Dost Mohammad Khan ruled his state from his capital at Islamnagar.
At the time of Kamlapati's death, Bhopal was a village of about 1000 people, to the south of Islamnagar.
One day, during a shikar (hunting) trip, Dost Mohammad Khan and his wife Fatah Bibi decided to rest in the Bhopal village.
Dost fell asleep, and dreamt that an old saint had asked him to build a fort.
He told his wife about the dream, who asked him to construct a fort at the spot.
This resulted in construction of Fatehgarh fort, named after Fatah Bibi.
The foundation of the fort was laid on 30 August 1723.
The first stone was laid by Qazi Mohammad Moazzam of Raisen, who later became the qazi (Islamic judge) of Bhopal.
The fort was eventually expanded to encircle the village of Bhopal.
It never fell to an enemy, and as late as 1880, the city was mainly confined to this fort.

The first mosque of Bhopal, the Dhai Seedi Ki Masjid, was also built during this time, so that the fort guards could perform namaaz (prayers).
A handwritten copy of the Quran with a Persian language translation was also kept at the fort – the book had pages of size 5x2.5 feet (this copy was later given to the Al-Azhar University by Khan's descendant Nawab Hamidullah).
Dost Mohammad Khan and his family gradually started using Bhopal as their main bastion, though Islamnagar still remained the official capital of his state.

During 1720–1726, Dost started surrounding the city with a protective wall.
Thus, Bhopal was transformed from a village to a fortified town with six gates:
Ginnori (the gate leading to Ginnorgarh)
Budhwara (Wednesday gate)
Itwara (Sunday gate)
Jumerati (Thursday gate)
Peer (Monday gate)
Imami (used for Tazia possession on the day of Muharram)
Bijay Ram (or Bijjeh Ram), the Rajput chieftain of Shujalpur, was made the dewan (chief minister) of the Dost's state.
Being a Hindu, he helped Dost win over the local population.
Dost Mohammad Khan ruled his state from his capital at Islamnagar. At the time of Kamlapati's death, Bhopal was a village of about 1000 people, to the south of Islamnagar. One day, during a shikar (hunting) trip, Dost Mohammad Khan and his wife Fatah Bibi decided to rest in the Bhopal village. Dost fell asleep, and dreamt that an old saint had asked him to build a fort. He told his wife about the dream, who asked him to construct a fort at the spot. This resulted in construction of Fatehgarh fort, named after Fatah Bibi. The foundation of the fort was laid on 30 August 1723. The first stone was laid by Qazi Mohammad Moazzam of Raisen, who later became the qazi (Islamic judge) of Bhopal. The fort was eventually expanded to encircle the village of Bhopal. It never fell to an enemy, and as late as 1880, the city was mainly confined to this fort.
The first mosque of Bhopal, the Dhai Seedi Ki Masjid, was also built during this time, so that the fort guards could perform namaaz (prayers). A handwritten copy of the Quran with a Persian language translation was also kept at the fort – the book had pages of size 5x2.5 feet (this copy was later given to the Al-Azhar University by Khan's descendant Nawab Hamidullah). Dost Mohammad Khan and his family gradually started using Bhopal as their main bastion, though Islamnagar still remained the official capital of his state.
During 1720–1726, Dost started surrounding the city with a protective wall. Thus, Bhopal was transformed from a village to a fortified town with six gates:
Ginnori (the gate leading to Ginnorgarh)
Budhwara (Wednesday gate)
Itwara (Sunday gate)
Jumerati (Thursday gate)
Peer (Monday gate)
Imami (used for Tazia possession on the day of Muharram)
Bijay Ram (or Bijjeh Ram), the Rajput chieftain of Shujalpur, was made the dewan (chief minister) of the Dost's state. Being a Hindu, he helped Dost win over the local population.
Dost Mohammad of Bhopal