The origin of the name
Berar*Berar Sultanate & Ancient*Berar Subah *Berar Province *Central Provinces and Berar *Berar Division * Berar...
or Warhad as it is spelled in Marathi, is not known. It is corruption of
WarhadiWarhadi is one of the four main Marathi dialects, spoken in the Vidarbha region on the eastern side of Maharashtra....
, accompanying Prince Rukmini with her brother Rukmin who visited Amba temple of Amravati before her proposed marriage with Sisupala. Possibly it may be a corruption of
VidarbhaVidarbha is the eastern region of Maharashtra state made up of Nagpur Division and Amravati Division. It occupies 31.6% of total area and holds 21.3% of total population of Maharashtra. It borders the state of Madhya Pradesh to north, Chattisgarh to east, Telangana to south and Marathwada and...
, the name of a kingdom in the Deccan of which, in the period of the
MahabharataThe Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the . The epic is part of the Hindu itihāsa , and forms an important part of Hindu mythology....
, of which Berar is a part of it.
The history of Berar belongs generally to that of the Deccan, the country falling in turn under the sway of the various dynasties which successively ruled in southern India, the first authentic records showing it to have been part of the Andhra or
SatavahanaThe Sātavāhana Empire also known as Andhras were a dynasty which ruled from Junnar , Prathisthan in Maharashtra and Kotilingala in Andhra Pradesh over Southern and Central India from around 230 BCE onward...
empire.
Berar in Ancient History
The origin of the name
Berar*Berar Sultanate & Ancient*Berar Subah *Berar Province *Central Provinces and Berar *Berar Division * Berar...
or Warhad as it is spelled in Marathi, is not known. It is corruption of
WarhadiWarhadi is one of the four main Marathi dialects, spoken in the Vidarbha region on the eastern side of Maharashtra....
, accompanying Prince Rukmini with her brother Rukmin who visited Amba temple of Amravati before her proposed marriage with Sisupala. Possibly it may be a corruption of
VidarbhaVidarbha is the eastern region of Maharashtra state made up of Nagpur Division and Amravati Division. It occupies 31.6% of total area and holds 21.3% of total population of Maharashtra. It borders the state of Madhya Pradesh to north, Chattisgarh to east, Telangana to south and Marathwada and...
, the name of a kingdom in the Deccan of which, in the period of the
MahabharataThe Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the . The epic is part of the Hindu itihāsa , and forms an important part of Hindu mythology....
, of which Berar is a part of it.
The history of Berar belongs generally to that of the Deccan, the country falling in turn under the sway of the various dynasties which successively ruled in southern India, the first authentic records showing it to have been part of the Andhra or
SatavahanaThe Sātavāhana Empire also known as Andhras were a dynasty which ruled from Junnar , Prathisthan in Maharashtra and Kotilingala in Andhra Pradesh over Southern and Central India from around 230 BCE onward...
empire. On the final fall of the Chalukyas in the twelfth century, Berar came under the sway of the Yadavas of Deogiri, and remained in their possession until the
Muslim:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits ". Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive. Muslims believe that there is only one God, translated in Arabic as Allah...
invasions at the end of the thirteenth century. On the establishment of the
Bahmani SultanateThe Bahmani Sultanate was a Muslim state of the Deccan in southern India and one of the great medieval Indian kingdoms...
in the Deccan (1348), Berar was constituted one of the five provinces into which their kingdom was divided, being governed by great nobles, with a separate army. The perils of this system becoming apparent, the province was divided (1478 or 1479) into two separate provinces, named after their capitals
GawilGawilghur was a well-fortified mountain stronghold of the Maratha Empire north of the Deccan Plateau, in the vicinity of Melghat Tiger Reserve, Amravati District, Maharashtra. It was successfully assaulted by an Anglo-Indian force commanded by Arthur Wellesley on the 15 December, 1803 during the...
and
MahurMahur or Mahurgad is a religious place in Maharashtra, India. Mahur is said to be the birth place of Hindu Goddess Renuka, mother of Lord Parshuram. The four Shakti Peethas of Maharashtra are Tuljapur enshrining Bhavani, Kolhapur enshrining Mahalakshmi, Mahur enshrining Mahamaya, and Renuka and...
. The Bahmani dynasty was, however, already tottering to its fall.
During the disintegration of Bahmani sultanate, in 1490 Fath-ullah Imad-ul-Mulk, governor of
GawilGawilghur was a well-fortified mountain stronghold of the Maratha Empire north of the Deccan Plateau, in the vicinity of Melghat Tiger Reserve, Amravati District, Maharashtra. It was successfully assaulted by an Anglo-Indian force commanded by Arthur Wellesley on the 15 December, 1803 during the...
