And Alauddin Khilji Built Siri



Siri was the second of the seven cities of medieval Delhi built around 1303 during the rule of Ala-ud-Din Khalji to defend the city from the tireless onslaughts of the Mongols, plundering the gardens and palaces in Delhi, relentlessly.

There's a popular legend explaining the name of his palace as 'Siri' which is derived from the word 'Sir' the Hindi word for head. It is believed that when the Mongols raided Delhi, Alauddin Khilji defeated them and all the generals and soldiers of the Mongol army were captured and brought to Siri where they were trampled to death by elephants. Nearly eight thousand of their heads were build into the walls of Siri Fort. Inside this fort was his supposedly magnificent palace which had a hall, that was known as the Hall of a Thousand Pillars. It had marble floors and grand decoration of stones. Now, all that we find are just ruins, which was once considered the pride of the city. Legend states that Allauddin's famous building had engaged 70,000 workers. There were seven gates for entry and exit, but at present only the south eastern gate exists.

Alauddin was a great warrior and defeated the Rajputs at Ranthambhor and Chittor in 1303. He also conquered the Deccan and annexed it to his empire. 

Legend says that he was enchanted by the beauty of Rani Padmini of Chittor and desired to bring her to his harem by force. He ordered his army to storm Chittor. But hard as they tried, the Sultan's army could not break into the fort. Then Alauddin decided to lay siege to the fort. It became a very long drawn siege and and gradually supplies within the fort started getting depleted!!

As the situation developed into a crisis, the King of Chittor, Rana Ratan Singh ordered that the Rajput soldiers would open the gates of the fort and would fight to death with the besieging troops. On hearing of such a decision, queen Padmini decided that with their men-folk going into an unequal battle with the Sultan's army in which they certainly would perish, the women of Chittor would have to commit the ritual called as 'Jauhar' to escape dishonour at the hands of the victorious enemy.

And so, they lit a huge pyre and all the women of Chittor jumped into its flames, one after another, following their queen. With all their women burnt to ashes, the men of Chittor had nothing to fear anymore. They decided to perform 'Saka'. Each soldier got dressed in saffron coloured robes and turbans, charged out of the fort and fought till death, the immensely powerful army of the Sultan.

After this monsterous victory, the jubilant troops of the Sultan entered the fort, only to find the charred bodies of the women, for whom they came all the way!! All their gallantry finally resulted in naught.

The bards of Rajasthan have immortalised this legend with poems and songs which still talk about the supreme sacrifice of the brave queen Padmini and the women of Chittor. The stories of valor of the Rajputs to defend the honor of their queen lives on forever.