Naldurg Fort, Deccan, India: Dam, Fortifications, Palace

Abstract

The introduction of new water supply techniques in the Deccan region of India helped make water a crucial factor in local warfare. Improved water supply and conservation influenced military networks, especially at sites located on the strategic frontiers between local polities. Water management also served residential complexes within fortified sites and agricultural improvements in the surrounding arid landscape. This survey of the Naldurg Fort, overlooking a lofty gorge on the Bhima River in the modern state of Maharashtra, examines how builders in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries dammed available water to service a strategic frontier military garrison, thereby creating a refreshing environment for a pleasure palace and garden. All photographs and the survey are by Nicolas Morelle.