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[[File:Hyderabad map 1911.jpg|thumb|220px|right|1914 map of Hyderabad showing the rough outline of the wall and location of some of the gates.<ref name="NewsMin1"/>]]<br />
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The '''City Wall of Hyderabad''' was a [[Defensive wall|city wall]] surrounding [[Hyderabad]], although the city has expanded significantly beyond the wall.{{sfn|Bilgrami, 1927|pp=94}} The wall used to enclose the area of present [[Old City (Hyderabad, India)|Old City of Hyderabad]]. The wall was around {{convert|6|mi|km}} long and covered an area of {{frac|4|1|2}} miles. It was made of large granite blocks which were abundantly available around the city.<br />
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Due to encroachment and neglect on part of the authorities, almost all of the wall has been destroyed, although portions still survive at [[Aliabad, Hyderabad|Aliabad]]. Two of the original thirteen gateways still stand.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/fortified-wall-that-protected-hyderabad-against-invaders-now-in-shambles/articleshow/62563396.cms|title=Fortified wall that protected Hyderabad against invaders now in shambles|date=19 January 2018|first=Moulika|last=KV|newspaper=The Times of India|language=en|access-date=2019-09-14}}</ref><br />
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== Construction ==<br />
[[File:Hyderabad City Wall Afzal Darwaza.jpg|thumb|220px|''Afzal Darwaza'', last of the 13 gates built to enter the walled city was built in 1861, and demolished in 1954.|alt=]]<br />
[[File:Dabeerpura_Darwaza.jpg|thumb|220px|''Dabeerpura Darwaza'', one of the two surviving gateways of Hyderabad out of the original 13.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.siasat.com/news/khidki-and-darwaza-hyderabad-564701/|title=The "Khidki" and "Darwaza" of Hyderabad {{!}} The Siasat Daily|website=archive.siasat.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-10-13}}</ref>|alt=]]<br />
The construction of the wall was started by [[Abul Hasan Qutb Shah]], the last Sultan of the [[Qutb Shahi dynasty|Qutb Shahi]] dynasty. The construction continued under [[Mubariz Khan]], the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] governor of the Deccan. The construction was completed by the first [[Nizam of Hyderabad|Nizam]] of [[Hyderabad State]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Press Reporter's Guild, Hyderabad, India |date= 1965|title=Hyderabad: The City We Live in|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YVdXAAAAMAAJ&q=Wall |location=Hyderabad |publisher= The University of Michigan}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/220717/telangana-drops-guard-on-hyderabads-historic-fortified-wall.html|title=Telangana drops guard on Hyderabad's historic fortified wall|last=Yar Khan|first=Asif|date=2017-07-22|work=Deccan Chronicle|access-date=2018-07-30|language=en}}</ref><br />
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The wall was approximately {{height|ft=18}} high and {{height|ft=8|precision=}} wide at various parts. Historians say that the wall varied in thickness, as it crossed various locations. Some places were wide enough for sentries, while other places could even accommodate horses. At strategic points, where there could be threats, there was an opening for canons to be mounted.<br />
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The wall initially had 13 gates, known as ''Darwazas.'' In addition to the large gates, at certain points the walls also had smaller entrances known as ''khidkis'' or [[wicket gate]]s, through which one could enter the city.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/majestic-darwaza-defied-deluge-fell-to-bulldozers/articleshow/59828554.cms|title=Majestic Darwaza defied deluge, fell to bulldozers|date=30 July 2017|first=Syed|last=Akbar|newspaper=The Times of India|access-date=19 February 2020}}</ref> The thirteen gates were:{{sfn|Bilgrami, 1927|pp=95}}<br />
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* ''Purana Pul Darwaza'' (surviving) at [[Purana pul|Purana Pul]].<br />
* ''Dabeerpura Darwaza'' (surviving) at [[Dabirpura]].<br />
* ''Chaderghat Darwaza'' at [[Chaderghat]].<br />
* ''Yakutpura Darwaza'' at [[Yakutpura]].<br />
* ''Aliabad Darwaza'' at [[Aliabad, Hyderabad|Aliabad]].<br />
* ''Champa Darwaza''<br />
* ''Lal Darwaza''<br />
* ''Gowlipura Darwaza''<br />
* ''Fateh Darwaza''<br />
* ''Doodhbowli Darwaza''<br />
* ''Dilli Darwaza''<br />
* ''Mir Jumla Darwaza''<br />
* ''Afzal Darwaza'', the last of the gates built in 1861 by [[Afzal ad-Dawlah, Asaf Jah V]].''<ref name="NewsMin1" />''<br />
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== Remains ==<br />
[[File:Refugees_walk_across_a_bridge_with_the_Afzal_Darwaza_in_the_background,_during_the_Great_Musi_Flood_of_1908,_Hyderabad.jpg|thumb|230px|left|Refugees walk across a bridge with the ''Afzal Darwaza'' in the background, during the [[Great Musi Flood of 1908]].]]<br />
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[[File:Purana Pul Darwaza 1920.jpg|thumb|220px|right|View of ''Purana Pul Darwaza'' in 1920, one of the two surviving gates]]<br />
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Much of the wall was destroyed during the [[Great Musi Flood of 1908]], and later demolished by the government after independence in the 1950s and 1960s.<ref name="Singh 2018">{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/the-vanishing-walls-of-hyderabad/article7597515.ece|title=The vanishing walls of Hyderabad|last=Singh|first=T. Lalith|date=2015-08-31|work=The Hindu|access-date=2018-07-30|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref><br />
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Today, only two gates still stand — the ''Purana Pul Darwaza'' and the ''Dabeerpura Darwaza'',<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/dabeerpura-darwaza-freed-of-encroachments/articleshow/64943148.cms|title=Dabeerpura Darwaza freed of encroachments - Times of India|work=The Times of India|access-date=2018-07-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/Dabeerpura-Darwaza-a-sentinel-of-the-past/article11185423.ece|title=Dabeerpura Darwaza: a sentinel of the past|last=Khan|first=Asif Yar|date=2014-08-04|work=The Hindu|access-date=2018-10-13|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> and nothing except a few portions remains of the wall.<ref name="Singh 2018" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://telanganatoday.com/doorways-rich-past-golconda|title=Doorways to a rich past|last=Varma|first=Dr. Anand Raj|work=Telangana Today|access-date=2018-10-13|language=en-US}}</ref><br />
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==See also==<br />
* [[Lalapet]]<br />
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== Gallery ==<br />
<gallery><br />
File:Hyderabad map 1914.jpg|Map of Hyderabad, 1911 showing a rough outline of the wall and some gates<br />
</gallery><br />
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== References ==<br />
===Citations===<br />
<references><br />
<ref name=NewsMin1>{{cite news |last= B.|first=Nitin |date= 2017-09-04|title= Of darwazas and khidkis: Tracing the origins of the walled city of Hyderabad|url= https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/darwazas-and-khidkis-tracing-origins-walled-city-hyderabad-67869|language=en |location=Hyderabad |access-date=2018-11-05}}</ref><br />
</references><br />
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===Bibliography===<br />
*{{citation |last=Bilgrami |first=Syed Ali Asgar |title=Landmarks Of The Deccan |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.280768/page/n3 |year=1927 |publisher=Government Central Press |ref={{sfnref|Bilgrami, 1927}}}}<br />
{{coord missing|Telangana}}<br />
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{{Hyderabad topics}}<br />
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[[Category:Culture of Hyderabad, India]]<br />
[[Category:Military history of Hyderabad, India]]<br />
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Hyderabad, India]]<br />
[[Category:City walls in India]]<br />
[[Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Hyderabad]]</div>EloyNoble34