Bayana (Bayāna, 26.92° N, 77.30° E, in Rajasthan, India) held a strategic position on the route from Delhi to Gwalior and the Deccan. That position, combined with a formidable fort and natural and agricultural resources (from sandstone to sugar and indigo), made it, despite its harsh desert environment, a prized possession of its mediaeval Hindu rulers and attracted the attention of the Turkic conquerors of India. Its architectural style, distinct from that of Delhi, applied old beam-and-bracket structural forms to the abundant local red sandstone, but