Cultural Archaeology of Ahmadnagar During Nizam Shahi Period (An Old An Rare Book)

The disintegration of the erstwhile Bahmane Kingdom in the last quarter of the fifteenth century gave rise to Ahmadnagar, one of four independent kingdoms. A remnant of the times of Mohamad bin Tughlaq, it is replete with historical buildings, palaces and forts evoking nostalgia for the past. In the present book, the author has traced the history of this fascina ting place from the times of Nizam Shahi, Himself a resident of Ahmad nagar, Gadre has supplemented the work with his own drawings and research. He has quoted from a number of works in Persian, Portuguese, Italian and English which give the reader a cosmoramic view of the Nizam Shahi rule. The book deals with all aspects of the society and culture prevalent in Ahmad nagar under the Nizam Shahi. The topography and the physical features of the land around Ahmad nagar have also been gone into and supplemented with maps and charts.

The author's erudition, objectivity and commitment to his craft cannot be questioned. Written in a delight fully racy and readable style, this book cannot be passed up even by the layman. Scholars and researchers in the fields of History and Archaeology are, of course, going to find the book indispensable.

How I was inclined to peep into the depth of the Nizam Shahi history of Ahmadnagar, is an interesting story. Since 1949, the year I settled down in Ahmadnagar, the historical buildings, including the famous fort and the palaces fascinated me. I often visited them and made my own drawings of the same. During the famine of 1952-1954, I casually visited the old aqueduct of Vadgaon, which was opened by the Municipality, in the course of their desperate attempt to find additional sources of drinking water for the city. I was thrilled to see the construction of the underground vault and the channel. I made sketches, hardly realizing, then, that they would prove so helpful later. The - Vadgaon aqueduct diverted my curiosity towards the old water supply system of Ahmadnagar. From the description in the Bombay Gazetteer, (Ahmadnagar District), I traced the sources of fifteen aquducts that once supplied drinking water to the city of Ahmadnagar. Since 1957, I kept the track of new pipe lines, cisterns and the constructions found while digging the foundations for the new buildings in Ahmadnagar. Every time, I took notes and recorded the new discoveries on the copy of the map in the Gazetteer. I was simply thrilled, when in 1963, a chanced discovery of an earthen urn, containing the Chinese Celadon ware and glass bottles, was ascribed the date to 15th century to which Ming Pottery belonged, by the Department of Far Eastern Studies of the Harvard University (U.S.A.). D:. H.D. Sankalia always appreciated my interest in archaeology and history. His encouragement finally induced me to undertake a more systematic study of the cultural aspects based on the archaeological survey of the society that lived under the Nizam Shahi Rule.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages