Narnala Fort, Shahanur – History
The fort is said to have been built in
the 10th century CE by the Gond rulers. The fort was named after
the Rajput Solanki Chaulukya Ruler, Raja Narnal Singh, also
known as Narnal Singh Swami, who migrated from Patan in Gujarat. The fort
is well known for its association with the Muslim saint Burhanuddin,
(Bagh Sawar Wali) and it is said that many white tigers were seen with him at
that time. It is said that the fort was rebuilt by the Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi
because he was a follower of Bagh-Sawar Wali Burhanuddin. Firishta, the Persian
historian (1570 – 1620 CE) records that Shahab-ud-din Ahmad Shah I
Wali (1422 – 1436 CE), the nineth Sultan of the Bahamani Sultanate during
the construction of Gawligarh Fort, made repairs to the Narnala fort when he
camped at Achalpur (Ellichpur) from 1425 CE to 1428 CE.
When Nashir Khan, the
subhedar of Khandesh invaded Berar in 1437 CE, the governor of
the province (also called Khan-i-Jahan), remained loyal to his master,
Ala-ud-din Ahmad Shah II (son of Ahmad Shah I Wali) and retreated to Narnala.
He was besieged by disaffected nobles and Nashir Khan, but managed to break
through the besieging force with the help of Khalaf Hasan Basri who was sent by
Ala-ud-din Ahmed Shah II. Nasir Khan was defeated. Narnala along
with Gawilgarh came under the control of Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk, the
founder of Imad Shahi dynasty at Ellichpur (or Achalpur) in 1487
CE. Kunwar Rao Narnal Singh earned the title Rao Rana becoming Rana of the
Mahurgad & special rights of the Narnala fort, from Imadshahi Dynasty
ruler, son of Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk.
Kunwar Rao Narnal Singh was a scion
of Chalukya ruler, on whose name the fort is named. Along with
Mahurgarh, he was granted Bhawargarh from Rana of Bijagad. His younger brother
got special rights of the Narnala fort, by Rajgond of Deogarh, later continued
by son of Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk. Burhan Imad Shah of the Imad Shahi
dynasty was confined in Narnala by his minister Tufal Khan in 1572 CE. This gave
Murtaza Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar a pretext to lay siege to the fortress. He
captured both king and minister, subsequently putting them to death. Thus, the
fort passed into the hands of the Ahmednagar kings. The fort was captured by
the officers of Mughal Emperor Akbar named Saiyid Yusuf Khan Mashhad, and
Shaikh Abul Fazl from the Ahmednagar Kingdom.
The fort was renamed Shanur. Narnala
was one of the Sarkars of Berar Subah (imperial first level provinces) during
the rule of Emperor Akbar. Sardar Beg Mirza and Qader Beg Mirza, hereditary
descendants of the Mughal dynasty in the 18th century, stayed
near Argaon because Shah Beg Subedar of Berar held the
fort. Narnala fort is also the birthplace of the Mughal Aurangzeb's great-grandson.
After fall of Imad Shahi Dynasty, the Rana left Mahurgarh, because of
disagreement with the later rulers, the Mughal, declining Mughal sovereignty
thus lost the land and fort rights in a small battle to Mughal subhedars.
After this the Rana joined Gonds of Devgarh, and his descendants fought against
Mughals alongside Rani Durgawati, and were granted the
title Thakur Rao of Narnala Sarkar, by the Gond ruler of Deogarh.
Narnala was captured by Parsoji Bhosale in 1701 CE. After the fall of Gonds,
they were invited to join Marathas by Raja Bahadur Bhonsle of Nagpur
who discovered this family to be of great valour and experienced in Narnala and
surrounding forts.
Thakurrao Harisingh Rana joined Bhonsle and served Maratha Empire, after knowing that the Bhonsles are descendants from Maharanas of Mewar. Raghoji I Bhonsle, granted him title Qiladar of Narnala, Gawilgad and eight other forts of Melghat, along with the Zamindar Patilki rights of 13 villages and Deshmukh of 21 villages in Malkapur pargana in the sarkar of Narnala. Even after being promoted to title Deshmukh, most of the family members carry the surname Patil or Sarpatil / Ranapatil, as this title has different respect amongst people of Maharashtra and due to respect of the trust shown by the Raghoji I Bhonsle, the Bhonsle Raja of Nagpur Kingdom. Narnala remained with the Marathas till it was taken over by the British in 1803 CE.
No comments:
Post a Comment