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Description: | Photograph from an album of 80 albumen prints taken by Eugene Clutterbuck Impey. The town of Alwar in the Aravalli hills was founded by the Kachhwaha Rajput prince Rao Pratap Singh of Machheri in the 1770s, as the capital of the state of Alwar in north-east Rajasthan, skirting the territory of Delhi. The town's history thus only goes back a few hundred years but the kingdom of Alwar is considered possibly the oldest in Rajasthan because legend links it with the ancient kingdom of Matsya, where the Pandava brothers from the celebrated Hindu epic Mahabharata spent a year in exile. Alwar was frequently attacked because of its strategic position and is well-fortified as a consequence. Its huge fort, the Bala Qila, extends about five kms and is one of the few forts in Rajasthan built before the rise of the Mughals. It is believed to date from the 10th century. Inside the fort, just visible on the summit of the precipitous hill, lie the remains of a palace and other buildings erected for the rulers of Alwar. From the fort are obtained spectacular views of the town and the lake-studded countryside below. Just below the fort lie the ornate buildings of the late 18th century City Palace of Alwar which faces a rectangular tank or Sagar into the waters of which protrude 12 chhatris or ornamental pavilions. | License: | http://www.bl.uk/services/copy/permission.html | Rights holder: | British Library | Subjects: | Temples Resevoirs And Tanks | Source: | Collect Britain | Creator: | Impey, Eugene Clutterbuck | Identifier: | http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/personal... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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