Golconda, a ruined city, is about 8 km from
Hyderabad. It was the capital of the
Qutub Shahi Sultans from 1512 to 1590. The city was captured by the
Mughal emperor
Aurangzeb in 1687. It has many historical monuments and the most important one is the
Golconda Fort which lies on a hill.
Golconda was one of the five major diamond mine groups in ancient India. The mines include the Kollur Mines, the Partial Mines and the Muleli or Malavilly Mines, of which Kollur was the richest. Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, ancient traveler and writer who visited the court of Aurangazeb, has written about the Golconda Mines, where more than 60,000 people including women and children worked.
