Allahabad Historic Information
Allahabad is an ancient town, a fact
illustrated by references in the Vedas (circa 1500 b.c.) to Prayag,
where Brahma, the Hindu Creator of the Universe, supposedly attended a
sacrificial ritual. Excavations have revealed Northern Black Polished
Ware objects in Allahabad, further corroborating the conjecture that
Allahabad existed as a town as early as 1100 b.c. Other objects
unearthed in Allahabad indicate that the area was part of the Kushana
Empire in the 1st century a.d.
¤ Allahabad Played A Greater Role In Mughal Regime
In his memoirs on India, Huien Tsang, the Chinese chronicler who
travelled through India during Harshavardhana’s reign (a.d.
607-647), writes that he visited Prayag in a.d. 643. In a.d. 1193,
Muhammad Ghori, the Sultan of Delhi, annexed Prayag. In 1584, the town
was renamed Allahabad, or the Abode of Allah, by the Mughal Emperor
Akbar, who built one of his largest forts here. It was from Allahabad
that Prince Salim, later to become Emperor Jahangir, revolted against
his father, the Mughal Emperor Akbar. In 1602, Prince Salim held a
parallel Imperial Court in Akbar’s fort in Allahabad. Akbar named
Salim his successor, and in 1605, an imperial summons forced the
prince to leave Allahabad and proceed to Delhi.
However, Prince Khusrao, Salim’s son and Akbar’s heir
apparent if Salim were to continue to revolt, rebelled in 1606. The
rebellion was crushed, and Khusrao spent the following year in chains.
Later, he was blinded, and murdered in Allahabad in 1622.
¤ Allahabad Formed The Headquarters of Northwest Province
The British made Allahabad the headquarters of the Northwest
Provinces and Avadh (Lucknow). In 1858, a year after the Sepoy Mutiny,
Lord Canning announced the transfer of power from the East India
Company to the British Crown, in Allahabad. |
