Bala Hissar Fortress
| Bala Hissar Fort | |
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| قلعہ بالاحصار د بالاحصار قلعه |
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 Location within Pakistan
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| General information | |
| Location | Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Website | |
| epeshawar |
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Bala Hissar (Pashto and Urdu: قلعه بالا حصار) is a historic fortress located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The fort was used as a royal residence for the Durrani Empire, and was renovated during Sikh rule. The fort now serves as headquarters for Pakistan's Frontier Corps.
The word Bala Hissar is from Dari Persian, meaning, "elevated or high fort". The name was given by the Afghan Pashtun King Timur Shah Durrani (1773–1793), who used the fort as the winter capital of the Durrani Empire
The fort stands on a high mound in the northwestern corner of Peshawar City. Not long ago, the fort used to be conspicuously away from the old city of Peshawar, but now the construction of new buildings has covered space between the old city and the fort. However, the fort's position on a high mound gives a commanding and panoramic view of Peshawar and the entire Peshawar valley. On a clear day, one can see the mountains encircling Peshawar valley and beyond. The area covered by the inner wall of the fort is about 10 acres (40,000 m2) and the outer wall is about 15 acres (61,000 m2). The height of the fort is about 90 feet (27 m) above ground level.
Renowned historian Dr A.H. Dani in his book Peshawar-Historic City of Frontier writes that when Hiuen Tsang, a Chinese traveller, visited Peshawar in 630 AD, he spoke of a "royal residence".
He says that Chinese word "Kung Shing" used for its significance and is explained as fortified or walled portion of the town in which the royal palace stood.
Hiuen Tsang then makes a separate mention of the city, which was not fortified. This shows that the royal residence formed the nucleus of a Citadel, which must have been further protected by a moat.
Dr Dani further says that a channel of old Bara River surrounded by a high spot, which includes the Bala Hissar and Inder Shahr. The higher area could have been the citadel, which is the present Bala Hissar.
Peshawar has always been a strategic city and its capturing and ruling over it was of great importance for the invaders and kings.
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Wikipedia