Main Info
About 122 km north-west of Hyderabad on barren range of hills, a gigantic fortification wall runs up and down the contours of the country. The wall which is over 34 km in length encircles hillocks which appear to have never been inhabited by any human community. The fort lies about 27 km west of the Sann Railway Station on the Kotri-Larkana line of the Pakistan Railway. A very sandy and rough track connects it with the Indus highway near the Sann Railway Station.
There is not so much scientific written record or documentation data available to highlight the history and architecture on this fort. From the scanty record available which comes to conclusion that the fort was built in the first quarter of 19th century A.D. by the Mirs obviously to resist the pressure of the British forces over Sindh. It was also meant to serve as a stronghold and a place of refuge for the Mirs in case they could not control the march of the British. From a limited survey of the fort it becomes obvious that the builders could not have utilized it to their wishes or made use of the fort for which it had been built. It seems the irony of fate that the British took over Sindh even before the completion of the fort.
The fort was planned and constructed under the supervision of Nawab Wali Mohammad Khan Leghari, the prime Minister of Sindh in 1234 A.H./1819 A.D. it was named after a torrent (Rani Nai) which was the main source of supplying water to the whole area.
The bed of a seasonal torrent on the eastern side serves as the main approach to the Rani Kot Fort. The fortification wall, built with solid stone, runs north south from both banks of the torrent bed. The fortification wall, which follows the natural contours of the hilly area, has solid semi-circular bastions at intervals. The fortification wall runs on the three sides of the area while on the northern side the lofty peaks of the higher hillocks serve as a rampart. To reach the conclusion regarding chronology of this fort the scientific archaeological excavation is essential as different scholars have the dissimilar estimation about historical background.
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