Ahmednagar

Ahmednagar, in western Maharashtra, grew out of the late medieval Deccan sultanate politics. In 1490, after the weakening of the Bahmani Kingdom, the military commander Ahmad Nizam Shah declared independence and founded the Nizam Shahi dynasty, choosing a new capital on the Sina River and naming it Ahmednagar after himself. He and his successors built city walls, mosques, palaces and the massive Ahmednagar Fort, turning the town into a key power centre in the Deccan.

Through the 16th and early 17th centuries, Ahmednagar was at the heart of struggles between the Nizam Shahis, the neighbouring Bijapur and Golconda sultanates, and the Mughal Empire. After fierce wars, the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan finally absorbed the Nizam Shahi state, and Ahmednagar became an important Mughal provincial headquarters. With the rise of the Marathas, the region changed hands again, falling under Maratha influence and later, in the early 19th century, into British control.

Under the British, Ahmednagar remained a significant cantonment town, with the fort converted into a strong military prison. In the 1940s, it gained a special place in modern Indian history when Jawaharlal Nehru and other nationalist leaders were jailed in Ahmednagar Fort, where Nehru wrote The Discovery of India. Today, Ahmednagar is a district centre known for its military establishments, sugar belt and layered Deccan heritage.