Historical

The History of Amritsar can be traced back to the days of the Indus Valley Civilization. A number of archaeological sites have been found in Amritsar and other parts of Punjab. The history of Amritsar in the Vedic period was marked by the existence of a number of Sages and Saints and the legend of Ramayana, which considers the area to be the venue of Rishi Balmikis ashram and the birth place of Lavh and Kush.

The history of Amritsar points out at Greek influence on the region around 326 B.C. when the area came under the control of Alexander. With the defeat of the Greeks, the Mauryas annexed Amritsar, making it a part of their Empire. From the 4th century to the 6th century the history of Amritsar came to be linked with the history of the Gupta Empire. After a short period of rule by the Shahi Dynasty, the area came under the control of Sultan Mahmood of Ghazni.

It was from the 16th Century that the history of Amritsar came to be linked with the Sikh Gurus and their teachings. Sikh Guru Ram Das and his successor Guru Arjan Dev went on to create a temple around a small pool, that had healing powers and thus the name Amritsar. Slowly with people settling around the temple a town grew up. Over the years Amritsar underwent various historical developments and went on to fortified by Guru Govind Singh. The history of Amritsar during India's Freedom Movement is a story of bloody struggles.

Sanchi’s importance as a major pilgrimage center began to increase from the time when Ashoka the Mauryan Emperor tied the knot with a woman from Besnagar, a place situated close by. Ashoka then went on to construct a glazed stone pillar and a stupa built of brick and mortar. These constructions were a significant landmark in the history of Sanchi. They can be traced back to the 3rd century BC. The complex was refurbished and additions and alterations were made by the successive dynasties, but the waning of Buddhism brought in its wake the decline of Sanchi that lay abandoned for a considerable time, till it was brought to life in the year 1818 by General Taylor of the Bengali cavalry.

On flipping through the pages of the history of Sanchi, you would stumble upon a lot of interesting information on the historical background of Sanchi that would have otherwise remained under covers. Restoration activity in Sanchi gained a fillip during the 20th century which saw the reconstruction of the chief stupas. However the major restoration work was undertaken by archaeologist John Marshall and the Buddhist scholar Albert Foucher in 1912. Beautiful parks and museums also came up. Due to its strong association with Buddhism and the life of Lord Buddha, Sanchi was ascribed the status of a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The history of Orchha sheds light on the glorious past of the Madhya Pradesh city that was famed as an erstwhile princely state in the Bundelkhand region. The legendary Bundela chieftain Rudra Pratap Singh founded the town of Orchha, way back in the 16th century.

The town of Orchha has fought against the vagaries of time. The chronicles of Orchha history record that Raja Jujhar Singh, a former Orchha monarch had renegaded against the mighty Mughal potentate, Shah Jehan in the 17th century. This tactical error met with disastrous consequences and soon afterwards, in between 1635 to 1641 AD, the Mughal army took over the princely state and caused wanton carnage and destruction.

Very soon, however Orchha grew into a powerful empire. The only state that did not succumb before the Marathas in the 18th century, Orchha has many a claim to its fame. In the year 1783, the town of Tehri ( present Tikamgarh) was established as the capital of Orchha. Tehri is also an historically eminent town that houses the majestic and crenelated fort of Tikamgarh.

In the long lineage of the Orchha emperors, Maharajah Hamir Singh was another celebrated monarch who ruled over Orchha between 1848 to 1874. The philanthropist Maharaja Pratap Singh, Hamir Singh's successor ascended to the throne in 1874 AD and worked solely for the noble cause of the sustainable growth and development of the state's engineering and irrigation facilities. In fact, Orccha reached the zenith of prosperity during his regime.

In the year 1904, the state encompassed an area of 2080 sq. miles and marked a net populace of 321,634 people. The first and foremost of the Bundela states with a 15-gun salute, the Maharajahs of Orchha were deeply esteemed in the region and were conferred the hereditary title of the First of the Princes of Bundelkhand. The annals about Orchha state that Vir Singh had coalesced his princely state with the Union of India on 1st January 1950.

The history of the town is a reason itself that attracts thousands of tourist to visit the land of the lovers. The curtains lifted from the face of Mandu in the early 10th century under the Mughal rules that lasted till the 16th century. It was this period when Mandu enjoyed the status of a pleasure resort. Mandu has regularly been inflicted with the virtue of being throned and dethroned. This is the cause of the great mixture of various culture that is incontestable and is survived by its people.

The much hyped legend this town revolved around the love story of a poet prince, Baz Bahadur with his consort Rani Roopmati. This story of love and romance still echoes in the songs of the Malwa balladeers. Visit this city and try to comprehend the language of the air that still tells the fairy tail love story of the poet prince and the princess.

