Idrakpur Fort: A Mughal Castle That Once Defended Dhaka

 

River piracy was a grim reality in Bengal during the 16th and 17th centuries. One of its most tragic victims was the great Bengali poet of the 17th century Syed Alaol, who lost his father in a pirate attack while traveling by river from Chittagong to Arakan. Alaol himself was captured during the same raid—an incident that reflects the widespread insecurity of Bengal’s river routes at the time.

To counter these constant threats, the Mughal administration took strategic defensive measures. Idrakpur Fort was built in 1660 during the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb to protect key riverine regions, including Dhaka and Narayanganj. The fort served as a crucial outpost against attacks by Mughal rebel pirates and Harmad (Arakanese) pirates, helping secure vital trade and communication routes.

For centuries, the rivers of Bengal were not only lifelines of trade and communication but also corridors of terror. Arakanese, Mughal renegades and Portuguese pirates once occupied Sandwip and unleashed relentless violence across riverine Bengal, robbing and plundering riverside settlements at will. Night after night, fear deprived the people of sleep as pirate boats moved silently along the waterways.

Surrounded by an intricate network of rivers, Bengal was especially vulnerable. The pirates struck mainly during the monsoon, when swollen rivers allowed easy access deep into the countryside. Under the cover of darkness, they attacked sleeping villages along the riverbanks, looting valuables, torching homes and leaving entire settlements in ruins. Survivors—men, women and even children—were dragged onto boats and kept below deck in suffocating darkness for days, given little more than a handful of rice to survive. Those who lived were sold or forced into slavery; those who died were discarded without a second thought. This was the grim reality of Bengal’s riverside villages in the 16th and 17th centuries.

To counter this menace, the Mughal administration took decisive steps. During the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb, Bengal’s Subedar and military commander Mir Jumla ordered the construction of Idrakpur Fort to repel attacks by the Mughal and Harmad pirates and to consolidate Mughal control over Bikrampur, the former name of present-day Munshiganj.

Built in 1660 on the banks of the Ichamati River at Idrakpur, the fort occupied a strategically vital position. Within a three-kilometer radius lay the confluence of four major rivers—the Meghna, Dhaleswari, Shitalaksha and Ichamati—making the site crucial for river defence. From this stronghold, Mughal forces could monitor and protect key waterways leading to Dhaka and Narayanganj.

Idrakpur Fort was one of three forts constructed to safeguard this region, standing today as a silent witness to a turbulent chapter in Bengal’s riverine history—when rivers carried not just commerce and culture, but also fear, resistance and the resolve to defend the land.

In 1610, Subedar Islam Khan, upon his first arrival in Bengal, shifted the capital from Rajmahal to Dhaka and focused on building a strong fleet. He also appointed Mir Bahar (Naval Commander) in the army.  It is said that within a decade the Mughals had built three forts on the banks of the rivers surrounding the city at strategic locations to protect the capital. Although there is ongoing debate as to whether Islam Khan actually built any forts, he may have started small and later improved them. The three main forts of Bengal's water defences are referred to as the "Triangle of Waterforts" and consist of the forts of Idrakpur, Sonakanda and Hajiganj.

Most of the forts built around Dhaka during the Mughal period for military purposes. It was designed and planned with defense in mind. In addition to the strong structure, a number of defenses were added to form a kind of impenetrable and defensive tactics in the forts. First of all, its strategic position was given priority. Strategic position there fort was highly important In this case the first choice of the ruler was rivers, high mountains, valleys. In addition to the strong structure, a number of defenses were added to form a kind of impenetrable and defensive tactics in the forts. In this case, first of all, its strategic position was given priority. In this case the first choice of the ruler was rivers, high mountains, valleys.

According to UNESCO's feature "Mughal Forts on Fluvial Terrains in Dhaka", Bengal is located on the enormous delta of the Ganges-Brahmaputra Rivers, and the geography was quite unknown to the Mughals. The imperial armies were also challenged by the annual rain and the abundance of rivers and canals. The landscape dominated by various shapes and water bodies convert into a continuous water plane during the monsoon. The Mughals struggled and had to adapt themselves to cope up with such conditions. Due to the rivers, rains and flood of this deltaic terrain, the wars became amphibious. During the first two decades of their expedition in Bengal, the Mughals naval warfare technique was ine?icient, and their opponents, the local chieftains, had large supplies of war-boats. By the time Islam Khan Chisti assumed the leadership of the Mughal expedition in 1607 CE, the Mughals were using hundreds of boats for battle. Islam Khan was further challenged by the Arakan state of coastal Burma and the Portuguese pirates who settled in the coastal area of South-eastern Bengal.

