RAIGAD FORT

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President Ram Nath Kovind is beginning his four-day visit (December 6-9) to Maharashtra by visiting the Raigad Fort where he will pay tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

About

Raigad is a hill fort situated in Mahad, Raigad district of Maharashtra.
The British Gazette states the fort was known to early Europeans as the Gibraltar of the East.
The fort, which was earlier called Rairi, was the seat of the Maratha clan Shirke in the 12th century.
The fort changed hands a number of times from the dynasty of Bahaminis to the Nizamshahis and then the Adilshahis.
In 1656, Chhatrapati Shivaji captured it from the More’s of Javli who were under the suzerainty of the Adilshahi Sultanate.
In 1662, Shivaji formally changed the fort’s name to Raigad and added a number of structures to it. By 1664, the fort had emerged as the seat of Shivaji’s government.
On June 6, 1674, Shivaji was coronated at Raigad by Gagabhatt where he took on the title of Chhatrapati. Six years later, Shivaji passed away in Raigad in 1680 and was cremated at the fort.