The name is derived from the Mughal ruler,
Aurangazeb. Its ancient history dates back up to the eras of Buddhism,
but the modern history of Aurangabad is traced back to 1610. The
Buddhist caves in Aurangabad and Ellora are the clear evidence of strong
Buddhism influence and influx around the city in earlier times.
A prime minister of the Muslim Kingdom of Ahmednagar, Malik Ambar
established a town at a village called Khirki. Later, his son Fateh Khan
named the town as Fatehpur in 1626. Mohammad Bin Tughlaq tried to switch
over the capital of his Delhi sultanate to Fatehpur in 14th century
keeping in mind the strategic location of the town. The town was at the
centre of India, and the region was considered the safest from the
marauding armies of the Afghan and Central Asian raiders.
When Aurangazeb took over the Deccan kingdoms, he changed the name of
the town to Aurangabad in 1653. Aurangazeb used the town as the
strategic point to suppress the rising power of Shivaji. Aurangabad was
taken over by the Nizam of Hyderabad after the death of Aurangazeb in
1707 that retained control till it was merged with Maharashtra in 1956.
The current day Aurangabad offers a wonderful opportunity to step back
to past history. Ajanta and Ellora caves and Bibi-Ka-Makbara bring back
the visitors to the past history of the town.
Find about the history and origin of Aurangabad
city of Maharashtra