Ahmednagar district

Ahmednagar district (अहमदनगर in Marathi/Hindi) is the largest district of Maharashtra state in western India. The historical Ahmednagar city is the headquarters of the district. Ahmednagar was the seat of the Ahmednagar Sultanate of late medieval period (1496–1636 CE). This district is also known for the town of Shirdi associated with Sai Baba. Ahmednagar district is part of Nashik Division.

The neighbouring districts to Ahmednagar district are - Solapur (South East- SE), Osmanabad (SE), Beed (SE), Aurangabad (NE), Nashik (NW), Thane (NW), and Pune (SW).

Origin of name

The name of the district is derived from the headquarters of the district, Ahmednagar. The city of Ahmednagar was named after the founder of the city, Malik Ahmed Shah Bahri, the first ruler of the Nizam Shahi dynasty (1490 ? 1509 CE) who laid the city's foundation in 1494 CE.

History

The first Muslim invader of the Deccan was Ala-ud-din, the nephew and son-in-law of Jalal-ud-din Khilji, the emperor of Delhi. He undertook an expedition against Bhilsa, where he captured a rich booty, a part of which he sent on to Delhi. Jalal-ud-din was much pleased, and rewarded him with the viceroyalty of Oude in addition to the government of Karra. When Ala-ud-din was at Bhilsa, he heard of the wealth of Devagiri, and meditated an expedition against that city. He withheld the tribute that was due from his district, accumulated funds, and raised a force of about 8,000 men, which he represented was for an...
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