5/5 md rafiqul i. 3 years ago on Google
Sonakanda
Fort is
a
river
fort
situated
in Narayanganj,
Bangladesh,
on
the
eastern
bank
of Shitalakshya
River. Though
the
time
of
its
establishment
could
not
be
ascertained,
historians
believe
that
the
river
fort
was
built
by Mir
Jumla
II,
a Subahdar of Bengal under
the Mughal
Empire,
to
defend Dhaka and Narayanganj from
pirates.
History
Bengal went
under
the
effective
control
of
the Mughal
Empire in
1574
AD
after
the
defeat
of Daud
Khan
Karrani by
the
Mughal
General Munim
Khan.
Mughals
exercised
a
progressive
rule
in
Bengal
and
were
determined
to
protect
their
subjects
from
external
forces.
Mir
Jumla
II
was
appointed
as
the
Subahdar
or
governor
of
the
then
Bengal
province
in
1660
AD.
He
was
aware
of
the
pirates
who
ran
a
campaign
of
terror
in
the
important
cities
of
Bengal.
In
a
quest
to
protect
the
capital Dhaka from
the
pirates,
Mir
Jumla
II
decided
to
build
three
river
forts
around
Dhaka,
including
Sonakanda
Fort.
Though
archaeologists
cannot
trace
any
evidence
on
its
date
of
establishment,
according
to
historians
the
construction
of
the
fort
started
between
1660
and
1663
AD.
Structure
The
fort
combines
thick
walls,
a
massive
artillery
platform
and
a
gateway
to
the
north.
The
fort
has
two
main
parts.
One
is
a
fortified
defensive
wall
of
gigantic
dimensions.
The
defensive
walls
are
3.05
metres
in
height
and
thicker
at
the
bottom.
Several
wide
and
narrow
loopholes
allowed
guns
and
light
cannons
to
fire
shells
at
the
pirates.
The
other
one
is
a
raised
outwork
on
the
western
face
to
defend
the
fort
from
the
attack
of
the
pirates.
The
most
significant
structure
of
the
fort
is
the
massive
artillery
platform.
One
of
the
spherical
artillery
platforms
has
a
stairway,
which
leads
up
to
the
artillery
platform.
Cannons
with
bigger
calibre
were
placed
on
there,
aiming
at
the
aggressors
coming
up
the Shitalakshya
River.
This
is
a
unique
feature
of
the
river
forts
built
by
Mughal
Empire.
The
platform
is
surrounded
by
two
circular
structures
of
which
the
diameter
of
the
inner
one
is
15.70
metres
and
the
diameter
of
the
outer
one
is
19.35
metres.
The
structure
is
6.09
metres
in
height
and
surrounded
by
walls.
The
fort
is
quadrangular
in
plan,
measuring
86.56
by
57.0
metres.
There
are
octagonal
bastions
on
the
four
corners
of
the
fort.
The
corner
bastions
on
both
sides
of
the
western
wing
are
wider
than
those
of
the
eastern
wing,
which
are
4.26
metres,
while
the
two
on
the
western
wing
are
6.85
metres
in
width.
The
only
gate
of
the
fort
is
on
the
north.
The
arched
entrance
is
placed
within
a
rectangular
frame.
The
gateway
is
higher
than
the
average
height
of
the
walls
of
fort
and
decorated
with
several
groomed
panels.
Myths
There
are
a
number
of
myths
related
to
the
river
fort
that
include
tragedy
and
mystery.
Princess
Swarnamoyee
was
abandoned
by
her
father
Kedar
Roy,
a
king
of Bikrampur.
She
went
to
the
Shitalakshya
River
with
her
barge
to
perform
the
sacred
bath.
Unfortunately,
the
pirates
attacked
her
barge
that
day
and
looted
all
the
valuables
she
had.
They
also
kidnapped
the
princess.
She
was
later
saved
by Isa
Khan,
the
ruler
of Sonargaon.
Isa
Khan
brought
her
to
the
Sonakanda
Fort
and
asked
her
father
to
take
her
back.
Kedar
Roy,
however,
refused
to
take
her
back
as
she
had
lost
her
caste
by
spending
a
night
in
a
tent
owned
by
a
Muslim
ruler.
Swarnamoyee,
shocked
by
the
incident,
cried
for
several
days
in
her
tent
at
Sonakanda
Fort.
According
to
a
popular
belief
the
name
of
the
fort
is
derived
from
this
incident
as
the
Swarnamoyee
in
other
words Sona,
cried
a
lot
in
this
fort.
The Bengali for
crying
is kanda.
Another
version
of
the
story
says
that
Isa
Khan
forcefully
married
Sona
Bibi,
a
widowed
daughter
of
Kedar
Roy.
She
was
brought
to
this
fort
and
put
under
confinement
by
Isa
Khan's
soldiers.
She
cried
following
the
incident
and
the
name
of
the
fort
derived
from
that.
