Torna Fort

Torna Fort also known as Prachandagad is a large fort located in Pune district in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is historically significant because it is the first fort captured by Shivaji Maharaj in 1643, at the age of 16 forming the nucleus of the Maratha empire. The hill has an elevation of 1,403 metres (4,603 ft) above sea level, making it the highest hill-fort in the district. The name derives from Prachanda (Marathi for huge or massive) and gad (Marathi for fort).

History

This fort is believed to have been constructed by the Shaiva Panth, followers of the Hindu god Shiva, in the 13th century. A Menghai Devi temple, also referred to as the Tornaji temple, is situated near the entrance of the fort.

In 1643, Shivaji Maharaj captured this fort at the age of sixteen, thus making it one of the first forts that would become the Maratha empire. Shivaji renamed the fort ' 'Prachandagad' ' as Torna, and constructed several monuments and towers within it.

In the 18th century, the Mughal empire briefly gained control of this fort after assassination of Shivaji Maharaj's son Sambhaji. Aurangzeb, then Mughal emperor, renamed this fort Futulgaib in recognition of the difficult defense the Mughals had to overcome to capture this fort. It was restored to the Maratha confederacy by the Treaty of Purandar.

Shivaji

Shivaji Bhonsle (Marathi [ʃiʋaˑɟiˑ bʱoˑs(ə)leˑ]; c. 1627/1630 – 3 April 1680), also known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian warrior king and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out an enclave from the declining Adilshahi sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the Maratha Empire. In 1674, he was formally crowned as the Chhatrapati (Monarch) of his realm at Raigad.

Shivaji established a competent and progressive civil rule with the help of a disciplined military and well-structured administrative organisations. He innovated military tactics, pioneering the guerrilla warfare methods (Shiva sutra or ganimi kava), which leveraged strategic factors like geography, speed, and surprise and focused pinpoint attacks to defeat his larger and more powerful enemies. He revived ancient Hindu political traditions and court conventions and promoted the usage of Marathi and Sanskrit, rather than Persian, in court and administration.

Shivaji's legacy was to vary by observer and time but began to take on increased importance with the emergence of the Indian independence movement, as many elevated him as a proto-nationalist and hero of the Hindus. Particularly in Maharashtra, debates over his history and role have engendered great passion and sometimes even violence as disparate groups have sought to characterise him and his legacy.

Pune district

Pune (District) is situated in Maharashtra state of India. Pune city is the district headquarters. In the most recent census on 2011, the total population of the district was 9,426,959, making it the fourth most populous district in India (out of 640). Urban population comprises 58.08% of the total population. The current population of Pune urban agglomerate is over 5 million.

History

Malik Ahmad : establishment of Nizamshahi of Ahmednagar (1490)

With the establishment of the Nizamshahi rule with Ahmednagar as its headquarters, practically the whole of the Poona territory, perhaps with the exception of Indapur, which still continued to be under at least the nominal suzerainty of Yusuf Adil Khan of Bijapur, came under the unified control of the Nizamshahi. The territory was formed into a separate district or sarkar, with sub-divisions called paragana and smaller ranges called prant or desh. From such records as are available it appears that the revenue collection was mostly farmed amongst the important chieftains who were henchmen of the Nizamshahi. There was indeed an officer of the Nizamshahi who was charged with the responsibility of supervising and administering the functions of police and criminal justice, civil suits, as a rule, seem to have been referred to local panchayats.

Torna

Torna may refer to:

Fortification

Fortifications are military constructions or buildings designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and also used to solidify rule in a region during peace time. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs. The term is derived from the Latin fortis ("strong") and facere ("to make").

From very early history to modern times, walls have been a necessity for cities to survive in an ever changing world of invasion and conquest. Some settlements in the Indus Valley Civilization were the first small cities to be fortified. In ancient Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, such as the ancient site of Mycenae (famous for the huge stone blocks of its 'cyclopean' walls). A Greek Phrourion was a fortified collection of buildings used as a military garrison, and is the equivalent of the Roman castellum or English fortress. These construction mainly served the purpose of a watch tower, to guard certain roads, passes, and lands that might threaten the kingdom. Though smaller than a real fortress, they acted as a border guard rather than a real strongpoint to watch and maintain the border.