| Abstract: |
Daulatabad, one of the most amazing fortified sites in India, has fascinated all the visitors, including the emperor Shahjahan himself, from Ibn Battutah to European travellers of the 17th-19th centuries. In this study, an attempt has been made to establish the typology of the fortification, identify the defence works and thus discriminate between successive periods of building before and after the introduction of firearms in warfare. It shows, first, the role of the Yadava Hindu kings, their gigantic works in scarping the hill and excavating the ditch out of the living rock
then, the defence works of the Muslims. The Bahmani dynasty (1347-1510) is largely responsible for building the first enclosure, reinforcing the defences of the citadel and constructing the main rampart of the second enclosure. After the introduction of a powerful artillery, a highly complex system of fortification was designed, with raised towers provided with cavaliers, a fausse-braye below the second enclosure and a third rampart at the foot of the hill, which should be ascribed to the Nizam Shahis of Ahmadnagar (1510-1636).
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