Rohtas fort
Rohtas Qila is a
symbol of our Emperor Sher Shah’s greatness. Rohtas Fort was ordered to built after Sher Shah recognized
the strategic importance of Rohtas immediately after expelling the Mughal
Emperor Humayun in 1542 AD from India. He considered it necessary to take
measures against Humayun’s return and his friends, the Gakhars of Rohtas area.
After visiting the Jhelum hills, Sher Shah ordered construction of this great
fort. The Gakhars who lived around Rohtas persuaded the people not to allow any
raw material such as bricks and stones to the fort site. They also blocked
various tracks leading to the site, but Sher Shah declared that any one who
brings stone will get a Rupee. People thought that Sher Shah’s men will not honor their commitment but once they tried to supply the stones, they were
paid one Rupee for each stone. In this way raw material for the fort was
received in abundance as one Rupee was a considerable sum of money at that
time. So the gentle but intelligent move of Sher Shah worked its way through
the bureaucracy, the state administration to the common folk. All efforts of
the Gakhars failed and the fort was completed in 1543 AD.
The fort itself though is not associated with any important
historical event, yet is remarkable for its size and massiveness.
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| Rohtas Fort |
Sir Olof Caroe, the last British Governor of the N.W.F.P.,
and a great scholar of Pakistan’s northern belt, described his first impression
of this fort in following words:-
“There it stands across a low rocky hill, a few miles north
of Jhelum, its great ramparts, growing from the cliff like the wall of China,
looking north a sandy stream bed to the low hills of the salt range and beyond
them, to the snows of Pir Panjal. The circumference is large enough easily to
hold a couple of divisions of troops. As you approach the fort, the crenelations look like ominous rows of helmeted warriors, watching you with
disapproval. It is an awe inspiring sight.”
With this accurate composition in mind which Sir Olof Caroe
so beautifully tried to relate in words, I read the plaque fixed on Talaqi Gate
of the fort.
In 948th year of Alhijra, our king ordered
construction of this fort. Our Emperor is a lion. The whole world trembles at
the sight of him. His foes cannot face him and flee away. Rohtas Qila is a
symbol of our Emperor’s greatness. The Qila is built by Shahu Sultan.
This plaque fixed on Talaqi Gate (not very far from the
Shishi Gate) which too has replica of this dateline, with same inscriptions.
Though contemporary historians wonder as to why two plaques fixed at a very
short distance, it seems likely that the builder wanted to record the year of
construction as a symbol of the regality of his ruler, the great Emperor Sher
Shah Suri, in case one is damaged, broken or destroyed, the second plaque
should remain intact to testify the inscribed information. Whatever the reason,
the fort of Rohtas is a magnificent example of Muslim military architecture in
the area.
The plan of the fort is adapted to suit the terrain and it
is defended by a number of deep ravines as well as the river Kahan, which
breaks through the low eastern spur of the Tilla range. The fort is about six
km in perimeter and surrounded by a massive wall strengthened with 68 bastions.
Besides providing strength to the wall, these bastions give a touch of elegance
and grandeur to the fort. The wall is usually composed of two or three
terraces, varies in thickness at different points the maximum being 36ft near
the Mori Gate. These are interlinked with each other by way of stair line and
the top most terrace is style fully laid in the line.
The height of the fortification wall ranges from 30 to 40 ft
and a considerable number of galleries have been provided in the thickness of
the wall for soldiers and for use as a storage space. The wall is built in sand
stone, coarse rubble masonry laid in lime mortar with granular brick grit.
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| Rohtas Fort |
Though built purely for military purposes, some of its
twelve gates are exceptionally fine examples of the architecture of that
period. One of these gates, the Sohail Gate guarding the south west wall is in
fair condition even today. This gate is an example that illustrates how a
feature built for strength could also be made architecturally graceful. As it
is more than eighty feet in height so it provides a grand entrance to the
magnificent fort complex. Every part of its structure has been carried out in
broader and simple manner, each line and plane has a sober and massive elegance
while the whole is aesthetically competent.
Rohtas Fort Today:
Within the fort a small town has developed and several
thousand people live here. The size of this town can be judged from the fact
that there are more than 10 schools and twelve mosques. So much space is
available within the fort even today that more than two towns of similar size
could be developed. However, the inhabitants of this village have obviously
defaced and damaged the original structure of this fort in many places. Many
mazars (graves of Muslim holy men) have come up in every nook and corner of
this fort. Some of these were built in shelters in the walls for soldiers. One
is built right at the main entrance and is shamefully colored in green paint
and white choona. The only shrine that I could find a historical reference to
was Shah Chand Wali’s who was a saint. The Wali worked on the fort construction
without taking any compensation and who in my opinion rightly deserves a shrine
inside.
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| Rohtas Fort |
Telephone and electric lines run over the walls and a
particular area with the most beautiful view of green fields of Tilla Jogian
has been converted into an open air toilet. To describe that corner of the fort
would turn my stomach over.
This formidable fort was constructed on the
orders of a mighty emperor who is known in history as the Lion King of Sur, a
king who built roads, rest houses, water wells and established a model of
governance which even today’s governments can emulate to turn Pakistan into a truly
welfare state.
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