kings, who moved their capital there from Gulbarga, and later on it became the capital of the Barid Shahi kings. In 1656 a.d. Aurangzeb besieged and took both the fort and the city, and, finally, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, Bidar passed quietly into the hands of Asaf Jah, the first Nizam.
The Kutb Shahi Kings (1512-1687 a.d.).—After the Barid Shahi dynasty, came the famous Kutb Shahi kings, who made their capital at Golconda.
As every one knows, the Golconda fortress lies five miles west of Hyderabad city, and the tombs of the Kutb Shahi kings are just outside it. Muhammad Kuli, the fifth Kutb Shahi king, founded the present capital of Hyderabad in 1589 a.d., and most of the old buildings in the city were erected by him, such as the Char Minar, the Char Kaman, the Ashur Khana (the city wall), and the Purana Pul (old bridge), which connects the city with the road to Golconda.
In 1687 the Golconda fortress was taken by Aurangzeb, after a siege of eight months, and the last king of Golconda, Abul Hasan, was made a prisoner and confined in the fort of Daulatabad, where he died in 1704 a.d.