Gwalior's history is traced back to a legend in 8th century and got its name from a famous saint Gwalipa who cured the Kachwaha clan chieftain from Leprosy. The city was captured many times by different dynasties like Tomars, Lodhis, Mughals and Marathas to gain power because of its strategic location. In 1765, Gwalior was regained by the Scindhia clan under the aegis of Mahadji Scindhia. The soldiers of the kingdom contributed significantly in the first freedom struggle of India.

In 1388, Malik Nasir Khan, the Faruqi dynasty Sultan of Khandesh founded Burhanpur city at the behest of Shaikh Zainuddin and named it after a well known medieval sufi saint, Burhan-ud-Din. Burhanpur became the capital of the Khandesh sultanate. Later, Miran Adil Khan II (reigned 1457–1501), another sultan of this dynasty built a citadel and a number of palaces in Burhanpur. During his long reign, Burhanpur was transformed to a major centre for trade and textile production. In 1601, Mughal emperor Akbar annexed the Khandesh sultanate and Burhanpur became tha capital of Khandesh Subah of the Mughal Empire.

Also, It is a beautiful city with a lot of historical monuments existing in its expanse, primarily from the ruling times of Shah Jahan, the great Mughal emperor. A fact unaware about Burhanpur is that Mumtaz Mahal took her last breath in this city and her original grave still lies on the banks of Tapti River.

Burhanpur is also famous for Dargaah-e-Hakimi of Dawoodi Bohra community, incidentally the leader of the community also shares "Burhannuddin" in his name viz. Dr.Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (TUS). Dargaah-e-Hakimi is one of the best Dawoodi Bohra mausoleum complexes in India.

Bhojpur town got its name from Parmara King Bhoj. He was legendary king of Parmara dynasty. Parmara dynasty ruled Malwa region of Central India from 10th century to 12th century. Today’s Dhar city close to Indore was also founded by Parmara dynasty. During that time Dhar was the capital of Malwa and became one of the prime intellectual centers of India. It is the King Bhoj who took initiative with Solanki king of Bhima of Gujarat, to rebuilt famous temple of Somnath between 1026 to 1042 after being ransacked by Mahmud of Ghazni in year 1024. King Bhoj was son of notable conqueror called King Sindhuraja. In be beginning of his carrier Bhoj suffered problem of brain tumour which results often severe heaches. Two Brahmin brothers from the school of Ujjain, who were eminent surgeons of the time, performed a successful crucial brain surgery on brain of Bhoj. Bhoj was a remarkable military commander and encylopaedic scholar. He wrote more than 11 books in his life. After ransacking of famous Somnath Temple of Gujarat, Bhoj organized his army to attack Mahmud Ghaznavi who retreated back via Sindh due to fear of his powerful army. Bhojeshwar temple is also known as Somnath Temple of East.

The city is a Hindu pilgrimage site, where according to mythology a part of Sati (an avatar of Durga) Born in Nand Yadav Family as sister of Lord Krishna.

Vindhyachal, Varanasi is considered to be one of the renowned Shaktipeeths. According to the Mythology, Goddess Durga after defeating Mahishasura had constituted herself. So Vindhyavasini is one of the names of the Goddess. Not only for its mythological background, Vindhyachal, Varanasi is also a major tourist attraction for its scenic beauty.

The history of Shravasti Uttar Pradeshhas a new face according to various legends and myths. According to the epic Ramayana, Shravasti was a city created for Lav (one of the sons of King Rama). Rama divided his Kingdom- the kingdom of Kosala into two parts and made Lav the king of Shravasti and another son Kusha the king of Kushavati- another town in Kosala.

According to the other Indian epic Mahabharata, the History of Shravasti in India can be traced to the legendary king Shravasta. Whereas according to the Buddhist tradition, the city was called Savatthi because the sage Savattha lived there. According to another legend the name Shravasti originated from "Sabbam atthi" (meaning "we have all things") denoting the peace and prosperity of the people of the region.

Gautama Buddha passed the greater part of his monastic life in Shravasti, then known as Savatthi. His first visit to Shravasti was at the invitation of Anathapindika, whom he met in Rajagaha. The chief patrons of the Buddha in Savatthi were Anathapindika, Visakha, Suppavasa and Pasenadi. When Bandhula left Vesali he came to live in Savatthi.

This ancient city is hailed as the birthplace of the founder of Jainism- Tirthanakar. The History of Shravasti in Uttar Pradeshin India according to modern historians however, begins with the formation of Janpad's by Yugadidev Shri Adishwar Prabhu. This place was the capital city of North Kaushal Janpad. Many Jain Kings such as King Jitari, Shri Sambhavnath Bhagwan and others ruled this place after Bhagwan Adinath.

King Prasanjeet ruled Shravasti at the time of Bhagwan Mahaveer and was a loyal follower of Prabhu Veer. However, the most important phase in the history of Shravasti Uttar Pradeshcomes with the time of Samrat Ashok. Ashok and his grand son King Samprati also constructed quite a few Buddhist temples and Stoopas at Shravasti.