History
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Early history[edit]
Ashoka's Rock Edict at Girnar, Junagadh
An early structure, Uparkot Fort, is located on a plateau in the middle of town. It was originally built in 319 BCE during the Mauryan dynasty by Chandragupta.[citation needed] The fort remained in use until the 6th century, after which it was abandoned for approximately 300 years. It was later rediscovered by the Chudasama ruler Graharipu in 976 CE. The fort was subsequently besieged 16 times over a 1000-year period. One unsuccessful siege lasted twelve years.
Within 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) of Uparkot Fort is an inscription with fourteen Edicts of Ashoka on a large boulder. The inscriptions are in Brahmi script in a language similar to Pali and date from 250 BCE. On the same rock there is a later inscription in Sanskrit, which was added around 150 CE by Mahakshatrap Rudradaman I, the Saka (Scythian) ruler of Malwa, and a member of the Western Kshatrapas dynasty, and which has been described as "the earliest known Sanskrit inscription of any extent". Another inscription dates from about 450 CE and refers to Skandagupta, the last Gupta emperor. Old rock-cut Buddhist caves in this area, dating from well before 500 CE, have stone carvings and floral work. There are also the Khapra Kodia Caves north of the fort, and the Bava Pyara Caves south of the fort. The Bava Pyara caves contain artworks of both Buddhism and Jainism.
The Maitraka dynasty ruled Gujarat from 475 to 767 CE. The founder of the dynasty, General Bhatarka, military governor of Saurashtra peninsula under the Gupta Empire, established himself as the independent ruler of Gujarat around the last quarter of the 5th century.
Chudasama dynasty[edit]
Main article: Chudasama dynasty
The early history of the Chudasama dynasty – which ruled Saurashtra from Junagadh – is almost lost. Bardic legends vary significantly in the names, order, and number of early rulers, making them unreliable as historical sources. According to tradition, the dynasty is said to have been founded in the late 9th century by Chudachandra. Subsequent rulers such as Graharipu, Navaghana, and Khengara, were in conflict with the Chaulukya rulers Mularaja and Jayasimha Siddharaja; and Saurashtra was briefly governed by Chaulukya governors during this period. These events are recorded in contemporary and later Jain chronicles.
In 1350, Junagadh was conquered by Muhammad bin Tughluq with the help and forces of Koli chieftain Jesaji (Jesing) from Ra Khengar.
After the end of the rule of the Chaulukyas and their successors, the Vaghela dynasty, in Gujarat, the Chudasamas ruled independently, or as vassals of successor states, the Delhi Sultanate and the Gujarat Sultanate. Mandalika I was the first Chudasama ruler known from inscriptions, and during his reign, Gujarat was invaded by the Khalji dynasty of Delhi. The last king of the dynasty, Mandalika III, was defeated and forcibly converted to Islam in 1472 by Gujarat Sultan Mahmud Begada, who annexed the state.
The Uparkot Fort of Junagadh was occupied by the Chudasamas during the reign of Graharipu. It is said to have been later rebuilt by Navaghana, who had transferred his capital from Vamanasthali to Junagadh. He is also credited with construction of the stepwells Navghan Kuvo and Adi Kadi Vav in the fort. His descendant Khengara is attributed with building a stepwell, Ra Khengar Vav, on the way to Vanthali from Junagadh.
Gujarat sultanate[edit]
Main article: Gujarat Sultanate
Photograph of a bazaar at Junagadh in Gujarat, taken by F. Nelson in the 1890s.
Sultan Mahmud Begada changed the name of Junagadh to Mustafabad and built the fortifications around the town and the mosque in Uparkot Fort.
Under the Gujarat Sultanate, Junagadh was governed by an official, styled thanadar (commander), appointed directly by Ahmedabad. This official collected the tribute and revenue of the crown domain. The first thanadar was Tatar Khan, an adopted son of the Sultan and after him Mirza Khalil, the eldest son of the Sultan who afterwards succeeded him under the title of Sultan Muzaffar. Prince Khalil during his tenure of office founded the village called Khalilpur. The Sultan also installed Bhupatsingh, the son of the last Chudasama king, Mandalika III, in Junagadh as a jagirdar (feudal lord). The jagir allotted to Bhupatsingh was the Sil Bagasra Chovisi; and his descendants were known as Raizada. They continued to rule there. Bhupatsingh was succeeded by his son Khengar.
After the accession of Sultan Muzafar, and indeed during the latter part of Sultan Mahmud's reign, the seat of government was moved from Junagadh to Diu owing to the importance of that island as a naval station and to check the ravages of the Portuguese. Tatarkhan Ghori was left at Junagadh by Malik Eiaz who himself resided at Diu. After the disgrace and death of Malik Eiaz, Tatarkhan Ghori became independent at Junagadh; and after the death of Sultan Bahadur, the Ghori family reigned independently at Junagadh, though still owing a nominal allegiance to the successive Sultans at Ahmadabad. This state of affairs continued until the first conquest of Gujarat by the Mughal emperor Akbar, when Aminkhan Ghori had succeeded his father Tatarkhan at Junagadh.
