Photograph of Baz Bahadur’s Palace at Mandu in Madhya Pradesh, taken by Raja Deen Dayal & Sons in the 1880s, from the Curzon Collection: 'Views of places proposed to be visited by Their Excellencies Lord & Lady Curzon during Autumn Tour 1902'. Lord Curzon served as Viceroy of India between 1899 and 1905. This is a view of the ruined palace and shows the façade rising out of the undergrowth with trees in the foreground. Mandu became a hillfort as early as the 6th century but it was not until the 10th century that it gained prominance under the Paramara dynasty. Most of the surviving architecture was built between 1401 and 1531 when the city was the thriving capital of the Sultans of Malwa. They renamed the fort ‘Shadiabad’ (City of Joy) and built palaces, mosques and tombs beside gardens and lakes within its walls. After the fall of the Malwa Sultanate, Daulat Khan ruled Mandu as Sultan Baz Bahadur from 1555 until 1561 when he was deposed by the Mughal Emperor Akbar (r.1556-1605). The Palace of Baz Bahadur stands on a hill above the sacred tank Rewa Kund, contained in the royal enclosure in southern Mandu. It was built in c.1509, before Baz Bahadur came to power, but was occupied by him.
Photograph of Dig Fort in Rajasthan, taken by Raja Deen Dayal & Sons in the 1890s, from the Curzon Collection: 'Views of places proposed to be visited by Their Excellencies Lord & Lady Curzon during Autumn Tour 1902'. Lord Curzon served as Viceroy of India between 1899 and 1905. Dig was the first capital of the Sinsini Jats established by Badan Singh (r.1722-33). Later the captial was moved to Bharatpur. The fort was built by his son Suraj Mal (r.1533-63) in 1730. This view shows the Lakha Burj at the north-west corner, the largest of twelve massive bastions reinforcing the fort walls, and the moat which encircles the fort.
Photograph of the city and lake at Udaipur in Rajasthan, taken by Raja Deen Dayal & Sons in the 1880s, from the Curzon Collection: 'Views of places proposed to be visited by Their Excellencies Lord & Lady Curzon during Autumn Tour 1902'. Lord Curzon served as Viceroy of India between 1899 and 1905. Udaipur was chosen by Maharana Udai Singh (r.1567-72) of the Sisodia Rajputs as the new capital of the Mewar State in the mid-16th century. This followed the sacking and possession of the previous capital, the hilltop fortress of Chittorgarh, by the Mughal Emperor Akbar (r.1556-1605) in 1567. Udaipur lies in a valley beside three artificial lakes, the largest of which is Lake Pichola. This is a general view looking across Lake Pichola towards the city with the hills in the distance. The white domes and towers of the massive City Palace (c.1567-c.1734) rise above the rooftops. Beyond the bridge are the island palaces of the Jagmandir and Jagniwas, in the main part of the lake.From British Library Collection