Asigarh Fort

Asigarh Fort, also called Hansi Fort is located on the eastern bank of Amti lake in Hansi town of Haryana, India, about 135 km from Delhi on NH9. It is also known as Prithviraj Chauhan's Fort or Prithvi Raj Chauhan Ka Qila and has been declared a centrally protected monument by ASI.

Spread over 30 acres, in its prime days this fort use to be in control of 80 forts in the area around it. Likely built by emperor Harshvadhana's dynasty, it passed to Tomar and then Chuahan kings before falling in the hands of Delhi Sultanate, Maratha Empire, Jat Sikhs, independent European adventurers and British Raj.

Etymology


Asigarh the fort of swords, from Asi (sword) and garh (fort), as this was the centre of sword making from the ancient times of Hindu rulers.

There are several names used for the fort in different anecdotes, such as Asidurga, Asigarh, Asika, A-sika, Ansi, Hansi, etc., and local oral traditions derive these names from Assa Jat.

Antiquity
Hansi fort or Asigarh Fort has long history with little clarity about earlier period. The excavation of ancient coins belong to the BCE period shows that there have been long history of settlements on the mound on which fort is built. It is believed that original fort was built by the famous emperor Harshavardhana or his grandfather emperor Prabhakaravardhana of Pushyabhuti dynasty (Vardhana). The present fort was built with materials of earlier fort of a period about 7th century C.E.

In February 1982, a large hoard of Jaina bronzes including idols belonging to the Gupta period (319 to 605 CE) and 7th–8th centuries (a period belonging to the emperor Harshavardhana's Pushyabhuti dynasty, c. 500 to 647 CE) were discovered.

Tomar rule
As per British library, Asigarh fort has been believed to have been founded by Anangpal Tomar of Tomara dynasty, the Tomar king of Delhi. Multiple (three) Tomara kings seem to have shared the name "Anangapala" (IAST: Anaṅgapāla). Around 1000 CE, Asigarh, Haryana and Delhi were in control of emperors of Tomara dynasty, when in 1014 Mahmud Ghazni attacked Thanesar and Hansi where he mass destroyed Hindu temples, and again in 1025 he also attached Somnath temple and Jat people of Jud. Mahmud Ghazni had sent his son Mas'ud I of Ghazni to attack Hansi in 1037 CE, when Masud attacked swordsmen of Hansi and took Hindu women into slavery who were later sold at Gazni. In 1041 in revenge for murder of his father, Mahmud Ghazni's nephew Mawdud of Ghazni (r. 1041-50 CE) seized the throne from his uncle Mahmud Ghazni. Mahipal Tomar of Tomar dynasty which ruled this area from Delhi the 11th century recaptured Hansi and Thanesar regions from Mawdud, and based on fragmentary Tomara inscriptions discovered from Mahipalpur in Delhi it has been theorized that Mahipala established a new capital at Mahipalapura (now Mahipialpur).

Chauhan rule
According to the Bijolia inscription of Someshvara of Chauhan dynasty, his brother Vigraharaja IV had captured Dhillika (Delhi) and Ashika (Hansi). He probably defeated the Tomar king Anangapala III. Later, the fort was reconstructed by Prithviraj Chauhan in the 12th century. The fort was again built by George Thomas in 1798 when he carved out his own kingdom consisting of Hisar and Rohtak districts with capital at Hansi. British Indian Army built a cantonment in this fort after George Thomas surrendered to British Raj in 1803. During the revolt of 1857, the cantonment was abandoned and the fort was damaged. The prisoners of the Kuka movement were imprisoned in this fort during the 1880s.

Muslim rule
In 1192, after the defeat of Prithviraj Chauhan by Mohammed Gauri, Hindu rule ended in Hansi and persecuted Hindus were not permitted to settle here.

Liberation by Sikhs and Maratha Hindus
In 1705 during the time of Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind Singh toured Hansi to inspired the people to revolt against the oppressive Mughal rule. In 1707, Baba Banda Singh Bahadur attacked Hansi. In 1736, the fort was under Maratha rule. In 1780s Maharaja Jassa Singh Ramgarhia also took this area under his control for some years as a maratha vassal and then left.

British colonial rule
From 1798 to 1801, George Thomas, an Irish adventurer who rose from an ordinary sailor, captured the area around Hansi and made Asigarh fort his capital.

In 1802 after the Anglo-Maratha Wars, this fort came under British East India Company rule, who did not take control until 1810 and after which they controlled it till independence of India in 1947.

In 1803 Hansi was also the headquarters of Colonel James Skinner CB (1778 – 4 December 1841) the Anglo-Indian military adventurer in India, who founded 1st Skinner's Horse and 3rd Skinner's Horse at Hansi in 1803. These units are still part of the Indian Army. in 1818 was granted a jagir of Hansi (Hisar district, Haryana), yielding Rs 20,000 a year.

Hansi took active part in the 1857 war of liberation (Gadar), Lala Hukam Chand Jain was martyred in 1857 by Britishers.

Excavations and finds
The ancient coins of period before Christ were found here. 57 bronze images of Jain thirthankars were found during excavation in the fort. A statue of the lord Buddha was excavated here.

Architecture
The fort is said to be one of the most impregnable forts of ancient India The walls of the fort are 52 ft high and 37 ft thick. At the south end of the fort is a big gate added later by George Thomas. The carvings on the walls assign it to be of Hindu origin.

Main gate
The main gate has the beautiful carvings of birds, animals and Hindu deities. An inscription there says it was repaired by Alauddin Khilji in 1304.

Baradari
A long pillared structure with a flat roof is situated on the top of the mound and is known as Baradari.

Char Qutub Dargah
A mosque is also located inside the fort complex which was added after the defeat of Prithviraj Chauhan.

Conservation
It was declared a national monument in 1937. In December 2018 Government of Haryana commenced the conservation work to cleanse and preserve the buildings, including "Ghoda Ghar" (horse stable) and main gate, starting cleaning with the Non-ionic detergents and finishing it with a coating of pollution, fungus and rain proof polyment paint.