History
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| History of Allahabad |
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Allahabad is a historian’s paradise. History lies embedded everywhere, in its fields, forests and settlements. Forty-eight kilometres, towards the southwest, on the placid banks of the Jamuna, the ruins of Kaushambi, capital of the Vatsa kingdom and a thriving center of Buddhism, bear silent testimony to a forgotten and bygone era. On the eastern side, across the river Ganga and connected to the city by the Shastri Bridge is Jhusi, identified with the ancient city of Pratisthanpur , capital of the Chandra dynasty. About 58 kilometres northwest is the medieval site of Kara with its impressive wreckage of Jayachand’s fort. Sringverpur, another ancient site discovered relatively recently, has become a major attraction for tourists and antiquarians alike. Allahabad is an extremely important and integral part of the Ganga Yamuna Doab, and its history is inherently tied with that of the Doab region, right from the inception of the town. The city was known earlier as Prayaga – a name that is still commonly used. When the Aryans first settled in what they termed the Aryavarta, or Madhydesha, Prayag or Kaushambi was an important part of their territory. The Vatsa (a branch of the early Indo-Aryans) were rulers of Hastinapur, and they established the town of Kaushambi near present day Allahabad . They shifted their capital to Kaushambi when Hastinapur was destroyed by floods. In the times of the Ramayana, Allahabad was made up of a few rishis’ huts at the confluence of the rivers, and much of what is now central/ southern Uttar Pradesh was continuous jungle. Lord Rama, the main protagonist in the Ramayana, spent some time here, at the Ashram of Sage Bharadwaj, before proceeding to nearby Chitrakoot. The Doaba region, including Allahabad was controlled by several empires and dynasties in the ages to come. It became a part of the Mauryan and Gupta empires of the east and the Kushan empire of the west before becoming part of the local Kannauj empire which became very powerful. |
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In the beginning of the Muslim rule, Allahabad was a part of the Delhi Sultanate. Then the Mughals took over from the slave rulers of Delhi and under them Allahabad rose to prominence once again. Acknowledging the strategic position of Allahabad in the Doaba or the "Hindostan" region at the confluence of its defining rivers which had immense navigational potentials, Akbar built a magnificent fort on the banks of the holy Sangam and re-christened the town as Illahabad in 1575. The Akbar fort has an Ashokan pillar and some temples, and is largely a military barracks. On the southwestern extremity of Allahabad lies Khusrobagh that antedates the fort and has three mausoleums, including that of Jehangir’s first wife – Shah Begum. Before colonial rule was imposed over Allahabad , the city was rocked by Maratha incursions. But the Marathas also left behind two beautiful eighteenth century temples with intricate architecture. In 1765, the combined forces of the Nawab of Awadh and the Mughal emperor Shah Alam lost the war of Buxar to the British. Although, the British did not take over their states, they established a garrison at the Allahabad fort. Governor General Warren Hastings later took Allahabad from Shah Alam and gave it to Awadh alleging that he had placed himself in the power of the Marathas. In 1801 the Nawab of Awadh ceded the city to the British East India Company. Gradually the other parts of Doaba and adjoining region in its west (including Delhi and Ajmer-Mewara regions) were won by the British. When these north western areas were made into a new Presidency called the "North Western Provinces of Agra", its capital was Agra. Allahabad remained an important part of this state. In 1834, Allahabad became the seat of the Government of the Agra Province and a High Court was established. But a year later both were relocated to Agra In 1857, Allahabad was active in the Indian Mutiny. After the mutiny, the British truncated the Delhi region of the state, merging it with Punjab and transferred the capital of North west Provinces to Allahabad, which remained so for the next 20 years. In 1877 the two provinces of Agra (NWPA) and Awadh were merged to form a new state which was called the United Provinces. Allahabad was the capital of this new state till the 1920s. |
