Gulbarga, the district and divisional head-quarters, formerly in the Nizam's State, is 623 km. from Bangalore, was the first capital of the Bahmanis from 1347. Kannada records call the place as 'Kallumbarige', and it was named
later by Muslims as Gulbarga, giving it a floral touch. The fort here was originally
built by one Raja Gulchand, a feudatory of the Warangal Kakatiyas, and was
rebuilt by All-ud-din Bahmani with 15 majestic towers. Inside the fort is the
huge wonderful mosque built by Muhammed Bahmani in 1367 and it covers
38,000 sq. feet area. The place has a huge sprawling complex housing the
tomb of Bande Nawaz, the great Sufi saint, who came to Gulbarga in 1413. His
tomb's walls have paintings and a mosque built by the Mughuls is near the
tomb. The Khandar Khan's mosque and Hirapur mosque (1585) built by
Chandbibi are some other monuments here, and the tomb of Sultan Hassan
and Firoz Shah are imposing structures. In all there are seven mausoleums of
Bahamani sultans. Sharana Basappa Appa's tomb here is highly venerated.
The place has many modern temples and Gulbarga University is housed here.
outside the city in an attractive campus. The State Archaelogy Museum here
has Buddhist plaques brought from Sannati. The City has a Municipal
Corporation. Gulbarga, the district and divisional head-quarters was formely in the Nizam's state, and was the first capital of the Bahmanis from 1347.The two main rivers are krishna and Bhima which flows through here.Gulbarga was known as 'KALBURGI' in former days which means stony land in Kannada. Gulbarga district is on of the three districts that were transferred from Hyderabad State to Karnataka state at the time of re-organization of the state in 1956. The district is one among the 29 districts of Karnataka State. It is located in the Northern part of the state and lies between North latitude 17o 10 and 17o 45 and between east longitude 76o 10 and 77o 45 The Distrrict is a biggest district in the state covering 8.49% of the area and 5.9 present of population of the state. It is bounded on the west by Bijapur district of Karnataka and Sholapur district of Maharashtra, on the west by Bijapur district of Andhra Pradesh, on the north by Bidar district of and Osmanabad district of Maharashtra and on the south by Richur district of Karnataka. They are Afzalpur, Aland, Chincholli, Chittapur, Gulbarga, Jewargi, Sedam, Shahapur, Shorapur and Yadgir. History of GulbargaThe District was under the rule of Nijam's of Hyderabad before independence. The district has a rich background of knowledge and culture. The existence of university at Nagai in Chitapur, Vignaneeshwara's Mitakshara, Nrupatunga's Kavirajmarg and the religious and social revolution led by Shivsharanas and the Sufi saint Banda Nawaz are all evidence of it. However, due to erratic rainfall and continuous occurrence of droughts in the 19th century the life of the people was never smooth and secure. Further during the Nizam's period, the district could not develop due to the negligence and inefficient administration. The distance was also a factor contributing to it. Thus it was one of the most backward districts when it joined the old Mysore State (Fact Finding Committee 1954). This position has not changed even after five decades. Gulbarga and the area around it was a part of the ancient Chalukyan kingdom of Badami. The origin of the town of Gulbarga goes back to the local Kakatiya rulers of Warangal. It witnessed a lot of turmoil in the early medieval period. In the early part of the 14th century, it became the part of the Delhi Sultanate. It was captured by Ulugh Khan, one of the generals belonging to the Tughlaq dynasty of Delhi Sultanate, and later captured by Mohammed bin Tughlaq, the Sultan of Delhi. It remained a part of the Delhi Sultanate until the death of Mohammed bin Tughlaq. Later it became a part of the Bahamani kingdom. The Bahamani kings made it their capital from 1347 to 1428. In the 17th century, it was annexed by Aurangzeb, the last great Mughal ruler and inducted into the Mughal Empire. In the 18th century, Gulbarga came under the erstwhile rulers of Hyderabad. History of Gulbarga dates back to the 6th century when the Rashtrakutas gained control over the area, but the Chalukyas regained their domain and reigned for over two hundred years. The Kalachuri who succeeded them ruled till the 12th century. Around the close of the 12th century the Yadavas of Devagiri and the Hoysalas of Halebidu took control of the district. About the same period the Kakatiya dynasty kings of Warangal came into prominence. The present Gulbarga District and Raichur District 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 I, a general of Aurangzeb, became independent and formed state of Hyderabad in which a major part of Gulbarga area was also included.
In the middle of the 14th century, this town was made the capital of the Bahamani Dynasty that became independent from Delhi. In the old fort, only remarkable monument is Jama Masjid, which resemble the great mosque of Cardoba, Spain. It is an important building of the early Bahmani period built by Muhammad Shah. In the current town centre, Shah Bazar Masjid, which was built around the same time as Jama Masjid, is situated.
Mausoleums of the royal family of Bahamani are located in two areas. Up until the 8th king of the Bahamani all are entombed at Se Gumbad in the western outskirts and Haft Gumbaz in the northeastern outskirts. In 1428, the capital of the Bahamani was moved to Bidar. However, Gulbarga kept its popularity because of the dargah of Khaja Bande Nawaz who was the saint of Chishti order and temple of Sharan Basaveshwara, the founder of Veershivism. There remain a few mausoleums from the Bahamani period. In recent times it has become the abode of Education. Fairs and FestivalsThe annual Urs festival, held at the tomb of Khwaja Bande Nawaz to commemorate his death anniversary, is an important festival of Gulbarga. Thousands of pilgrims throng Gulbarga during the Urs festival. Best Time to Visit to Gulbarga
The best time to visit Gulbarga is between October and March.
- Summer : 40 to 46 °C
- Monsoon: 27 to 34 °C
- Winter : 10 to 26 °C
How to Reach to Gulbarga
Air: Hyderabad Airport is the Nearest Airport to Gulbarga City. which is 225kms from the city.
Rail: Gulbarga city has a Central Southern Railway Station. There are Daily trains from Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad to this city.
Road: There are frequent buses from Bangalore and Hyderabad to this city. They are 610 and 225 kms away from Gulbarga respectively.
Facilities to Stay in GulbargaThere are only a few hotels in Gulbarga. Whatever accommodation is available is of cheap and medium quality. Most of the hotels are on the main Station Road.
Most of the Hotels and Resorts offer excellent accommodation facilities in and around Gulbarga.
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