Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad (??????? in Gujarati) or Ahmadābād is the largest city in Gujarat and the sixth largest city in India with a population of almost 5 million. The city is also sometimes called Karnavati, an older name and as Amdavad in colloquial Gujarati. Ahmedabad is the administrative center of Ahmedabad District, and was the former capital of Gujarat State from 1960 to 1970, when Gandhinagar replaced it.

History

The history of Ahmedabad begins in the eleventh century with the Solanki King Karandev I, ruler of Anhilwara (modern Patan). He waged a war against the Bhil King Ashapall or Ashaval, and after his victory established a city called Karnavati on the banks of the Sabarmati at site of modern Ahmedabad. Solanki rule lasted until the thirteenth century, when Gujarat came under the control of the Vaghela dynasty of Dwarka. Gujarat was conquered by the Sultanate of Delhi at the end of the thirteenth century. At the beginning of the fifteenth century an independent sultanate ruled by the Muslim Muzaffarid dynasty was established in Gujarat, and in 1411 Sultan Ahmed Shah renamed Karnavati Ahmedabad and established it as his capital. Ahmedabad was the capital of the sultanate for 162 years (1411-1573).

Related Topics:
Solanki - Anhilwara - Bhil - Vaghela - Dwarka - Sultanate of Delhi - Muslim - Muzaffarid dynasty - 1411 - Ahmed Shah - 1573

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Ahmedabad is a one of the fastest devloping city in India. With huge roads and mindblowing architecture is the Ahmedabad's identity.

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This city was originally built on the banks of the river Sabarmati, but it has expanded since. In 1487 Mahmud Begada, the grandson of Ahmed Shah, enclosed the city with a fort of six miles in circumference and consisting of 12 gates, 189 bastions and over 6,000 battlements to protect it from outside invaders. Conditions in the city were chaotic by the time of the last Sultan, Muzaffar III, and Gujarat was conquered by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1573. During the Mughal reign, Ahmedabad became one of the empire's thriving centres of trade, especially in textiles, which were exported as far as Europe. A famine in 1630 devastated the city. In 1753, the armies of the Maratha generals Raghunath Rao and Damaji Gaekwad captured the city and ended Mughal rule in Ahmedabad. The famine of 1630 and the rule of the Peshwa and the Gaekwad virtually destroyed the city. The British East India Company took over the city in 1818. A military cantonment was established in 1824, a municipal government in 1858, and a railway link between Ahmedabad and Bombay (Mumbai) in 1864. Ahmedabad grew rapidly, becoming an important center of trade and textile manufacturing.

Related Topics:
1487 - Mahmud Begada - 12 gates - Mughal - Akbar - 1573 - 1630 - 1753 - Maratha - Gaekwad - Peshwa - British East India Company - 1818 - 1824 - 1858 - Mumbai - 1864

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In 1915, Mahatma Gandhi came from South Africa and established an ashram on the banks of Sabarmati. He started the salt satyagraha in 1930. He and many followers marched from his ashram to the coastal village of Dandi, Gujarat, to protest against the British imposing a tax on salt. Before he left the ashram, he vowed not to return to the ashram until India became independent.

Related Topics:
1915 - Mahatma Gandhi - South Africa - Ashram - Salt satyagraha - Dandi, Gujarat - India

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