great lovers

8/14/2019 Great Lovers

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/great-lovers 1/13



Sultan Baz Bahadur ever so fond of music, was the last independent ruler of Mandu

from 1555 to 1562. One day on a hunting expedition he heard a melodious voice,

he met the beautiful hindu singer Roopmati at Sarangpur. At first sight, Baz

Bahadur and Roopmati fell in love with each other.

He requested Roopmati to accompany him to his capital. Roopmati agreed to go to

Mandu on the condition that she would live in a palace within sight of her beloved

and venerated river Narmada. So, he built a palace(Rani Roopmati pavilion).

They were married according to muslim and hindu rites, but did not live happily

ever after. When Akbar heard of Roopmati's beauty, he sent Adhamkhan with army

to Mandu to capture her and the long-coveted fort. Baz Bahadur fled to Chittorgarh

to seek help. To save herself from enemy Rani Roopmati poisoned herself to death.

After, Baz Bahadur took his last breath at Rani Roopmati’s tomb in Sarangpur .



Mandu(Mandavgarh) is one of the most fascinating places in India, perched along the

Vindhya ranges at an altitude of 2,000 feet above the sea level. It is said that

Mandu-fort is the biggest fort in the world, with a circumference of forty miles.

It is 4000 years old. It had 60 lakes and 700 temples within the fort area.

In 56 b.c. Mandu was founded by King Vikramaditya. It was the ancient capital of the

Malwa kingdom, ruled by several successive hindu and muslim dynasties Mauryas,

Sakas, Harsha, Rajputs, Bhoja, Parmars, Ghauris, Khiljis, Mughals and Marathas.

In 1401 Dilawar Khan Ghauri set up Mandu as an independent kingdom. He renamed

Mandu as Shadiabad(City of Joy). It became the pleasure resort of the Sultans of Malwa.

In 1534, Humayun defeated Bahadurshah. After the death of Shershahsuri, Sujatkhan

captured the Malwa and was succeeded by his son Bayazid Ali(well known as Baz

Bahadur). Akbar visited Mandu twice and destroyed many buildings, but his sonJahangeer, who succeeded him, restored some. After the Mughals, the Marathas claimed

the city.

In 19th century, in the time of British rule under the Lord Curzon some preservation

works were undertaken. However, with the fall of the empire, trade moved out and

Mandu fell to ruins.



Sultan Ghyas-Ud-Din under whom the arts flourished in Mandu. He was the

builder of some of the most beautiful monuments of Mandu like the impressive

Jahaz Mahal in 15th Century. He was known for his pursuit of amusement and his

harem(ladies-quarters) is thought to have consisted of 15,000 women. He also had

female bodyguards that consisted of about 500 women dressed in men’s clothing.



All information is based on different sources.

great lovers

Documents