The spectacular hill fort at Golconda belonged to the Kakatiyas of Warangal till the 14th century after which it passed to the Bahmanis of Gulbarga. However it rose to prominence only from the 15th century when it became the dynastic capital of the Qutb Shahis, who strongly fortified the citadel and added the religious and military structures seen today. The eastern provinces of the Deccan were ruled from here for almost 200 years. Golconda reached the height of its power in the mid-16th century under Ibrahim Qutb Shah who was also the first great patron of the arts. The greatest achievements in art and architecture however, were during the reign of his successor Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah.Golconda was the capital of the Qutb Shahi dynasty from 1512, the year the dynasty was founded, until 1591, when the dynastic capital shifted to Hyderabad. The Qutb Shahi dynasty lasted until 1687
, when Golconda was captured by the forces of the Moghul emperor Aurangzeb. After Aurangzeb's death in 1707, the Nizams of Hyderabad declared independence. Later, the Nizams retained a measure of autonomy as allies of the British against Tipu Sultan of Mysore. Golconda was at that time the world's only known source of diamonds; both the Koh-i-Noor Diamond and the Hope Diamond were cut from gemstones found there.
