Lalbagh Fort and Pari Bibi



The Lalbagh Fort also known as Fort Aurangabad is an incomplete Mughal palace fortress situated in the south western part of Dhaka city. The construction of The Lalbagh Fort began in 1678 by Prince Mohammed Azam a Mughal prince third son of Emperor Aurangzeb. He started the work on the fort when he was viceroy of Bengal. He was in Bengal for 15 months and could not complete the fort as he was called back to Delhi by his father. Later he handed it over to Shaista Khan who was the new viceroy of Bengal to complete it. Shaista Khan's daughter Iran Dukht or Pari Bibi died there. Her death was thought to be an ill omen and so her father did not complete the fort, though he was in Dhaka up to to 1688.

The Mausoleum of Pari Bibi is situated at the front as you enter the fort, the Diwan, or Hall of Audience is to the left and the three-domed Quilla Mosque is to the right. they all date back to 1684. The Mausoleum of Pari Bibi was built with unusual materials for construction: black basalt, white marble and tiles of various colors were used to decorate the interior, while the central chamber, where Pari Bibi is buried, is covered entirely in white marble.

There are several secret tunnels in the Lalbagh Fort, two of which reached the Zinzira fort of the Mughals located on the other side of the Buriganga river. The others were built as mazes so that the attackers and intruders of the fort would loose their way in them and starve to death. During the colonial period many mutant soldiers of the Sepoy mutiny and many British soldiers chasing them died in these mazes. These secret tunnels were later sealed off by the British. For a long time the fort was considered to be a combination of three buildings with two gate ways. Recent excavations show the existence of other structures. The southern fortification wall has a huge bastion in the south-western corner. On the north of the south fortification wall there were utility buildings like stables, administration blocks and in the western part were beautiful roof-gardens with fountains and water reservoirs. the residential buildings were in the east of the west fortification wall, mainly to the south-west at regular intervals which were two stories high and the western wall had two bastions. The biggest bastion was near the main southern gate. The bastions had a tunnel. The central area of the fort had three buildings the Diwan-i-Aam and the hammam which was to the east, the mosque was to the west and the tomb of Pari Bibi was between the two buildings in one line but they were not at equal distances. A water channel connected the three buildings from east to west and north to south. There were fountains at regular intervals in these water channels. The Dewan-i-Aam was a two storied residential building for the Mughal governor of Bengal located on the east side of the complex. It had a single storied hammam attached on the west of the building. A portion of the hammam had an underground room for boiling water . A partition wall ran along the western façade of the hammam. There were living quarters on each level of the two storied building and a main central hallway connected them, there was a hammam in the southern part of the building too. This hammam is one of the seven hammams still existing in the heritage ruins in Bangladesh. These hammams had arrangements for water heating and it was supplied through terracotta pipes to the bath. There was a toilet by the hammam. The Subahdar of Bengal Shaista Khan lived in this building. 

There is a square shaped water tank to the east of the Dina-i-Aam with four stairs leading down to the tank. The Mosque at the fort also has a tank in front of it. 



Stories that are told by generations are that The Lalbagh Fort is a monument of unfulfilled dreams of the Prince Muhammad Azam. Other stories that are popular about the fort is that Prince Azam was called back by his father to Delhi and that he was engaged to be married to Bibi Pari. Her untimely death stopped the construction of the fort. There is another legend about the identity of Pari Bibi. It is said that she was a nine year old Ahom princess, the daughter of the Ahom King. She was brought to Dhaka by Mir Jumla after the war in Assam as an offering of the peace treaty. Later the Emperor converted her to Islam and married her to his son Prince Azam. People now-a-days believe that she was the beloved daughter of Nawab Shaista Khan. 

1861 Lalbagh Fort

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