The history of Ahmednagar begins from 240B.C. In the beginning it was not a place of district importance. There were only small hamlets in the neighborhood of the city. It was the Andhrabrityas who ruled Ahmednagar B.C. 90 to A.D. 300. Till about 400 AD, Ahmednagar was ruled over by the Rashtrakuta Dynasty. Till 670 AD, Chalukya & Western Chalukya kings ruled the country. The Rashtrakuta kings then ruled Ahmednagar from 670 to 973 A.D. Govind III was the mightiest of the Rashtrakutas whose kingdom stretched from Marwar and Rajputana in the north to Tungabhadra river in the south. Then followed the Western Chalukyas whose dynasty ruled from 973 to 1190 A.D. The caves and temple of the city were carved and built during this period. After the Western Chalukyas, Ahmednagar passed on to the hands of the Yadavs from Deogiri, who ruled from 1170 to 1310. The famous king of Yadav was Ramdeorao and his name is mentioned in the works of the saint of Dnyandeo. The most notable minister of this time was Hemadri who invented modi script. He was a genius and created the idea of constructing buildings without the help of lime stone and mortar instead, place well cut stones of medium size across each other and filling upon each other in particular angles in such a manner that walls would be erected forming the shape of temple.
Alladin Khilaji, the commander-in-chief of the Moghal king of Delhi in 1294, defeated the king. This victory at the very invasion gave a stimulus to the Muslim ambition of establishing Muslim stronghold in the Deccan. Governors appointed from Delhi then ruled Maharashtra. In 1338, the emperor of Delhi, Mohommed Tughla made Deogiri his capital and changed its name to Daulatabad. Later, Tughlak left Daulatabad and then his noblemen harassed the natives by plundering their wealth.
 |
| Chand Bibi |
Alladin Hasan Gangu, an Afgan soldier was successful in overthrowing the power of Delhi emperors and establishing an independent sovereign kingdom known as Bahamani or Brahmin kingdom. After his death, due to the inefficiency of the next king, the Bahamani kingdom was divided into five independent kingdoms and Ahmednagar was one among them known as Nizamshahi. The kingdom was then ruled by Mohmad Gawan, which was later succeeded by Nizam-ul_mulk. In 1485, he added Bhir and Ahmednagar to his estates. The management of this area was given to the minister`s son Malik Ahmad, the founder of the Nizamshahi Dynasty of Ahmednagar.
 |
| Chnad Bibi Mahal |
In 1486, Malik Ahmed became the Prime Minister of the Bahamani Kingdom. In 1494, he laid the foundation of a city close to the victory gardens and called it after himself, Ahmednagar. In two years the city is said to have rivaled Bagdad & Cairo in splendor. Ahmad established a new sultanate in Ahmednagar, also known as Nizam Shahi dynasty. The dynasty lasted till it was conquested by Shah Jahan in 1636.
When the British Government took possession of Ahmednagar much of it was almost ruined. Many former rich areas were depopulated because of famine and continuous fighting between the British soldiers and the freedom fighters. They continued to rise in arms taking resort to villages and the hills and mountains-mostly Parner, Jamgao and Akola areas. The Kolies and the Bhils harassed the British troops intermittently. Raghoji Bhangria headed this mutiny. At last he was caught at Pandharpur in 1847 and was immediately hanged.
During the Sepoy Mutiny, 1857 Ahmednagar was in considerable disturbance. The active freedom fighters were about 7000 Bhils under the leadership of Bhagoji Naik. They were active in the hilly tracks and especially in the Parner, Jamgao, Rahuri, Kopargaon and Nasik areas. But at last all these attempts to rise against the British failed and the slavery came to stay.
During the freedom struggle in the 20th century, Bal Gangadhar Tilak organised political movement in the whole of India and was put behind bars by the British Government. But he passed away in 1920 and Mahatma Gandhi took up the leadership and carried on the responsibility of organizing Civil Disobedience Movement. Thousands offered Satyagraha and courted arrest. The famous leader of Ahmednagar, Raosaheb Patwardhan, was underground for many days. Achyutrao Patwardhan was never arrested by the British since he was carrying on the freedom struggle secretively. The veteran leader of Ahmednagar district, Senapti Pandurang Mahadeo Bapat was the most fearless and was one of the greatest disciples of Mahatma Gandhi. He carried on the Mulshi Satyagraha bravely and was arrested in 1937. He was kept behind the bars till India achieved her independence. India attained her freedom on 15th of August 1947 and with this Ahmednagar also achieved its independence. The flag salutation ceremony took place on the ramparts of the Ahmednagar Fort at 8 am on 15th August 1947.
Origin of name of Ahmednagar
The name of the District Ahmednagar has come from the name of the founder, Ahmed Shah Nizam Shah.
Ahmednagar Fort
The Ahmednagar fort at Ahmednagar is a place of historical importance. It is at this fort where many of our freedom fighters were detained during the Indian Freedom Movement. It was here that Late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was detained during Indian freedom movement and it was at this fort he wrote his famous book "Discovery Of India".
 |
| Ahmednagar Fort |
