Kaulas Fort (Kowlas Fort) is a historic fort in western Telangana in India. It was constructed by Rashtrakutas in the 9th century CE. It later came under the rule of Chalukyas of Badami, the Kakatiyas, Musunuri Nayaks, Bahmani Sultanate, Qutub Shahis, Mughals, Marathas and, finally, the Asaf Jahi rulers of the Hyderabad State. It is in the Kamareddy district, near the trijunction of Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra states. It has historically served as a strategic outpost contested by many kingdoms.[1][2]
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The history of the fort dates back to the 9th century AD. According to historians, it was built in Indra IV’s period of the Rashtrakuta dynasty in their political capital and was later captured by the Chalukyas of the Kalyani dynasty in the third quarter of the 10th century before it was captured by the Kakatiyas in the 12th century.
The Kakatiya kingdom, which ruled from present day Warangal, held the Kowlas Fort till 1323 AD, a period more or less parallel to the one and only Kakatiya woman ruler, Rani Rudrama Devi. Later, the Kowlas region is said to have come under the rule of the Bahmanis, Qutb Shahis, Yadavas, Naikwaries, Mughals, Devagiri, Kalyani, Marathas, etc and finally under the Asaf Jahis (Nizams) (1724 to 1948).
Aurangzeb appointed two Kiladars, Khuni Khan and Ikhlas Khan who constructed two big mosques at the fort. [3]
Nizam ul Mulk Asaf Jah appointed Raja Gopal Singh Gaur, a Kshatriya or Rajput, as the Chief of Kowlas in the 1720s. Along with Koulas, Kandhar and Mahur forts in Maharashtra were also under his control . This family resided in Kandhar.[4] Gopal Singh's descendants ruled the kingdom of Kaulas until 1915. Raja Deep Singh played a leading role in the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 and was sentenced to three years imprisonment by the British.[5] The Nizam canceled his inam and restored the kingdom to his son. The last chief, Raja Durjan Singh, died prematurely and childless.[3]
In 1915 the fiefdom was declared khalsa (meaning directly under the rule of the Nizam ).[3] The annual revenue of the fiefdom was then 22,517 rupees.[citation needed] The Nizams appointed a kiladar (fort administrator) Maulvi Muhammad Jamaluddin Sheikh of Turkish descent belonging to the Barlas clan.[6] His sons held the position of Kiladar until 1948 Annexation of Hyderabad.
