Place · Ganga bluff fort · India
Chunar Fort, Mirzapur
Also known as Chunar Fort, Chunar hill fort, Mirzapur
The 1st-century BCE Chunar Fort at Chunar in Mirzapur district, Uttar Pradesh, on a sandstone bluff above the Ganga — one of the most strategic fortifications in the Ganga valley, controlling the Allahabad-Varanasi river traffic. The fort passed through sequential rulers: Vikramaditya (1st c. BCE legendary), Sher Shah Suri (who used Chunar as his base before conquering Delhi in 1540), the Mughals (from 1545), the Nawabs of Awadh (18-century) and the British (from 1764). Sher Shah Suri established his royal workshops and prison here; the famous 'Chunar sandstone' used for Ashokan pillars across North India was quarried from the Chunar bluff. The 1764 Battle of Buxar aftermath saw Chunar surrender to the British. The fort's palaces, baradari pavilion, and underground chambers survive. ASI protection since 1917. The adjacent Chunar sandstone quarry remains in commercial operation.
- Function
- Religious institution & practice
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 25.125, 82.885
Connections (1)
- Sher Shah fortsRohtasgarh
Chunar on the Ganges and Rohtasgarh on its plateau are the two forts through which Sher Shah Suri built his power base in the eastern Ganga valley before taking Delhi — Chunar acquired by marrying its commandant's widow, Rohtas taken by a ruse, with soldiers carried in covered litters as if they were women. Both are enormous and both were held afterwards by the Mughals, the Marathas and the British in turn.
Sources
Wikipedia, “Chunar Fort”. Archaeological Survey of India and State Archaeology monument records, and the standard regional literature.
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