When the Portuguese took over the ports of Diu and Daman in the 16th century, a fifteen-foot cannon, made in Egypt in 1531, was abandoned by a Turkish admiral opposing the Portuguese forces at Diu, which is now at Uparkot Fort.
Under the Mughal Empire[edit]
Ghori rule
In 1525, Khengar was succeeded by his son Noghan. Tatarkhan Ghori had now become almost independent. In his time Jam Raval conquered Halar and built Navanagar. In 1551, Noghan was succeeded by his son Shrisingh, who lived till 1586. During this time, Tatarkhan Ghori died and was succeeded by his son Aminkhan Ghori. In his time, Akbar conquered Gujarat, although Sorath remained independent under the Ghori rule. The exact date of Tatarkhan Ghori's death is not known; but from the mention of Aminkhan as his successor, it must have been from about 1570 to 1575. On the return of Emperor Akbar to Agra in 1573, after the defeat and death of Muhammad Husain Mirzah and Ikhtiyar ul Mulk, he gave orders that Sorath should be conquered from Aminkhan Ghori. Vazir Khan attempted it but was unequal to the task. Great confusion existed now in Sorath. The Moghal conquest of Gujarat, the collapse of the power of the Gujarat Sultans, the encroachments of the Jam, and the assumption of independence by the Ghori all augmented the confusion afterwards increased by the escape of Sultan Muzaffar in 1583 and subsequent partisan warfare.
During these disturbances Amin Khan Ghori and his son Daulat Khan Ghori espoused the cause of Muzafar, as did the Jam and Loma Khuman of Kherdi. The exact date of Amin Khan Ghori's death is not known but it was about 1589–90. Raizada Khengar also warmly espoused Mnzafar's side. After the siege and capture of Junagadh in 1591–92 by Naurang Khan, Syad Kasim, and Gnjar Khan; Khengar was dismissed to his estate of Sil Bagasra, and the Raizada ceased to rule at Junagadh. Daulat Khan Ghori died of his wounds during the siege, and henceforth Junagadh became the seat of the imperial faujdars (garrison commanders) of Sorath in subordination to the imperial viceroy at Ahmedabad.
Imperial rule
The first faujdar of Junagad was Naurang Khan and, next, Syad Kasim. The most famous were (1) Mirzah Isa Tarkhan (2) Kutb ud din Kheshgi, and (3) Sardarkhan. Of these Mirzah Isa Tarkhan ruled Sorath from about 1633–34 to 1642, when he was appointed viceroy of Gujarat. On this occasion he left his son Inayat Ullah as faujdar at Junagadh while he himself conducted the government of Gujarat from its capital, Ahmedabad. In Mirzah Isa Tarkhan's time the fortifications of Junagadh were entirely repaired. Kutb ud din was another faujdar, and his tenure of office lasted from about 1653 to 1666. In about 1664, he conquered Navanagar and annexed it to the imperial domain. Sardarkhan also distinguished himself as faujdar of Sorath, both by the firmness of his rule and by his construction (1681, AH 1092) of the Sardar Baug (palace) and excavation of the Sardar Talav (main gate). He built a mausoleum for himself in the Sardar Baug, but he died at Thatta, in Sindh, and is said to have been buried there and not at Junagadh. He was faujdar from about 1666 to 1686, but in 1670 he went for a short time to Idar and was replaced by Syad Dilerkhan. The last of the faujdar s was Sherkhan Babi, who became independent and assumed the title of Nawab Bahadur Khan.
Junagadh state[edit]
Main articles: Junagadh State and Nawab of Junagarh
Junagadh Nawabs and state officials, 19th century.
Tomb of Mahabat Khan
In 1730, Mohammad Sher Khan Babi, who owed allegiance to the Mughal governor of Gujarat Subah, founded the state of Junagadh by declaring independence after the invasion by the Maratha Gaekwad dynasty. Babi founded the Babi Dynasty of Junagadh State. His descendants, the Babi Nawabs of Junagadh—who were Babi or Babai pashtuns from Afghanistan—conquered large territories in southern Saurashtra and ruled for the next two centuries, first as tributaries of Marathas, and later under the suzerainty of the British, who granted the honor of a 13-gun salute.
1730–1758 – Mohammad Bahadur Khanji or Mohammad Sher khan Babi
1758–1774 – Mohammad Mahabat Khanji I
1774–1811 – Mohammad Hamid Khanji I
1811–1840 – Mohammad Bahadur Khanji II
1840–1851 – Mohammad Hamid Khanji II
1851–1882 – Mohammad Mahabat Khanji II
1882–1892 – Mohammad Bahadur Khanji III
1892–1911 – Mohammad Rasul Khanji
1911–1948 – Mohammad Mahabat Khanji III
British period[edit]
Flag of Junagadh, during the British period.
