Rawat Fort (Urdu: قلعہ روات) is an early 16th century fort in the Pothohar plateau of Pakistan, near the city of Rawalpindi in the province of Punjab. The fort was built to defend the Pothohar plateau from the forces of the Pashtun king Sher Shah Suri.[1] It is 17 km east of Rawalpindi on Grand Trunk Road. The 2nd century Mankiala stupa can be seen from the roof of the fort’s mosque. The fort is located approximately 50 miles from the vast Rohtas Fort, which had been built by Sher Shah Suri to establish control of the Potohar region. The fort was founded as a caravanserai in the 15th century by the Delhi Sultanate, though the caravan itself may have been built atop a Ghaznavid-era fort that was established in 1036 CE.[3]
The caravanserai was then later fortified in the 16th century by the Mughal emperor Humayun in order to defend the Pothohar plateau from Sher Shah Suri’s forces.[4]
The fort was the scene of a battle between the Mughal Emperor Humayun and Afghan king Sher Shah Suri in 1546.[5]