Karnala Fort

karnala Fort, NH 66, Panvel, Raigad, Maharashtra 410207

Karnala Fort is a hill fort in Raigad district, Maharashtra, India, about 10 km from Panvel city. Currently it is a protected place lying within the Karnala Bird Sanctuary. It was a place of strategic importance since it overlooked the Bor pass, which connected the Konkan coast to the interior of Maharashtra on the main trade route between these areas.

History

The fort was likely constructed before 1400, under Devagiri Yadavs(1248–1318) and the Tughlaq rulers (1318–1347), Karnala was the capital of the north Konkan districts of their respective empires. It later fell under the command of the Gujarat Sultanate but in 1540 was taken over by Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar. The Gujarat sultans then requested the help of the Dom Francisco de Menenzes the commanding officer of the Portuguese at Bassien (modern day Vasai) to win it back. He ordered 500 of his soldiers to Karnala fort and they were able to capture it. The fort was left in charge of the Gujarat Sultanate but with Portuguese garrisons.

The Gujarat sultans fled to Vasai, surrendering the fort to the Portuguese. The loss of Karnala enraged Nizam Shah, who sent 5,000 men to reclaim the fort and the surrounding countryside. The attempt was unsuccessful, and the Portuguese continued to hold the fort. Deciding that the forts of Sangli and Karnala were of little strategic value, however, the Portuguese viceroy agreed to return them to Nizam Shah for an annual payment of Rs. 17,500 (or 5,000 gold Pardoas).

Shivaji Maharaj conquered it from the Mughals in 1670 by building breastworks as he advanced. After his death in 1680 it was taken over by Aurangzeb. After this the Mughals occupied it for some time after which it in 1740 with the rise of the Peshwas of Pune it went to them. It remained under the command of killedar (garrison commander) Anantrao until a colonel Prother won the fort and established the rule of the British East India Company there in 1818.