GULBARGA  , an

ancient city of India, situated in the Nizam's dominions, 70 M . S.E. of Sholapur . Pop . (Igor) 29,228 . Origin-ally a Hindu city, it was made the capital of the Bahmani kings when that dynasty established their independence in the Deccan in 1347, and it remained such until 1422 . The palaces, mosques and tombs of these kings still stand half-ruined . The most notable building is a mosque modelled after that of Cordova in Spain, covering an area of 38,000 sq. ft., which is almost unique in India as being entirely covered in . Since the opening of a station on the Great India Peninsula railway, Gulbarga has become a centre of trade, with cotton-spinning and weaving mills . It is also the headquarters of a district and division of the same name . The district, as recently reconstituted, has an area of 6004 sq. m.; pop . (19o1), 1,041,067 .