Siri Fort
Topic: Turkic Invasions and the Delhi Sultanate · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Siri was a fortified city. Alauddin Khalji built it in Delhi in c. 1303. He built it mainly to defend the capital against Mongol attacks. It is often counted as the second of the "seven cities" of Delhi, after the older city around Qila Rai Pithora. Siri shows how the Mongol threat shaped Sultanate building.
Example
In c. 1303, a Mongol army camped outside Delhi. After it left, Alauddin built Siri with strong walls and stationed his army there. The nearby Hauz Khas tank was dug to supply it with water.
Don't confuse with
- Tughlaqabad: this was a later fort-city in Delhi, built by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq of the Tughlaq dynasty, not by Alauddin Khalji.
Related concepts
- Khilji dynasty
- Jalaluddin Khalji
- Alauddin Khalji
- Mongol invasions of India
- Hauz Khas
- Alai Darwaza
- Market reforms of Alauddin Khalji
- Diwan-i-Riyasat
- Shahna-i-Mandi
- Dagh and chehra