Firoz Shah palace complex

Evolution of Indian trade networks. The main map shows the routes since Mughal times, Inset A shows the major prehistorical cultural currents, B: pre-Mauryan routes, C: Mauryan routes, D: routes c. 1st century CE, and E: the "Z" shaped region of developed roads.

The palace, known as Hisar-i-Firuza, is located at a strategic point where the old Delhi Multan Road branches towards Khorasan, a historic region northeast of Iran.

Construction began in 1354 CE, supervised by Firozshah, who stayed at Hisar for the purpose. Stone was brought from the hills of Mahendragarh to build the ramparts, which were surrounded by a protective moat. The tank inside the complex was used to refill the moat. The complex was completed in 1356 after two and half years, and Ferozshah ordered his courtiers to build their palaces within the walls of the fort.[6]

Artillery was not widely used in Central Asia prior to the 16th century. The limited use of cannon at Hisar by the Timurid Sultan Husayn Mirza in 1496 did not lead to a substantial military role for artillery in India.[7] nor did the presence of cannon on Portuguese ships at the 1509 Battle of Diu.[8] Regular use of artillery came to India only with the Mughal invasion and Babur.[7]

Restoration work began on the palace in 1924 and has gradually continued since. The complex has been declared a Centrally Protected Monument by the Archaeological Survey of India.

The palace complex consists of a mosque, a Diwan-e-Aam, a palace for the shah’s wife, apartments underground, and a granary.[3] The artwork in the fort synthesizes Islamic and Indian architecture. However, the mosque is an example of Seljuk architecture. The palace is built of red sandstone.

The palace complex within the fort had one royal entrance. The protective ramparts around the fort originally had four main gates.[1][6]

The royal palace is a rectangular three-storied building of stone masonry. Two floors are above ground and one underground. Here the king resided with his entourage. In the past, it also had two more floors above the current structure. The ruined pillars of the third above-ground floor still lie horizontally on the roof of the current structure. They supported a two-story structure of wood and stone, now gone.

The palace is built of rubble masonry and lime mortar. The palace building is between one and three rooms deep on the north, west, and east sides, but it is several rooms deep on the south side where the bulk of the structure lies[1][4]

In the extreme north-west a three-storied above-ground staircase also leads underground to connect to the tehkhana.[1][4]

North and west side of this two-story complex with arched passages are built into the fort's bastion with no windows on north and west side for the security reasons. West and south sides of the structure were renovated by the Archaeological Survey of India and still survives with a flat roof and arched gateway and passages.[1][4]

The north side of this structure is in ruin and only the remains of the ground floor, with no roof, survive.[1][4]

The west side of this structure is in good condition and still has a roof. The west side has underground tehkhana chambers with hammam. Two doorways on the ground level and three doorways on the second floor open into a central rectangular courtyard.[1][4]

The south side, the longer side of the rectangular palace complex, has seven doorways on the ground level and nine doorways on the second story opening into the central rectangular courtyard.[1][4]

The east side of the two-storied palace complex is also in ruins without a roof. It lies adjacent to the stables to its east.[1][4]

The stables are semi-underground and adjacent to the tehkhana structure to the east of the main royal palace building, between it and the Jahaj Kothi Museum. [4]

Immediately to the right of the royal gate is the Diwan-e-Aam, or audience chamber. It is an L-shaped liwan, five to six meters high, with a vaulted ceiling under a flat roof and an open courtyard. The lat ki masjid to the east is within its courtyard, and the Ashoka pillar (lat) is in the middle of the courtyard. An L-shaped ablution pool lies in the south corner of the courtyard.

Three rows totaling 50 red stone pillars line the longer western arm of the L-shaped liwan, which has 18 vaults in the ceiling. The front row has 10 pairs of double pillars (a total 20 pillars) facing east, opening into the courtyard and forming seven doorways. A row of 10 single pillars runs down the middle of the hall. A row built into the back wall to the west has also has 10 pillars. Each chamber the form in this back wall has three red sandstone niches on the lower half, one outer rectangular niche, and two arched niches inside. The upper portion of the liwan is built with rubble masonry covered with white lime mortar. The flat roof of the longer arm of the liwan is topped with two false domes, one each on the north and south sides.[1][4]

The shorter north-facing arm of the L-shaped liwan hall has three vaulted chambers on three pillars in front, opening south into the courtyard, and three pillars built in the back wall on the north side.[1][4]

In the north-west corner of the liwan is a raised Takht-i-shahi or Muluk-khana platform on four smaller red stone pillars, where the throne of the king used to be. The throne can be reached by five red sandstone steps. Under the platform is a dried-up well. This platform also has a north-west facing qibla wall (towards Kaaba in Mecca) in the mihrab.[1][4]

Lat ki Masjid
लाट की मस्जिद
Religion
Affiliation	Islam
Ownership	Archaeological Survey of India
Location
Location	Hisar, Haryana, India
Architecture
Type	Mosque
Style	Seljuk
Date established	1354
Specifications
Minaret height	20 feet
Materials	Red sandstone

On the south-east end of the complex, the square Lat ki Masjid, was made of red sandstone. One door leads to each of the four directions, with a stone jali (a perforated latticed stone screen) above each door. The roof has stone brackets that can be seen from outside the building. The roof has been altered with the later-era addition of a brick wall. The ceiling is vaulted and the roof is flat, With a single lime-plastered dome.[1][4]

To the south of this lies an above-ground masonry pond with an underground narrow passage connecting it to the basement of the Lat ki Masjid.[1][4]

Close to the mosque lies a mound which is believed to most likely house the ruins of an Indus Valley Civilization town.[1][4]

Underground apartments can be found inside the complex in good condition. A passage is embedded in the western wall of the palace leading to the terrace. Archery holes can still be observed in the bastion wall, once surrounded by water-filled protective ditch, now filled in.[10]

Gurjari Mahal is the name of the palace built by Firoz Shah Tughlaq for his mistress Gurjari. The palace is located outside the fort complex to east and was built as an outlying portion of it. Between the Gurjari Mahal and the main fort complex there existed a now-vanished Islamic garden, which is now the location of modern-day Jindal park with a 207 feet tall Flag of India.[1]

Originally, there was a garden in the north of the complex but it no longer exists, now there is Jindal park in its place that has a 207 feet tall flag of india installed by Naveen Jindal's Flag Foundation of India.

Jahaj Kothi Museum, a later era building that was originally a Jain temple which was later used as residence by George Thomas, is located inside Firoz Shah Palace Complex and maintained by Archaeological Survey of India.[4]

Nearby Haryana Rural Antique Museum is in Gandhi Bhawan, established by this unit, exhibits the evolution of agriculture and vanishing antiques.[4] The Rakhigarhi Indus Valley Civilisation Museum is located at Rakhigarhi, which is an Indus Valley Civilisation site 60 km away, also has a museum developed by the state government.[12]

A large British raj era historic building in the complex, to the northeast, was used as a residence for the superintendent of the Government Livestock Farm, Hisar (c. 1809).[4]

• Asigarh Fort
• Pranpir Badshah tomb

• Images of Firoz Shah Palace Complex on ASI website