Hyderabad

Hyderabad (Haidarábád), the capital of Hyderabad state, stands on the right bank of the Musi, at an elevation of 1700 feet above the sea, by rail 390 miles NW. of Madras. It is 6 miles in circumference, and is surrounded by a stone wall, flanked by bastions. In 1891 the population, inclusive of the suburbs, was 415,039. The populace consists of very varied elements, and is full of warlike spirit, nearly every one carrying weapons. The street architecture is uninteresting. The palace of the Nizam, though architecturally of no great importance, is of vast size. Hyderabad is one of the most important strongholds of Mohammedanism in India, and the mosques are numerous. The principal mosque was fashioned after the model of the Great Mosque at Mecca; in the interior are fine monolithic granite columns, and outside the building is crowned by very lofty minarets. Another remarkable edifice is the Char Minar or College, with four minarets resting on four connected arches, at which the four principal thoroughfares converge. On the opposite side of the river is the British Residency, a magnificent pile, with the finest staircase in India; it stands in the midst of fine ornamental gardens, and communicates with the Nizam's palace by a bridge with eight spacious arches of squared granite. The neighbourhood boasts of wild and picturesque scenery, and abounds with huge tanks and beautiful gardens.—Secunderabad (Sikandarábád) is a British military cantonment (pop. 1881, 74,124) 6 miles NE. of Hyderabad.