The Birth of Hyderabad

The city was divided into 12,000 precincts or mohallas, and nearly 14,000 buildings like shops, mosques, schools and rest houses lined the main thoroughfare. On the north western side were the royal palaces and state offices, and the north eastern area of the city was earmarked for the homes of the nobles. Numerous public buildings, palaces and gardens added grace to the new city . Eighty years away from the Charminar was the Charkaman or Four Arches, a popular piazza flanked by four large arches, nearly fifty feet high. In the center of the square was a large octagonal fountain called the Charsu-ka-Hauz. The Ashurkhana built to house the Alam, or replicas of the banner carried by Imam Hussain at Karbala was another significant monument of Muhammad Quli 's time. In 1595, at the behest of the king, Darul Shifa or a General Hospital with a college of Unani medicine was bult. Other noteworthy monuments built by Muhammad Quli include the Jame Masjid, the Dad Mahal, The Chandan Mahal, the Hira Mahal, the Lakhan Mahal and the Nadi Mahal.

The French historian Tavernier, who visited Hyderabad during the Qutub Shahi period, described it as 'the most artistically planned and constructed city'. A European traveler William Mathold was so impressed by the new city that he exclaimed; 'the city of Hyderabad by virtue of its health giving climate and abundant water supply is the best city in India '. Hyderabad was a great commercial hub at this time and when Tarvernier visited the city, he found local merchants trading with foreigners. When Monsieur de Thevonot visited Hyderabad in 1669, he noted the presence of a surprisingly, artisans and jewelers in the city, some even from Persian and Armenia . Abbe Carre, a visitor to the city in 1672-74 also remarked on the flourishing trade in diamonds, pearls, steel and fabric by the local and foreign merchants in Hyderabad and called it 'the center of all trades in the east'. Hyderabad soon outgrew Golconda and became a hub of all cultural, intellectual and commercial activity.

With time the city became a melting pot where different people, languages, ethnicity and rituals blended to cerate an extremely tolerant and multitude culture.

In January 1612, at the young age of forty six, Muhammad Quli passed away. The dynastic history of the Qutub Shahi rulers reached its pinnacle during the reign of Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah. During the Qutub Shahi period, described it as 'the most artistically planned and constructed city'. A European traveler William Mathold was so impressed by the new city that he exclaimed; 'the city of Hyderabad by virtue of its health giving climate and abundant water supply is the best city in India '. Hyderabad was a great commercial hub at this time and when Tarvernier visited the city, he found local merchants trading with foreigners. When Monsieur de Thevonot visited Hyderabad in 1669, he noted the presence of a surprisingly, artisans and jewelers in the city, some even from Persian and Armenia . Abbe Carre, a visitor to the city in 1672-74 also remarked on the flourishing trade in diamonds, pearls, steel and fabric by the local and foreign merchants in Hyderabad and called it 'the center of all trades in the east'. Hyderabad soon outgrew Golconda and became a hub of all cultural, intellectual and commercial activity.

The city is verily a paradise, there is nothing that is not to be found here.

With time the city became a melting pot where different people, languages, ethnicity and rituals blended to cerate an extremely tolerant and multitude culture.

In January 1612, at the young age of forty six, Muhammad Quli passed away. The dynastic history of the Qutub Shahi rulers reached its pinnacle during the reign of Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah.