Firoz Shah palace complex (Hisar-e-Firoza) is an archaeological complex located in modern-day Hisar, in the Haryana state of India, built by Firoz Shah Tughlaq of the Delhi Sultanate in 1354 AD.[1] It is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. The original town of Hisar was a walled settlement inside of the fort. The Jahaj Kothi Museum, a past residence of George Thomas,sits inside of the Firoz Shah palace complex. The complex contains the Lat ki Masjid mosque and an Ashokan pillar.[3] Gurjari Mahal, another palace nearby, was also built by Firoz Shah for his wife Gurjari in 1356.[4] The palace, known as Hisar-i-Firuza, is located at a strategic point where the old Delhi Multan Road branches towards Khorasan, a historic region northeast of Iran. Construction began in 1354 CE, supervised by Firoz Shah. Stone was brought from the hills of Mahendragarh to build the ramparts, which were surrounded by a protective moat. A tank inside the complex was used to refill the moat. The complex was completed in 1356 after two and a half years, and Firoz Shah ordered his courtiers to build their palaces within the walls of the fort.[Restoration work began on the palace in 1924 and has gradually continued since. The complex has been declared a Centrally Protected Monument by the Archaeological Survey of IndiaThe palace complex consists of a mosque, a Diwan-e-Aam, a palace for the Shah's wife, underground apartments, and a granary.[4] The artwork in the fort synthesizes Islamic and Indian architecture, although the mosque is an example of Seljuk architecture. The palace is built of red sandstone. Gates The palace complex within the fort had one royal entrance. The protective ramparts around the fort originally had four main gates.[1][5] Shahi Darwaza Edit The Shahi Darwaza, or Royal Gate, entrance faces east and is still standing. Roughly seven meters tall, the single-story arched gateway has small built-in guard rooms on each side. Nagauri gate Edit The Nagauri Gate, now gone, led south to Nagaur and on to Jodhpur in Rajasthan via Siwani, Jhumpa Khurd, Rajgarh and Churu. The Bansi Lal government demolished this gate in order to widen the entrance to the market. The British Raj built a two-story clock tower on the site which was demolished as wellThe Talagi Gate faces west and leads from the palace to the ancient Agroha Mound and to Sirsa. The gate stands across from the main bus station of Hisar. Bastions with slanted narrow niches to shoot arrows at attacking enemy armies still exist. Mori gate The Mori gate, now gone, faced east. A water channel, now also vanished, entered the fort complex through a hole (Hindi: mori) in the fort bastion to supply water. The gate provided access to Multan in Pakistan, Kandahar in Afghanistan, Mashhad in Iran, and Ashgabat in Turkmenistan. The gate is long gone and unmarked. The current ramp and road link the fort complex and the auto market. Delhi gate Nagauri gate The Nagauri Gate, now gone, led south to Nagaur and on to Jodhpur in Rajasthan via Siwani, Jhumpa Khurd, Rajgarh and Churu. The Bansi Lal government demolished this gate in order to widen the entrance to the market. The British Raj built a two-story clock tower on the site which was demolished as wellNagauri gate The Nagauri Gate, now gone, led south to Nagaur and on to Jodhpur in Rajasthan via Siwani, Jhumpa Khurd, Rajgarh and Churu. The Bansi Lal government demolished this gate in order to widen the entrance to the market. The British Raj built a two-story clock tower on the site which was demolished as well The Delhi gate, located at current Mehta Nagar here near Shaheed Bhagat Singh Chowk, faced east but is now gone. It led to Delhi on the Delhi Multan Road. It stood near the current Gandhi statue inside the market.
