Naukhanda Palace
Introduction Created by Malik Ambar in the year 1616, Naukhanda Palace is regarded as a popular monument of Aurangabad of Maharashtra. Once it was the residence of Nizam Ali Khan, but at present, the palace has completely become a ruined place and many of its previous constructions are gone. Architectural Importance Naukhanda Palace is extremely popular for its wonderful architecture. The palace comprised nine apartments. Inside the Naukhanda Palace, there are certain parts which were reserved for housing women on that time. The palace is connected with a garden and a reservoir. There was various wood works and constructions made up of stucco covering which are not presently available. There was a Kacheri in the near of the palace which contained a place for be seated for Nizam Ali Khan. Naukhanda Palace also contains a throne room where genuine apparatus and equipment that was used in Mughal era are situated and maintained. The wall of the central portion of Naukhanda Palace along with a hot spring is also attached with the main building of Naukhanda Palace. There is a huge quadrangular hall in the palace, namely ‘Divan-i-Aam’, but at present, it was demolished and it houses ‘Aurangabad College for Women’. Naukhanda Palace is characterised by a massive porch entrance which lead to the interior of the palace. According to history, a moral of Aurangzeb’s courtyard named Alam Khan, has made several additions in Naukhanda Palace. Additional modifications of the palace were consequently made by Asaf Jah. Furthermore Nasir Jang, once the ruler of Hyderabad possessed a connecting block of the building which was curtained by a divider wall. At later phase, Naukhanda Palace was occupied by Nizam Ali Khan. Historical Importance Naukhanda Palace is dated back to the 16th century when Malik Ambar, the regent of Nizamshahi family created it for the purpose of residence. He was the ruler of Aurangabad which was traditionally named as Ahmadnagar. After the demise of Ambar, his son Fateh Khan changed the name from Ahmadnagar to Fatehnagar. When Fatehnagar came under the reign of Mughal rulers and when King Aurangzeb was selected as the viceroy of Deccan in the year