, who had formerly held all Berar, proclaimed his independence and founded the Imad Shahi dynasty of Berar sultanate. He proceeded to annex Mahur to his new kingdom and had capital at Ellichpur. Imad-ul-Mulk was by birth a Kanarese Hindu, but had been captured as a boy in one of the expeditions against the
Vijayanagara empireThe Vijayanagara Empire referred as the Kingdom of Bisnaga by the Portuguese, was a South Indian empire based in the Deccan Plateau. Established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I, it lasted until 1646 although its power declined after a major military defeat in 1565 by the Deccan...
and reared as a Muslim. Gavilgad and Narnala were also fortified by him.
He died in 1504 and his successor, Ala-ud-din resisted the aggression of Ahmadnagar with the help from Bahadur Shah, sultan of Gujarat. The next ruler, Darya tried to align with Bijapur to prevent aggression of Ahamdnagar, but was unsuccessful. In 1574 when Burhan Imad Shah was deposed by his minister Tufal Khan, and assumed the kingship. This gave a pretext for the intervention of Murtaza Nizam Shah of
AhmednagarAhmednagar is a city of Ahmednagar District in the state of Maharashtra, India, on the west bank of the Sina river, about 120 km northeast of Pune and 120 km from Aurangabad. Ahmednagar is the largest district in the Maharashtra state of India. Sugar, milk and bank co-operatives thrive...
, who invaded Berar, imprisoned and put to death Tufal Khan, his son Shams-ul-Mulk, and the ex-king Burhan, and annexed Berar to his own dominions of Ahmednagar sultanate.
Sultans of Berar from Imad Shahi Dynasty
- Fath-Allah Imad-ul-Mulk 1490 - 1504
- Aladdin Imad Shah 1504 - 1529
- Darya Imad Shah 1529 - 1562
- Burhan Imad Shah 1562 - 1568
- Tufal Khan Dakhni (usurper) 1568 - 1572
Chronology of Events in Berar
- Mahabharat - Berar was Part of Vidarbha Kingdom
- 322 BC-185 BC Under Mauryan_Empire
- 100 BC-199 Satavahana dynasty
- 250 Vakataka dynasty starts
- 510 Vakataka rules end
- 510-580 Ahirs or Abhira rule for 67 years. Named forts of Gawilgad, Asirgad.
- 5xx-750 Chalukya dynasty
- 750-973 Rashtrakuta dynasty
- 973-1188 Chalukya dynasty again
- 1188- Yadava of Deogiri
- 1292 Invaded by Khilji
- 1318 Annexed by Khilji to Delhi Sultanate
- 1348 Become One of five Province of Bahmani Sultanate
- 1400 Firoz Shah Bahmani Halted at Ellichpur and expedite against Gond of Kherla.
- 1425-1428 Ahmed Shah Wali of Bahmani repaired forts of Gawilgad and Narnala
Narnala is an Indian hill fortress in Maharashtra, India. Narnala was one of the thirteen sarkar of Berar Subah...
- 1478 Bahmani divide Berar into two Province of Gawil and Mahur
- 1490 Imad-ul-Mulk Started Imad Shahi Dynasty of Berar established. Ellichpur made Capital of Berar.
- 1504 Aladdin Imad Shah made Gawilgad his Capital
- 1529 Darya Imad Shah rules until 1562
- 1562 Burhan Imad Shah overthrown in 1568
- 1568 Tufal Khan Dakhni rules until 1572
- 1572 Murtaza Nizam Shah of Ahmendnagar invaded Berer and annexed to its dominions
- 1596 Chand Bibi ceded Berar to Akbar. Prince Murad settled at Balapur and made Shahapur
- 1598 Murad died. Price Daniyal governs Berar, Kahndesh and Ahmednagar
- 1605 Daniyal died and Malik Ambar governs it.
- 1611 Malik Ambar defied Mughal sovereignty
- 1614 Raja Man Singh, General of Jahangir dies a natural death at Ellichpur.
- 1636-1634 Aurangzeb become viceroy of four deccan subah including Berar
- 1653-1657 Aurangzeb become viceroy of four deccan subah including Berar for Second time.
- 1680 Sambhaji
- 1698 Rajaram
- 1720 Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath got right from Mughal to collect revenue from Berar.
- 1724 Asif Jah established Nizam State and invaded Berar.
- 1737 Asif Jah and Maratha fight for Supremacy.
- 1760 ceded to Maratha Peshwa
- 1785 Bhosla Raja of Nagpur governs
- 1803 Battle of Adgaon. British transferred Berer to Nizam.
- 1822 Maratha loses right to tribute
- 1853 British Company maintained Hyderbad Assigned Districts of Nizam.
- 1860 Nizam treaty modified
- 1903 Berar attached to Central Province to make CP&Berar
- 1947 CP& Berar become province of India
- 1950 Berer included in then Madhya Pradesh
- 1956 Berar and Nagpur become part of Bombay State
- 1960 Berar included in new Maharashtra State