(PHOTO) Sketch of sculpture at Kalinjar Fort, by Frederick Charles ( 1845 - 1852 AD )

Pencil drawing by Frederick Charles Maisey of details of sculpture from Kalinjar, with notes, dated 1845 -1852.Kalinjar, one of the oldest hill forts in India, occupies a remote site on the last spur of the Vindhya Mountains above the Gangetic Valley, a plateau 375 metres high.

The site was originally a revered hill shrine later fortified and occupied by successive generations of invaders. From the 9th to the 12th centuries it was a stronghold of the Chandellas. In 1023 Mahmud of Ghazni attempted to seize the fortress but failed. In 1203 Kalinjar fell to the Muslims under Qutub-ud-Din Aybak who defeated the last of the Chandella rajas, Parmadideva. The fort was sacked and all the temples were destroyed. A few centuries later, with the rise of the Mughal Empire, a new series of attacks took.

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Courtesy: Europeana.eu