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Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 12, p. 377.

POP UIATION 377 and after the break-up of that power, to Bijapur. On the conquest of the Deccan by Aurangzeb it was again included in the empire of Delhi, but was separated from it on the establishment of the Hyder- âbad State by Asaf Jah. The fort of Gulbarga, originally built by Raja Gulchand, and after- wards strengthened by Ala-ud-din Bahmani, is a remarkable building, containing 15 towers and 26 guns, one of which is 25 feet long. A large mosque, 216 by 176 feet, in the fort, is constructed on the model of the mosque of Cordova in Spain, and is the only one of its kind in India. In the eastern quarter of the city are the tombs of the kings of Gulbarga, huge square buildings surmounted by domes. Near the tomb of Khwdja Banda Nawaz are a mosque, a sarai, and a college, all built by Aurangzeb in 1687. The forts of Firozabad, on the Bhima river, and of Chincholi and Chitapur are worthy of note, especially the last, where the Portuguese from Goa constructed a curious church, which has now been renovated. The number of towns and villages, including the paigdh and jdgirs, is i,1og. The population at the last three enumerations was : (1881) 523,838, (1891) 649,258, and (1901) 742,745. The Population. towns now are GULBARGA, ALAND, SURAPUR, KosGI, YADGIR, SERAM, SHAHABAD, and KODANGAL. About 81 per cent. of the population in lgoi were Hindus and 15 per cent. Musalmans. Though the District is in the Carnatic division, Kanarese was spoken by only 53 per cent. of the population, Telugu being the language of 25, Urdù of 14, and Marathi of 6 per cent. The subjoined table exhibits the details of area, towns, villages, and population, according to the Census of 1go1 :- Number of ô o c y 0 M'~ éaq cw Tâluk. G.- '~ rro•~ vv Gulbarga . 524 1 io8 75,512 144 -11.0 Mahagaon . 307 .. 81 43,090 140 - 3.6 Chincholi . 277 ..• 69 37,671 .136 + 16•o Kodangal . 141 1 60 31,182 221 - 8•7 Seram 267 1 72 50,043 187 + 52•2 Gurmatkâl. 304 .. 86 51,424 169 + 8.5 tlndola 6o8 .. 117 73,854 121 + 24•1 feigirs,&c.. . 1,664 4 509 379,969 228 + 11.1 Total 4,092 7 1,102 742;745 181 + ?4-4 In 1905 the Gurmatkal and Mahdgaon tdluks were divided between Seram, Kodangal, Gulbarga, and Yddgir, the last being transferred from Raichûr District. Shahpur and Siirapur have also been added from the recently abolished Lingsugfir District, besides 73 villages from Mahbfibnagar District, included in the Kodangal and Yddgir tdluks.