In 1807, Junagadh State became a British protectorate. The East India Company took control of the state by 1818, but the Saurashtra area was never directly administered by the British,[citation needed] who instead divided the territory into more than one hundred princely states, which remained in existence until 1947.[citation needed] The present old-town, developed during the 19th and 20th centuries, constituted one of those princely states.[citation needed]
The Shri Swaminarayan Mandir temple in Junagadh was constructed on land presented by Jinabhai (Hemantsingh) Darbar of Panchala, and dedicated on 1 May 1828. Swaminarayan appointed Gunatitanand Swami as the first mahant (religious and administrative head of a temple), who served in this role and preached there for over 40 years.
Accession by India[edit]
Main article: Annexation of Junagadh
During the period just before the independence and partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, the 562 princely states that had existed outside British India, but under British suzerainty, were given the choice of acceding to either India or Pakistan. Although the states were theoretically free to choose, Earl Mountbatten stated that "geographic compulsions" meant that most of them would choose India. Mountbatten took the position that only states that shared a common border with Pakistan should choose to accede to it, but he had no power to impose this point of view on the states.
On 15 September 1947, Nawab Mohammad Mahabat Khanji III of Junagadh – which, although located at the south-western end of Gujarat, had no common border with Pakistan – chose to accede to Pakistan, ignoring Mountbatten's views and arguing that Junagadh could access Pakistan by sea. The rulers of two states that were subject to the suzerainty of Junagadh — Mangrol and Babariawad — reacted by declaring their independence from Junagadh and acceding to India. In response, the nawab's forces militarily occupied the two states. Rulers of other neighbouring states reacted angrily, sent troops to the Junagadh frontier, and appealed to the government of India for assistance. A group of Junagadhis, led by Samaldas Gandhi, formed a government-in-exile, the Aarzi Hukumat ("temporary government").
India asserted that Junagadh was not contiguous to Pakistan and, believing that if Junagadh was permitted to accede to Pakistan communal tension already simmering in Gujarat would worsen, refused to accept the nawab's accession to Pakistan. The Indian government pointed out that the state was 96% Hindu, and called for a plebiscite to decide the question of accession. India cut off supplies of fuel and coal to Junagadh, severed air and postal links, sent troops to the frontier, and occupied the principalities of Mangrol and Babariawad, which had acceded to India.
Pakistan agreed to discuss a plebiscite, subject to the withdrawal of Indian troops, a condition India rejected. On 26 October, the nawab and his family fled to Pakistan following clashes between Junagadhi and Indian troops.
On 7 November, Junagadh's court, facing collapse, invited the government of India to take over the state's administration. The Dewan of Junagadh, Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto, the father of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, decided to invite the Government of India to intervene and wrote a letter to Mr. Buch, the regional commissioner of Saurashtra in the government of India to this effect.
The government of India rejected the protests of Pakistan and accepted the invitation of the dewan to intervene. A plebiscite was conducted in February 1948, but it was not internationally monitored. Pakistan's claims were based on the logic of the Kashmir annexation, and not on the plebiscite, which went almost unanimously in favour of accession to India. Junagadh became a part of the Indian state of Saurashtra until 1 November 1956, when Saurashtra became part of Bombay state. In 1960, Bombay state was split into the linguistic states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, in which Junagadh was located.
In 2020, Pakistan's government has maintained and revived its territorial claim on Junagadh, along with Manavadar and Sir Creek in Gujarat, on its official political map.
Timelines[edit]
Ruling dynasties[edit]
Various Rulers
Time Period
Maurya Dynasty ruled over Junagadh
in 319 BC
Kalinga Dynasty ruled over Junagadh
in 185 BC
Greeks ruled over Junagadh
in 73–70 BC
Shaka (Scythians) ruled over Junagadh
100–275 AD
Kshatrapa ruled over Junagadh
276–455 AD
Gupta ruled over Junagadh
456–770 AD
The Chinese Traveller Hu-en-Tsang visited Junagadh
640 AD
Chudasama ruled over Junagadh
875–1472 AD
Turkic Rulers Mohammed Begada, Khalil Khan
1472–1572 AD
Mughals ruled over Junagadh
1573–1730 AD
Nawabs of Junagadh Khanji (Babi Pathan) ruled over
1730–1949
Accession to India[edit]
15 Aug 1947 Accedes to Pakistan.
15 Sep 1947 Accession to Pakistan accepted.
9 Nov 1947 Occupied by India.
10 Nov 1947 Rescinds accession to Pakistan, accedes to India.
24 Feb 1948 Referendum approves accession to India.
25 Feb 1948 Accession to India in effect.
