Main Info
The fort at Umerkot, now district head quarter with same name was founded by Umer, the first king of the Soomro dynasty around (1050-1350) A.D. During the first half of the 13th century, the fort was occupied by the Rajput ruler named Perma Sodha, whose successors held it for centuries. Rana Parshad one of the rulers of that dynasty played host to Humayun and his contingent on his way to Persia. Later Kalhoras took the possession of Umerkot but one of the rulers of this dynasty sold it to the Raja of Jodhpur. When Talpurs came to powers, they recovered it in 1813 A.D. it remained in their possession till the British occupied Sindh.
The ancient fort at Umerkot is roughly rectangular in plan, the walls both on its interior & exterior give a tapered look, well supported on all the four corners with semi-circular bastions. On eastern side, there is an arched gateway flanked by semi-circular bastions. Originally the façade of the fortification walls of the fort were lined with burnt brick tiles laid in mud mortar and its core filled with mud. The fortification wall was originally 6 m wide and rose to a maximum height of 15 meters. There is a watch tower in the centre of fort from where complete view of the town could be seen through climbing up with the help of comfortable staircases.
