History History of Allahabad

1 history

1.1 ancient times
1.2 muslim rule

1.2.1 delhi sultanate
1.2.2 mughal rule


1.3 maratha rule
1.4 british rule
1.5 allahabad, freedom struggle, , indian politics

history
ancient times

the city known prayaga (place of confluences) – name still used. excavations have revealed iron age northern black polished ware in present-day allahabad. ancient town illustrated references in vedas (the ancient of hindu sacred texts) prayaga. believed location brahma, creator of universe, attended sacrificial ritual.

the puranas, important group of religious texts, record yayati left prayaga , conquered region of sapta sindhu. 5 sons yadu, druhyu, puru, anu , turvashas became main tribes of rigveda.

when aryans first settled in north western part of india, prayag part of territory, (of kuru tribe), although, not settled , of doab consisted of dense forests @ time.

the centre of action @ time in punjab, vedas written. rig veda, written during period has special mention of prayag holy place. kurus) ruled doab , kurukshetra area hastinapur (near present-day delhi). in later vedic period, when hastinapur destroyed floods, kuru king nichakshu transferred entire capital citizens place next prayaga, named kaushambi (near present-day allahabad).

as centre of activity shifted punjab doab, termed aryavarta, in post vedic period, importance of both kaushambi , prayaga rose significantly. indeed, prayaga became centre of post vedic culture , emergence of modern hinduism, know today. in coming centuries, kaushambi became important seat of buddhism.

the kurus later divided kurus , vatsas. kurus controlling upper doab , kurukshetra area, while vatsas controlling middle , lower doab. later vatsas divided 2 groups, 1 group ruling mathura, , other group ruling kaushambi.

during ramayana epic era, prayaga made of few rishi s huts @ confluence of sacred rivers, , of countryside continuous jungle. lord rama, main protagonist in ramayana, spent time here, @ ashram of sage bharadwaj, before proceeding nearby chitrakoot.

the doab region, including prayaga, controlled several empires , dynasties in ages come. became part of mauryan , gupta empires of east , kushan empire of west before becoming part of kannauj empire. objects unearthed in prayaga (now allahabad) indicate part of kushana empire in 1st century ad. according rajtarangini of kalhana, in 780 ce, prayag important part of kingdom of karkota king of kashmir, jayapida. jayapida constructed monument @ prayag, existed @ kalhana s time.

in memoirs on india, huien tsang, chinese buddhist monk , chronicler travelled through india during harshavardhana s reign (a.d. 607–647), writes visited prayaga in a.d. 643.

muslim rule

allahabad fort built akbar in 1575


delhi sultanate

prayaga became part of delhi sultanate when town annexed muhammad of ghor in 1193.

mughal rule

the mughal invasion of india began in 1526, , prayaga became part of empire. understanding strategic position of place in doab region, @ confluence of defining rivers had immense navigational potential, mughal badshah (emperor) akbar built magnificent fort – 1 of largest – on banks of holy sangam , re-christened town illahabad in 1575. fort has ashokan pillar , temples, , largely military barracks. akbar made seat of illahabad subah, 1 of twelve original subahs (imperial top-level provinces)

it allahabad prince salim led revolt against father akbar. in 1602, prince salim held parallel imperial court in akbar s fort here, ignoring royal summons leave allahabad , proceed agra. however, before death in 1605, akbar named salim successor. salim later served emperor under name jahangir.

maratha rule

before british rule imposed on allahabad, city conquered maratha empire. marathas left behind 2 beautiful eighteenth-century temples intricate architecture.

british rule

in 1765, combined forces of nawab of awadh , mughal emperor shah alam ii lost battle of buxar british. although british did not take on states @ time, established garrison @ fort allahabad, understanding strategic position gateway northwest. governor general warren hastings later took allahabad shah alam , gave awadh, alleging had placed himself in power of marathas.

in 1801 nawab of awadh ceded city british east india company. gradually other parts of doab , adjoining regions west (including delhi , ajmer-merwara regions) won british. these northwestern areas made new province called north-western provinces, capital @ agra. allahabad located in province.

in 1834, allahabad became seat of government of agra province , high court established. year later both relocated agra.

in 1857, allahabad active in indian mutiny. after mutiny, british truncated delhi region of state, merging punjab, , transferred capital of north-western provinces allahabad, remained next twenty years.

in 1877 2 provinces of agra , awadh merged form new state called united provinces of agra , oudh. allahabad capital of new state till 1920s.

allahabad, freedom struggle, , indian politics

during mutiny of 1857, allahabad had small garrison of european troops. taking advantage of this, rebels brought allahabad under control. maulvi liaquat ali, 1 of prominent leaders of rebellion, native of village of mahgaon near allahabad.

mohandas k. gandhi attends congress working committee meeting @ anand bhavan. vallabhbhai patel left, vijaya lakshmi pandit right. january 1940.

after mutiny quelled, british established high court, police headquarters , public service commission in city. transformed allahabad administrative center, status enjoys day.

the fourth , eighth session of indian national congress held in city in 1888 , 1892 respectively on extensive grounds of darbhanga castle, allahabad. @ turn of century, allahabad became nodal point revolutionaries.

in 1931, @ alfred park in allahabad, revolutionary chandrashekhar azad killed himself when surrounded british police. nehru family homes of anand bhavan , swaraj bhavan, both in allahabad, @ center of political activities of indian national congress. in years of struggle indian independence, thousands of satyagrahis (nonviolent resistors), led purshottam das tandon, bishambhar nath pande , narayan dutt tiwari, went jail. first prime minister of india, jawaharlal nehru, several union ministers such mangla prasad, muzaffar hasan, k. n. katju, , lal bahadur shastri, natives of allahabad.

the first seeds of idea of pakistan sown in allahabad. on 29 december 1930, allama muhammad iqbal s presidential address all-india muslim league proposed separate muslim state muslim majority regions of india.

after independence, areas adjoining region of bagelkhand in east merged allahabad district, remain part of district day. mayawati government split original allahabad district 2 districts, kaushambi , allahabad district.