Chanderi

Chanderi, is a town of historical importance in Ashoknagar District of the state Madhya Pradesh in India. It is situated at a distance of 127 km from Shivpuri, 38 km from Lalitpur, 57 km from Ashok Nagar, 348 km from Jhansi and 46 km from Isagarh. It is surrounded by hills southwest of the Betwa River. Chanderi is surrounded by hills, lakes and forests and is spotted with monuments of the Malwa Sultanate and the Bundela Rajputs. It is also famous for ancient Jain Temples. Its population in 2011 was 33,190. thumb|left|Map of Chanderi and surrounding sites

==History== ===Later Pratīhāra rulers=== in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, Chanderi came under the sway of the later Pratīhāra kings. During this time, Chanderi is mentioned by the Persian scholar Alberuni in 1030. ===Delhi Sultanate=== Ghiyas ud din Balban captured the city in 1251 for Nasiruddin Mahmud, Sultan of Delhi. ===Malwa Sultanate=== Sultan Mahmud I Khilji of Malwa captured the city in 1438 after a siege of several months. Rana Sanga of Mewar conquer much of the Malwa along with Chanderi and appointed his vassal Medini Rai a rebellious minister of Sultan Mahmud II of Malwa as ruler of Malwa under his lordship. Medini Rai made Chanderi as capital of his kingdom. ===Mughals=== In the Battle of Chanderi, the Mughal Emperor Babur captured the fort from Medini Rai and witnessed the macabre Rajput rite of jauhar, in which, faced with certain defeat and in an attempt to escape dishonor in the hands of the enemy, women with children in their arms jumped in a fire pit to commit suicide, which was made for this specific purpose, against the background of vedic hymns recited by the priests. Jauhar was performed during the night and in the morning the men would rub the ashes of their dead women folk on their forehead, don a saffron garment known as kesariya, chew tulsi leaves (in India tulsi leaves are placed in the mouth of a dead body), symbolizing their awareness about impending death and resolve to fight and die with honour. This method of fighting & dying for the cause of retaining honour was called saka. In 1529, Puran Mal defeated Babur's forces and captured Chanderi. In 1542 it was captured by Sher Shah Suri and added to the governorship of Shujaat Khan. The Mughal Emperor Akbar made the city a sarkar in the subah of Malwa. ===Bundelas and Scindias=== The Bundela Rajputs captured the city in 1586, and it was held by Ram Sab, a son of Raja Madhukar of Orchha. In 1646 Devi Singh Bundela was made ruler of the city, and Chanderi remained in the hands of his family until it was annexed in 1811 by Jean Baptiste Filose for the Maratha ruler Daulat Rao Sindhia of Gwalior. The city was transferred to the British in 1844. The British lost control of the city during the Revolt of 1857, and the city was recaptured by Hugh Rose on 14 March 1858. Richard Harte Keatinge led the assault, for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. The city was transferred back to the Sindhias of Gwalior in 1861, and became part of Isagarh District of Gwalior state. ===Republic of India=== After India's independence in 1947, Gwalior became the capital of the new state of Madhya Bharat, which was merged into Madhya Pradesh on 1 November 1956.