Asirgarh

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Asirgarh is an Indian fortress situated in the Satpura Range, about 20 km. north of the town of Burhanpur, in Burhanpur District of Madhya Pradesh state. The fortress commands a pass through the Satpuras connecting the valleys of the Narmada and Tapti rivers, one of the most important routes from northern India to the Deccan in the southwest. It is known as the "key to the Deccan".

According to Thakur Deshraj, the religious book of Scandinavia ‘Edda’ mentions that the ancient inhabitants of Scandinavia were Jats or Jits who were Aryans known as Asi people and came to this land from Asirgarh in Malwa.

The fortress is home to a tenth-century temple of Shiva. From 1388 it was a stronghold of the Faruqi rulers of Kandesh who surrendered to the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1601. It is believed that Ashwatthama the son of Guru Dronacharya in Mahabharata arrives here daily morning to this Shiva temple to offer a red rose to seek blessings. People living around the fort have tried to see him but have failed; those who saw lost their eyesight/speech.

[edit] History

n 1536 A.D., the Mughal Emperor Humayun, after his conquest of Gujarat, had visited Burhanpur and Asirgarh via Baroda, Broach (Bharuch) & Surat. Raja Ali Khan (1576-1596 A.D.), also known as Adil Shah, was asked to submit to Akbar, when the latter had sent an expedition to Khandesh, in the summer of 1577 A.D. The former, to avoid the unequal contest with the mighty Akbar, dropped his royal title of Shah and accepted the Suzerainty of Akbar. This marked an epoch in the Deccan policy of the Mughals, for Khandesh was used as a base for the future Conquest of Deccan. Raja Ali Khan constructed many buildings like Jama Masjid in the upper portion of the fort of Asir in 1588 A.D., Jama Masjid at Burhanpur in 1590 A.D., Idgah at Asir, mausoleums & Serai at Burhanpur and Serai & Mosque at Zainabad.

Bahadur Khan (1596-1600 A.D.) successor of Raja Ali Khan declared his independence & refused to pay homage to Akbar & his son Prince Daniyal, which enraged Akbar, who marched towards Burhanpur in 1599 and occupied the City without any opposition on 8th April 1600 A.D. Akbar paid a visit to Asirgarh, so as to inspect it personally, where he stayed for 4 days before returning to his Head Quarter at Burhanpur.

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