Bala Hisar Fort

Bala Hisar Fort is one of the most historic places of Peshawar. The word Bala Hisar is from Persian, meaning, “elevated or high fort”. According to Dr. Hussain Khan, the name was given by the Afghan King Taimur Shah Durrani (1773-1793). The Sikhs who conquered Peshawar in the early 19th century named it Samir Garh in 1834 but the name did not become popular.

The Fort has been the headquarters of the Frontier Corp since 1949. [PESHAWAR: Why keep Balahisar Fort hidden? By Sadia Qasim Shah January 15, 2008 Tuesday . DAWN. Retrieved 01/15/08]

Design

The fort stands on a high mound in the northwestern corner of Peshawar City. No long ago the fort used to be conspicuously away from the old city of Peshawar but now the construction of new buildings has covered space between the old city and the fort. However the fort being high, gives a commanding and panoramic view of Peshawar and the entire Peshawar valley. On a clear day, one can see the mountains encircling Peshawar valley and beyond. The area covered by the inner wall of the fort is about 10 acres and the outer wall is about 15 acres. The height of the fort is about 90 feet above ground level.

History

Renowned historian, Dr A.H. Dani in his book "Peshawar-Historic City of Frontier" writes that when Hiuen Tsang, a Chinese traveller, visited Peshawar in 630 AD, he spoke of a "royal residence".

He says that Chinese word "Kung Shing" used for its significance and is explained as fortified or walled portion of the town in which the royal palace stood.

Hiuen Tsang then makes a separate mention of the city, which was not fortified. This shows that the royal residence formed the nucleus of a Citadel, which must have been further protected by a moat.

Dr Dani further says that a channel of old Bara River surrounded by a high spot, which includes the Balahisar and Inder Shahr. The higher area could have been the citadel, which is the present Balahisar.

Peshawar has always been a strategic city and its capturing and ruling over it was of great importance for the invaders and kings.

"In the 11th century AD, the Hindu ruler, Raja Jaipal of the Hindushahi dynasty was defeated in the vicinity of Peshawar and Mehmud Ghaznavi garrisoned the fort with his army," says Dr Taj Ali. The British officers who visited Peshawar in 19th century mentioned that the fort used to be a royal residence of Afghan rulers, he added.

"The Afghan rulers named it "Balahisar" a Persian name meaning high fort while the Sikhs renamed it as Samargarh in 1834 but the name remained unpopular," says Dr Taj.

The fort was constructed on a mound with commanding view of the surrounding area including Shalimar gardens presently known as Jinnah Park towards its north. This gave more prominence and grandeur to the fort, he said.

In the past, Balahisar has seen its construction and destruction by conquerors, worriers, invaders and kings on several occasions. After the overthrow of emperor Humayun by the Afghan King Sher Shah Suri, the Afghans destroyed the fort.

When Hamyun was staying in it he decided to rebuild it before proceeding to Kabul. He wanted to use the fort for his conquest of India at a later stage. As his officers did not want to stay back, Hamayun himself supervised the rebuilding of the fort, which was soon completed.

The fort also remained the residence of legendary Afghan king, Ahmed Shah Durrani and his son Taimur Shah Durrani. The Sikhs captured Peshawar and the fort in 1834 following the Battle of Nowshera.

The Sikhs first destroyed the fort and later either by Hari Singh Nalwa or Sardar Khurruck Singh rebuilt it keeping in view its importance. However Sher Singh, on the orders of his father Ranjit Singh, erected the fort with unbaked bricks.

On the entrance of the main courtyard of the Balahisar fort, a Sikh period inscription in marble can be seen on an arch gate. This is the only inscription available today in Balahisar, which reads, "Victory to Porak. This was built by Raja Bikramajit and was named Samir or Samar Garh."

The British reconstructed Balahisar after the annexation of Sikh Shahi areas in 1849. At that time the fort had mud walls and was not very strong. The British replaced the whole structure with bricks and the present shape was given to the fort.

References

External links

* [http://www.pak.gov.pk/public/govt/reports/frontier_corps.htm Frontier Corp]