg|thumb|Photograph of Gurdwara Sri Qila Mubarak Sahib at Qila Mubarak (Bathinda Fort), Bathinda, Punjab, India, April 2023]]
In 1754, Baba [[Ala Singh]] of [[Patiala State|Patiala state]] took control of Qila  Mubarak and renamed it ''Gobindgarh'' to honor Guru Gobind Singh. Before this, local say that Guru Nanak Dev, the first Sikh guru, visited the fort in 1515, and Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh guru, visited around 1665. Many years later, in 1705, Guru Gobind Singh came to the fort after his victory at the [[Battle of Muktsar]].<ref name=":3">Hindustan times article - [https://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/bathinda-s-gobindgarh-fort-crumbling-poses-threat-to-visitors/story-8S6CneBKbLtPhAE4VgMV5J.html Bathinda’s Gobindgarh Fort crumbling, poses threat to visitors]</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite web |title=Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 8, p. 89, p. 90. - BHATINDA TOWN |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V08_096.gif |access-date=9 July 2018 |website=Digital South Asia Library. |archive-date=9 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709153943/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V08_096.gif |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Discover the ancient fort of bathinda - [https://indianculture.gov.in/forts-of-india/discovering-the-forts-of-india/ancient-bathinda-fort#:~:text=In%201665%2C%20the%20ninth%20guru,Battle%20of%20Muktsar%20(1705). indianculture.gov.in]</ref><ref name=":19" /> To commemorate Guru Gobind Singh’s visit, two gurdwaras were later constructed within the fort complex, one of which was built by Karam Singh, a former ruler of Patiala.<ref name=":3" />

==See also==
* [[Qila Mubarak, Patiala]]
* [[Bathinda district]]

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Bhatinda Fort 1906- pg 78 - India under royal eyes- Henry Francis Prevost Battersby.jpg|Bathinda Fort in 1906
File:Qila Mubarak in Bathinda.jpg|View from inside the Fort
File:Qila Mubarak inside.jpg|Qila Mubarak inside view
File:Bathinda fort fromtop.jpg|View from top terrace of Fort, June 2003
File:Quila-Mubarak-complex-Bhatinda-Bhatinda-Punjab.jpg|The fort of Govindgarh
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
* [http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20041009/punjab1.htm No record of antiquities at Quila Mubarak]

{{commons category}}

{{Forts_in_India}}

[[Category:Military history of the Ghaznavid Empire]]
[[Category:Kushan Empire]]
[[Category:Forts in Punjab, India]]
[[Category:Bathinda]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Punjab, India]]

Qila Mubarak, Bathinda - Revision history

Davidcza: added first pg w/ sources