The Tughlaqabad Fort was built by the founder of the Tughlaq Dynasty, Ghiyas-ud-din-Tughlaq in 1321. Established as the fifth historic city, the fort was later abandoned in 1327. The fort is a gigantic stone structure, with walls that are 10-15 metres high. Crowning the walls are battlement parapets and bastions. The fort-city of Tughlaqabad was supposed to have as many as 52 gates, out of which only 13 remain now.
The Tughlaqabad Fort has an interesting legend behind it. It is believed that Tughlaq wanted every laborer in the area to build the city-fort. This led to the fury of one of the labourers, Nizamuddin Auliya who cursed the fort saying “Ya rahey hissar, ya bassey gujjar”, which means, may the fort remain unoccupied, or else may herdsmen live here. Following this curse it is believed that the Empire could not prosper and the fort-city was soon abandoned.
