Golconda

Golconda (golkon'du) [key], ruined city, Andhra Pradesh state, SE India. It was the capital (c.1364–1512) of the Bahmani kingdom, but after 1512 it became the capital of the Muslim sultanate of Golconda. The legions of Aurangzeb, the Mughal emperor, captured the city in 1687, after which Golconda gradually fell into ruin. The main feature of the city is its fort on a hill 400 ft (120 m) above the plain; it was large enough to house the administration, the army, and families of the rulers. There are also ruins of palaces and mosques. At its peak, the city was famed for the diamonds found to the southeast and cut in Golconda; its name has come to be associated with great wealth.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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