Kangra Fort was built by the
Katoch Dynasty of
Rajputs. The earliest still existing remains inside the fort are
Jain and
Hindu temples dated to c. 9-10 century A.D. The earliest recorded reference to the Kangra fort dates from the time of this fort's invasion by
Mahmud Ghazni in 1009 A.D. The fort was captured by
Muhammad bin Tughluq in 1337 A.D., and by his successor
Firuz Shah Tughluq in 1351 A.D. respectively. Under the leadership of Nawab Ali Khan and aided by
Raja Jagat Singh, the fort was captured in 1620 and remained under Mughal rule until 1783. In 1621,
Jahangir visited it and ordered the slaughter of a bullock there. A
mosque was also built within the fort of
Kangra. As the Mughal empire began to crumble, a descendant of Raja Dharam Chand,
Raja Sansar Chand II began a series of conquests of Kangra with the support of Sikh leader, Jai Singh Kanhaiya of the Kanhaiya misl. However, after the death of Mughal governor Saif Ali Khan, the fort was surrendered in 1783 by his son to the Sikh leader,
Jai Singh Kanhaiya of the Kanhaiya Misl in return for safe passage. This betrayal by Jai Singh Kanhaiya led to Raja Sansar Chand soliciting the services of Sikh misaldars
Maha Singh of the
Sukerchakia Misl (father of Maharaja
Ranjit Singh) and
Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and besieged the fort. In 1786,
Raja Sansar Chand gained Kangra fort by peaceful treaty with Jai Singh Kanhaiya in return for territorial concessions in the Punjab. Sansar Chand quickly focused on expanding his kingdom and conquered the nearby kingdoms of
Chamba, Mandi, Suket and Nahan. In 1805 he turned his attention to Bilaspur and the erstwhile Raja of Bilaspur called on the aid of the powerful
Gurkha kingdom, who had already acquired
Garhwal,
Sirmour and other small hill states of
Shimla. An army of 40,000
Gurkhas leading by the
Kaji Amar Singh Thapa, who was later reinforced by the
Kaji Nain Singh Thapa. In 1807, Kangra Fort, on the west bank of the Sutlej, was put under siege. By early 1809, most of the land of
Kangra jagir had been incorporated into Nepal, although the fort still held out.
Raja Sansar Chand of Kangra then turned towards Maharaja
Ranjit Singh of Lahore for aid, leading to the
Nepal-Sikh war of 1809 in which the Gurkhas were defeated and forced back to the satluj River. In return for his help, Maharaja
Ranjit Singh took possession of the ancient fort alongside 66 villages (the fort's ancient Jagir) on Aug 24, 1809 while leaving the rest of Kangra to Sansar Chand.During
Sikh Empire Period Maharaja Ranjit Singh built an Entrance Gate to The Kangra Fort which is First Gate on Entry to the Fort and the Last Gate build or added in the Structure of Fort , This Gate is commonly referred as
Ranjit Singh Gate or Sometimes as Ranjit Singh Dwaar/Darwaza. The fort was finally taken by the British during the
First Anglo-Sikh war after a six-week long siege. This siege was fought from mid-April to 28 May 1846. Sir
Henry Lawrence reached the fort on 3 May 1846. This was the only battle fought between the Sikh forces of Kangra and the British. The British controlled the valley after defeating them and the fort. A British garrison occupied the fort until it was heavily damaged in
an earthquake on 4 April 1905. ==Layout==