Gulbarga is a town in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of Gulbarga District, and of Gulbarga Division. Gulbarga is 613 km north of Bangalore and well connected by road to Bijapur, Hyderabad and Bidar. A railway line connecting the southern part of India to Mumbai and Delhi passes through Gulbarga.

History

Gulbarga was known as Kaliburgi in former days which means stony land in Kannada. Recorded history of this district dates back to the 6th Century when the Rashtralitas gained control over the area, but the Chalukyas regained their domain within a short period and reigned supreme for over two hundred years. The Kalachuris who succeeded them ruled till the 12th Century. Around the close of the 12th Century the Yadavas of Devagiri and the Hoysalas of Dwarasamadra destroyed the supremacy of lthe Chalukyas and Kalachuris. About the same period the Kakatiya kings of Warangal came into prominence. The present Gulbarga and Raichur districts formed part of their domain.

The Kakatiya power was subdued in 1321, and the northern Deccan, including the district of Gulbarga, passed under the control of the Muslim Sultanate of Delhi. The revolt of the Muslim officers appointed from Delhi resulted in founding of the Bahmani Sultanate in 1347 by Hassan Gangu, who chose Gulbarga to be his capital. When the Bahmani dynasty came to an end, the kingdom broke up into the five independent Deccan sultanates, Bijapur, Bidar, Berar, Ahmednagar and Golconda. The present Gulbarga district came partly under Bidar and partly under Bijapur. With the conquest of the Deccan by Aurangezeb in the 17th Century, control of Gulbarga passed to the Mughal Empire. In the early part of the 18th Century, when Mughal Empire was declining, Asaf Jah , a general of Aurangzeb, became independent and formed state of Hyderabad in which a major part of Gulbarga area was also included.

In 1948 Hyderabad state was annexed to the newly-independent Indian Union, and in 1956 the Indian state of Hyderabad was partitoned among neighboring states along linguistic lines. Most of Gulbarga district became part of Mysore state, later renamed Karnataka, excluding two taluks which were annexed to Andhra Pradesh.

Attractions

Gulbarga's old moated fort is in a much deteriorated state, but it has a number of interesting buildings inside including the Jama Masjid, reputed to have been built by a Moorish architect during the late 14th or early 15th century who imitated the great mosque in Cordoba, Spain. The mosque is unique in India, with a huge dome covering the whole area, four smaller ones at the corners, and 75 smaller still all the way around. The fort itself has 15 towers. Gulbarga also has a number of imposing tombs of Bahmani kings, a shrine to an important Muslim saint and the Sharana Basaveshwara Temple.

• Bande nawaz durga
• Sharan Basveshwara temple
• Sri Ram Mandir

Gulbarga District

Gulbarga District is situated between 76°.04' and 77°.42 east longitude, and 16°.12' and 17°.46' north latitude, covering an area of 16,224 square kilometres. The population of the district is 2.5 million (25 lakh). The district comprises of 10 taluks. The climate of the district is generally dry and healthy with temperature ranging from 5ºc in the winter to 45ºc in the summer, and an annual rainfall of about 750 mm.

The entire district is situated in Deccan Plateau and the general elevation ranges from 300 to 750 meters above mean sea level. Two main rivers, Krishna and Bhima , flow in the district. Black soil is predominant soil type in the district. The district has a large number of tanks which, in addition to the rivers, irrigate the land. The Upper Krishna Project is major irrigation venture in the district. Bajra, toor, sugarcane, groundnut, sunflower, sesame, castor bean, black gram, jowar, wheat, cotton, ragi , bengal gram, and linseed are grown in this district. Gulbarga an industrially backward district, but is presently showing signs of growth in the cement, textile, leather and chemical industries. Gulbarga has a university with medical and engineering colleges.

Gulbarga district was formerly part of Hyderabad state and most of the district became a part of Mysore state (later Karnataka) in 1956. Two taluks became part of Andhra Pradesh.

Shri Kshetra Gangapur an well known pilgrimage of God Shri Sadguru Dattarya, is very close from Gulbarga.

Gulbarga Division

Gulbarga Division includes the districts of Gulbarga, Bidar, Raichur, Koppal and Bellary. The town of Gulbarga serves as the administrative seat of the district.

External link

Gulbarga at the Islamic Monuments of India Photographic Database