Historical Lalbagh Fort

Lalbagh Fort or Fort Aurangabad, an incomplete Mughal palace fortress at Dhaka on the river Buriganga in the southwestern part of the old city. The river has now gone further south and flows at quite a distance from the fort. D'Oily's painting (1809-11) shows that more than half of this east-west oblong fortress touched the wThe construction of the fort was commenced in 1678 AD by prince muhammad azamduring his 15 month long vice-royalty of Bengal, but before he could complete the work he was recalled by aurangzeb. His successor, shaista khan did not continue the work, though he stayed in Dhaka up to 1688. His daughter bibi pari (Lady Fairy) died here in 1684 and this led him to consider the fort to be ominous.ater of the river on its south and southOf the three surviving gateways, the southern one is the most imposing. Seen from the front itOn the northern side of the southern fortification were placed utility buildings, such as the stable, the administrative block, and its western part accommodated a beautiful roof-garden with arrangements for fountains and a water reservoir. is a three storeyed structure with a fronton, bordered with slender minarets. western sides.The central area of the fort is occupied by three buildings - the Diwan-i-Aam and the Hammam on its east, the mosque on the west and the tomb of Bibi Pari in between the two - in one line, but not at equal distance.The water channels and the fountains, a very common feature of Mughal architecture, set an atmosphere not very unlike north Indian Mughal forts.The double storeyed Diwan-i-Aam attached with a single storeyed Hammam on its west is an The building in the middle, the tomb of Bibi Pari, is the most impressive of the surviving buildings of the fort. Eight rooms surround a central square room, containing the mortal remains of Bibi Pari, which is covered by a false dome, octagonal in shape, and wrapped by brass plate. imposing building.The archaeological excavations have revealed strata of the Sultanate as well as of the pre-Muslim periods, from where terracotta heads and plaques have been found. Thus it is now justified to say that though the Mughals founded Dhaka, it was definitely inhabited long before the Muslims came to Bengal.