Champaner is a historical city in the state of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, in western

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. It is located in

Panchmahal district Panchmahal, also known as Panch Mahals, is a district in the eastern portion of Gujarat State western India. ''Panch-mahal'' means "five tehsils/talukas" (5 sub-divisions), and refers to the five sub-divisions that were transferred by the Maharaj ...

, 47 kilometres from the city of

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capita ...

. The city was briefly the capital of the

Sultanate of Gujarat The Gujarat Sultanate (or the Sultanate of Guzerat), was a Medieval Indian kingdom established in the early 15th century in Western India, primarily in the present-day state of Gujarat, India. The dynasty was founded by Sultan Zafar Khan Muza ...

History

Champaner is named after Champa Bhil, a last Bhil king of Champaner. Champa Bhil built Champaner Fort He also established Champaner. During 1405, after Champa Bhil, Rajputs occupied Champaner. By the later 15th century, the Khichi

Chauhan Chauhan, historically ''Chahamana'', is a clan name historically associated with the various ruling Rajput families during the Medieval India in Rajasthan. Subclans Khichi, Hada, Songara, Bhadauria, Devda etc. are the branches or subcla ...

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

s held Pavagadh fort above the town of Champaner. The young

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...

of Gujarat,

Mahmud Begada Sultan Mahmud Begada or Mahmud Shah I (), was the most prominent Sultan of the Gujarat Sultanate. Raised to the throne at young age, he successfully captured Pavagadh and Junagadh forts in battles which gave him his name ''Begada''. He establi ...

, deciding to attack Champaner, started towards it with his army on 4 December 1482. After defeating the Champaner army, Mahmud captured the town and besieged Pavagadh, the well-known hill-fortress, above Champaner, where king Jayasimha had taken refuge. He captured the Pavagadh fort on 21 November 1484, after a

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

of 20 months. He then spent 23 years rebuilding and embellishing Champaner, which he renamed Muhammadabad, after which he moved the capital there from

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per ...

. Sultan Begada also built a magnificent

Jama Masjid A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.* * * * * * * ...

in Champaner, which ranks amongst the finest architectural edifices in Gujarat. It is an imposing structure on a high

plinth A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...

, with a central dome, two

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

s 30 meters in height, 172 pillars, seven

mihrab Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla ...

s, and carved entrance gates with fine latticed windows called "jalis". In 1535, after chasing away Bahadur Shah,

Humayun Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northe ...

led 300 Mughals to scale the fort on spikes driven into rock and stonework in a remote and unguarded part of the citadel built over a precipitous hillside on Pavagadh Hill. Large heaps of gold, silver and jewels were the war bounty even though Bahadur Shah had managed to escape with a lot to Diu Champaner is today the site of the

Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located in Panchmahal district in Gujarat, India. It is located around the historical city of Champaner, a city which was founded by Vanraj Chavda, the most prominent king ...

, which

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

designated a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

in 2004.

Religious site

The mausoleum of a holy saint Syed Khundmir is located here. Hazrat Bandagi Miyan Syed Khundmir RZ.jpg

Tourism attractions

There are total 23 places in champaner to visit. *Maa Mahakalika Temple *Jama Masjid *Saher Masjid *Nagina Masjid *Kevda Masjid *Lal Gumbaj Masjid *Kamaani Masjid *Bawaman Masjid *Khajuri Masjid * *Stepwell *Jain Temple * *Udan Khatola at Manchi *Saat Kaman *Amir Manzil *Champaner Fort *Citadel Of Mahmud Beghada *Hissar I Khas *Khapra Zaveri Palace *Sikandar Shah S Tomb *Virasat Van *Vada Talav * *Khuniya Mahadev (Best to visit during monsoon season to enjoy waterfall near khuniya mahadev)

Notes

{{Coord, 22.4859, 73.5371, type:landmark_region:IN_source:enwiki, display=title Tourism in Gujarat Former capital cities in India Cities and towns in Panchmahal district Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park

History

Religious site

Tourism attractions

See also

Notes