Hyderabad the capital of Andhra Pradesh, founded in the year 1591 by Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah, the fifth

sultan of Qutb Shahi dynasty, offers a fascinating panorama of the past, with richly mixed cultural and historical tradition spanning over 400 years. history of Hyderabad begins with the establishment of the Qutb Shahi dynasty. Quli Qutb Shah seized the reins of power from the Bahamani kingdom in 1512 and established the fortress city of Golconda. Inadequacy of water, and frequent epidemics of plague and cholera persuaded Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah to venture outward to establish new city with the Charminar at its centre and with four great roads fanning out four cardinal directions. Hyderabad's fame, strategic location and Golconda's legendary wealth attracted Aurangazeb who captured Golconda after a long seize in 1687. After this defeat the importance of Hyderabad declined and the city fell into partial ruins. As the Moghul empire decayed and began to disintegrate, the viceroy, Asaf Jah I proclaimed himself the Nizam and established independence rule of the Deccan. Hyderabad once again became a major capital city, ruled by successive Nizams of the Asaf Jahi dynasty until the state was merged into Indian Union in 1948.

Golkonda rose to prominence as the seat of the Qutb Shahi dynasty around 1507. Over a period of 62 years the mud fort was expanded by the first three Qutb Shahi kings into a massive fort of granite, extending around 5 km in circumference. It remained the capital of the Qutb Shahi dynasty until 1590 when the capital was shifted to Hyderabad.

Built in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah of the Qutub Shahi dynasty, Charminar is a monument and mosque located in Hyderabad. Shortly after Qutub Shah shifted his capital from Golconda to what is now known as Hyderabad, the Charminar is the first structure to be constructed. The entire city of Hyderabad was designed around the Charminar, which was constructed on the old trade route that connects the markets of the Golconda with the port city of Masulipatnam. It has the signature style of Islamic architecture and is made of granite, limestone, mortar and pulverized marble. Among the varying legends as to why Charminar was built, the most popular is that the sultan built it to honor a promise to Allah when he prayed for an end to a plague that ravaged the new city. He ordered the construction of the mosque which became popular as Charminar because of its four characteristic minarets. The top floor of the four-storeyed structure has a mosque which has 45 covered prayer spaces and some open space to accommodate more people in Friday prayers.

Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad, India is one of the oldest and the biggest mosques in India. Muhammed Quli Qutub Shah, the 6th Sultan of Hyderabad began building it in 1617 under the supervision of Mir Faizullah Baig and Rangiah Choudhary. The work continued during the reign of Abdullah Qutub Shah and Abul Hassan Tana Shah and was completed in 1694 by the Moghal Emperor Aurangzeb. It took about 8000 masons and 77 years to be completed.

The city has a glorious tradition of tanks built by the rulers.

The first source of water supply to Hyderabad was from Hussainsagar lake. Named after Hussain Shah Wali, the lake was built in 1562 on the tributary of Musi. It covered an area of 8 sq miles. In 1891, a slow-sand filter was set up in Narayanguda, and the lake was used to provide drinking water. The water of Hussainsagar was sufficient for the people of Hyderabad then. Most of the tanks in Hyderabad were built by Qutub Shah (1564-1724 AD), and his successor Asaf Jahi (1724-1948 AD). As population grew, two other tanks, Himayatsagar (built in 1927) and Osamansagar (built in 1913) started supplying water to the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, which were constructed to control floods after the 1908 inundation of the city.

The city has a culture that is distinct from the rest of Andhra Pradesh, showing Islamic influences and a courtly presence resulting from its period as the capital of the Nizams. Chowmahalla Palace or Chowmahallat (4 Palaces), is a palace of the Nizams of Hyderabad state. It was the seat of the Asaf Jahi dynasty and was the official residence of the Nizams of Hyderabad while they ruled their state. The palace remains the property of Barkat Ali Khan Mukarram Jah, heir of the Nizams. In Persian, Chahar means four and in Arabic Mahalat (plural of Mahal) means palaces, hence the name Chowmahallat/four palaces, or four palaces.

Unani hospital Mecca masjid