a strong fortress of Hindustan, on a hill about six miles W.N.W. from Hyderabad, strongly defended both by nature and art, but being situated on a rock, it is excessively hot and unhealthy. The principal inhabitants and bankers of Hyderabad are permitted to reside in this fort, which is also the depository of the treasures of the Nizam. The wealth of Golconda is proverbial; but the diamond mines so often referred to by old writers have ceased to be remunerative. Golconda was once the capital of an extensive kingdom of native Hindu princes, which arose on the dissolution of the Bhamenee dynasty; but being taken by Aurungzebe by treachery in 1687, after a siege of seven months, the whole territory became incorporated with the empire of Delhi. In its vicinity are numerous handsome tombs. The fort is in Lat. 17° 22', Long. 78° 29'.