Khandesh District (or Kandesh, Khandeish) was a district, administrative division of Bombay presidency of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

under

British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...

, which includes the present-day

Jalgaon Jalgaon () is a city in Maharashtra, India. The city is located in North Maharashtra, and serves as the administrative headquarters of its namesake district, the Jalgaon district. Jalgaon is colloquially known as the “''Banana City of Indi ...

Dhule Dhule is a city located in the Dhule District in the northwestern part of Maharashtra state, India known as West Khandesh. Situated on the banks of Panzara River, Dhule is the regional headquarters of MIDC, RTO, and MTDC. The city is mainly kn ...

and Nandurbar districts of Maharashtra. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, Khandesh was part of the

Maratha Confederacy The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...

, and was ruled by the Maratha

Peshwa The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later ...

. The district was annexed to

at the conclusion of the

Third Anglo-Maratha War The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1819) was the final and decisive conflict between the English East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. The war left the Company in control of most of India. It began with an invasion of Maratha ter ...

in 1818. A southern portion of the district was detached to form Nashik District in 1869. In 1906 the district was divided into East Khandesh and West Khandesh districts, with their capitals at Jalgaon and Dhulia (Dhule), respectively. East Khandesh was later renamed Jalgaon District, and West Khandesh, later renamed Dhule District, was split in Dhule and Nandurbar districts in 1998.

History

In the Mughal rule of Aurangzeb, in 1670 Daud Khan was ''Subhadar ('') of Khandesh provinence. Khandesh district was part of Khandesh provinence. Burhanpur was its capital city. The

Asirgarh fort Asirgarh Fort is an Indian fortress ''(qila)'' situated in the Satpura Range about north of the city of Burhanpur, in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Because the fortress commands a pass through the Satpuras connecting the valleys of the ...

was known as the gate of Southern India , and

Burhanpur Burhanpur'' is a historical city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative seat of Burhanpur District. It is situated on the north bank of the Tapti River and northeast of city of Mumbai, southwest of the state's capi ...

was known as "''Dakkhan ka Darwaza''" ().

Administration

Dhule was the administrative center of Khandesh district. On north west corner of the district Narmada river was natural border of the district and in west the base of the hills out skirt in Shahada was natural border of Khandesh. It separated Khandesh from Akrani territory that was present at north right into the hart of the hills where from Narmada river pass Satpuda. On east and south east rows of pillars and some water streams was mark the boundary of Khandesh from central provinces and

Berar Berar may refer to: *Vidarbha, the eastern region of Maharashtra Province, India, historically known as Berar *Berar Sultanate (1490–1596), one of the Deccan sultanates *Berar Subah (1596–1724), a Subah of the Mughal Empire *Berar Province (1724 ...

. To the south Ajanta, Satmala range was rough boundary between Khandesh and Nizam's territory. On south west Arva or Making, Galna hills separate Khandesh from Nasik. For administrative purposes the British government distributed Khandesh into 16 sub divisions. Of these subdivision Amalner, Pimpalner, Pachora, Bhusaval, Savada had two petty divisions other each had one petty division.

References

Sources

* Hunter, Sir William Wilson, et al. (1908). ''Imperial Gazetteer of India'', Volume 15. 1908–1931; Clarendon Press, Oxford. {{Historical districts of India Districts of British India History of Maharashtra by district History of Maharashtra Jalgaon district Bhusawal Dhule district Nandurbar district