Chapter 8 Green Fort Mirjan
Little-known and dilapidated sights attract me no less than sights that have retained their integrity and attract crowds of tourists. We visited one such place in the vicinity of Kumta. ⠀⠀ The Mirjan Fort does not look like a defensive structure at all, rather like a castle. The Queen's Castle.
In part, this is true. According to one version, the fort was built to store and guard spices that were sent along the river to Europe. The exact date of construction of the fort is not known. According to some sources, it arose in the XIII century, according to others in the XVI and restored in the XVII.
The plaque installed at the entrance claims that it was still in the XVII. This fact causes admiration and bewilderment at the same time. The fort was built of volcanic stone. Quite a loose substance. How it has survived to this day is a mystery. Although it is not known what remained of the original after the restoration of 2000-2001, when the laterite stone was replaced. The original construction of the fort is attributed to Queen Chennabhairadevi⠀, who ruled in these places for 54 years and also lived in the fort. The queen successfully traded in the best black pepper and received the nickname "Pepper Queen". Pepper in the XVI century was valued more than gold and had to be guarded. In addition to pepper, wild nutmeg, saltpeter, cassia and betel nut were stored in the fort. During the reign of the pepper queen, matriarchy reigned in South India. ⠀
After being defeated in the Talikota War, during which the Vijayanagar Empire was defeated, the queen moved from Mirjan Fort to safety on an island in the middle of the Sharawati River. According to another version, she was captured and met her death in prison.
After the death of the last ruler, Bednur, in 1755, his wife took over the administration by representing her 17-year-old adopted son, Chanbasavia. As her adopted son objected to her having a "lover", she killed him. This led to a revolt of the agitated local population, and the Marathas took advantage of the situation, and took advantage of the situation, the Marathas captured the fort. In the 18th century, the fort was captured by the British. The fort was maintained by the British until 1947, when India did not gain independence. ⠀
Coordinates: 14.493267, 74.423750
Mirjan Fort