The fort of Surat which was won by Akbar.
for the mughals face Has always been the center of earning. from the port Mughals Used to earn a lot. When the Mughals came to know about the importance of Surat situated on the banks of the Tapti river, they conquered it. in 1572 Akbar He captured the fort of Surat and captured it here. Only after winning it, Akbar decided that this place could be established as a center for going to Mecca Hajj. In this way, after conquering the Surat fort, it became the biggest center for sending Haj pilgrims to Mecca.
With this victory, the port here became the center of trade for the Mughals. The Mughals started trading with the Portuguese and the British.After the capture of Surat, there was a four-fold increase in the treasury of the Mughals day and night. When the British gradually came to know about this, their eyes got stuck on this city and its port. The growing trade between the Portuguese and the Mughals was troubling the British. This was the reason that the Britishers dreamed of capturing it and made it a reality.
The battle of Plassey that changed a lot
Losing Surat from the hands of the Mughals was like losing a huge estate. This is what happened in the Battle of Plassey that started in 1757. Two years later, in 1979, the British captured the fort of Surat on which Akbar was very proud. Business from the port here increased so much that it started being counted among the highest earning ports.
Historians say that from here trade started with 84 countries of the world. The earnings of the British started increasing rapidly, but a day also came when the way to the port was closed due to natural reasons. After this the British left it and turned to Mumbai. Shifted its head office from Surat to Mumbai and the fort of Surat was first made the office of the East India Company, then the British government made it the storage office of revenue records. In this way this fort lost its luster and the fort which used to shine during the time of Mughals started drowning in darkness.
Also read: From Chausa to Vikramgarh, when the Mughals had to flee the battlefield
who built the fort
Historians have different views regarding the construction of this fort. But most historians are of the opinion that it was built in 1540. It was built by Sultan Mehmed Shah III. He gave the responsibility of building the fort to Turkish soldier Nizam Waza Safar Salmari.
Interestingly, 3 maps were made for the construction of this fort. The Sultan stamped one of the maps and thus the fort was built.
Also read: Why Mughal-British could not capture Lohagad Fort despite 13 attacks?
