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Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 18, p. 397.

NAR WAR TO WN 397 Narwar has always been closely connected with that of 'Gwalior. In the middle of the tenth century both places fell to the Kachwaha Rajputs. These were succeeded by Parihars in 1129, who held pos- session until 1232, when they were expelled by Altamsh. The next mention of the fort is in 1251, when it was in the hands of Chahada Deva, who surrendered it to Nasir-ud-din. After the invasion of Timur, Narwar fell to the Tonwars, who held it until 1507, when it was taken, after a twelvemonth's siege, by Sikandar Lodi. This ruler gave the fort to Raj Singh, a Kachwaha, thus restoring the fortress to its original owners. Under Akbar it was the head-quarters of the Narwar sarkar of the Subah of Malwa, and Abul Fazl writes of ancient Hindu temples still standing in a part of the fort. Except for a temporary loss of possession in the time of Shah Jahan, the Kachwahas held Narwar as feudatories of Delhi up to the nineteenth century, when it was _taken by Sindhia, to whom it was finally guaranteed by the Allahabad treaty of 1805. The old fort is picturesquely situated on the steep scarp of the Vindhyas, 400 feet above the plain, and r,6oo above the level of the sea. The walls have a circuit of above 5 miles, and to the north lies a further portion enclosed by high walls, containing the shrine of Shah Madar, a Muhammadan saint. A gentle ascent leads to the Alamgiri Darwaza, from which a steep flight of steps gives access to the summit through three more gateways. The fort is purely Muhammadan in character, but the numerous fragments of sculpture and architectural ornament show that in the flourishing days of Hindu sovereignty it was probably second only to Gwalior in the magnificence of its temples and other edifices. Sikandar Lodi remained here for six months, breaking down temples and building mosques, and effectually removed any edifices of importance. Among Hindu relics of later days is a gun which belonged to Sawai Jai Singh of Jaipur, bearing the date 1696. A small Roman Catholic cemetery in the fort contains a chapel and several tombs, one of which is dated 1747. This was no doubt the burial-place of the European gunners so frequently employed in native armies during the eighteenth century. The town lies at the north-eastern foot of the hill on which the fort stands, near a bend in the Sind river, and is enclosed by a wall with three gates. Once a flourishing place on a route between Delhi and the Deccan, it has decayed rapidly since the construction of new roads and railways has carried traffic elsewhere. Just outside the walls stands a pillar on which are inscribed the names of the Tonwar chiefs of Narwar, a large Marl, and two fine Muhammadan bridges over the Sind. A curious sat! stone recalls the memory of two wives of a family priest to Raja Gaja Singh who, on hearing of their husband's death in a battle in the Deccan, burned themselves together with his cc2