The Mughals set up their first military force in Dhaka during the reign of Emperor Akbar, but the importance of the area in terms of the naval strategy was only felt during Subahdar Islam Khan’s ‘Bhati Campaign’ against Musa Khan in 1608 CE.

The naval forts of the Bhuiyans were strongly built and raised at a few kilometres o? from the mouth of the confluence of important river routes while maintaining internal links through canals. As soon as the news of the enemy’s arrival reached, the war-boats were pushed down to the main confluence in series through the canals. The Bhuyians also possessed harbours close to their respective capitals for building and repairing boats and impart naval training to the soldiers. Harbours of Dhumghar (of Raja Pratapadiya), Sripur (of Raja Kedar Rai), Sonargaon (of Musa Khan) are noteworthy.

Realizing the e?iciency and military value of these mud forts considering the geographic features, the Mughal themselves started constructing mud forts for defence and later strengthening the important forts with brick masonry and lime mortar and installing heavy artillery inside them.

Among the naval forts, the Hajiganj fort was frequently used by Islam Khan to command military operations against the Bhuyians. The Sonakanda and Idrakpur forts were built after the Hajiganj fort. These forts, together with several outposts, performed as a defence centre to protect Dhaka from external enemies. Subahdar Mir Jumla extensively used these forts and conducted military expeditions.

The Mughal armies enabled them to establish themselves as a dominant power of the Bengal delta by showing remarkable geographical and military adaptability over a period of around 100 years. 

Idrakpur fort built during the Mughal period is still in existence in the town of Munsigonj on the right (south) bank of the river Ichhamati now extinct and after being merged with the river Dhaleswari.

This fort is slightly smaller than the Sona Kanda fort of the Narayangonj district. The eastern part of this fort is semi-circular and the western part is rectangular. The surrounding walls are made of bricks and are quite low now-at places particularly in the north side it is about 1.21 metres (4') high only. Originally the walls including the north wall were quite high. But as the entire surrounding land due to the gradual process of silting up has risen high the wall have lost their original height.

There is a large circular drum having a diameter of about 26 meters (66') surrounded by very high walls most probably built for strengthening the construction of the fort. The circular drum was used as a bastion for placing large connon with long ranges. The residential house of the Sub-divisional Officer was built during the British period.

In fort of the drum that is on the west and north-west of the pond there is a small pond which has become derelict and practically not fit for use. It was the only source for supply of water during the time of emergency. The fort was in use for the residence of the Sub-divisional Office, Munsigonj and the remaining portion was used as the Sub-divisional Jail. The Sub-Jail for the Sub-division was located inside the fort to the west of the pond during the British period.

According to Banglapedia, Idrakpur Fort was originally built at a strategic point on the junction of the river Ichhamati (now dried up) and the Meghna. The location of the fort had earlier been named as Idrakpur. The development of the township in the locality with the name Munshiganj is a later innovation. Still there is a village named Idrakpur in the suburb of the town. The surroundings of the fort are now filled with earth, and in some places the silt has risen up to the level of the parapet.

The erection of the fort was intended to check the advance of the Magh and Portuguese pirates proceeding towards the Mughal capital city of Dhaka. It was probably built by the Mughal subadar Mir Jumla in about 1660 A.D.

This brick built fort, quadrangular in size, runs from north to south measuring 86.87 meter in length and 59.60 meter in breadth. It consists of two main parts: i) the wider open area surrounded by curtain walls crowned by machicolated merlons, with engaged rounded corner bastions also crowned by merlons and pierced by musketry, and ii) the smaller area containing a round drum of huge dimension surrounded by another series of similar curtain walls. An approach to the drum is provided from the bigger court.

The most striking feature of the fort is the existence of an elevated rounded platform of 32.5 diameter and 9.14 meter high on the eastern part of the fort, which can be reached by a staircase. Another striking feature of the fort is the existence of a staircase leading to an underground room at the foot of the drum. Tradition goes that the staircase is a part of the provision for an underground tunnel meant for emergency exit of its occupants to some safe destination. But virtually the staircase simply leads to a secret underground chamber which was the magazine or storehouse for arms and explosives.

The main entrance gate of the fort is on the north with a high rectangular bastion crowned by machicolated merlons which served as a guard room.

The fort is known as Idrakpur. It is generally known to have been built by Mir Jumla in the year 1660 A.D. He was Subahdar of Bengal from 1660 to 1663 A.D. under Emperor Aurangzeb. Excavations were carried out at the fort by the Department of Archaeology in the financial year 2015-16 excavations exposed platforms cooling jars, drainage ditches, arsenals and other artifacts.


Adnan Hadi is a senior
journalist mainly writing on archeological sites and sports. 
He can be reached at: [email protected]