Chanderi

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Chanderi
चन्देरी
Chanderi (India)
Red pog.svg
State : IndiaIndia India
State : Madhya Pradesh
District : Ashoknagar
Location : 24 ° 43 '  N , 78 ° 9'  E Coordinates: 24 ° 43 '  N , 78 ° 9'  E
Height : 455 m
Area : 14.87 km²
Residents : 33,081 (2011)
Population density : 2225 inhabitants / km²
Postal code : 473446
Website : Chanderi
Chanderi - town view
Chanderi - town view

Chanderi ( Hindi : चन्देरी) is a historically and culturally significant city with about 38,000 inhabitants in the Bundelkhand region in the north of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh . It is known beyond India for its silk and cotton weaving .

location

Chanderi is located in the north of the Vindhya Mountains about 215 km (driving distance) northeast of Bhopal or about 115 km southwest of Jhansi at an altitude of about 455  m  d. About 17 km northwest of the city is the place Budhi Chanderi ("Old Chanderi") and about 4 km east is the Rajghat Reservoir in the course of the Betwa River. The climate is warm and rather rainy for North Indian conditions, although most of the rain falls during the monsoon season (June to October).

population

Official population statistics have only been kept and published since 1991.

year 1991 2001 2011
Residents 19,383 28.305 33,081

The Hindi , Urdu and Bundeli- speaking population of Chanderi consists of about 66% Hindus , a good 28% Muslims and just under 5% Jains ; numerically small minorities are Christians , Sikhs , Buddhists and others. As is common in censuses in northern India, the male population is around 10% higher than the female.

economy

Agriculture dominates in the surrounding villages. The city has served as a center for handicrafts, trade and services of all kinds since ancient times. The silk and cotton weaving that has been in operation here for centuries is particularly important; Chanderi silk saris are known throughout India, but also internationally.

history

Miniature painting of the Mughal period: Chanderis captured by Babur (1528)
Bada Mahal Darwaza

A place founded by Shishupala , Krishna's cousin , named Chaidnagar is mentioned in the ancient Indian epic of Mahabharata and equated with today's Chanderi; the later city was on an old trade route on the border between the two historically important regions of Malwa and Bundelkhand and was accordingly hotly contested. Ghiyas ud din Balban took the city , which belongs to the Pratihara kingdom, in 1251 for Nasir ud din Mahmud (r. 1246–1266), the then sultan of Delhi ; he himself took over the rule after the death of Nasir ud din. In 1438, after several months of siege, it was captured by the army of Mahmud Khilji of Malwa and in 1520 by Rana Sanga , ruler of Mewar . Babur , the first Mughal ruler, took over the city in 1528, whereupon part of the population committed suicide ( jauhar ). From 1540 to 1545 the Pashtun Sher Shah Suri ruled the city; after that it fell back to the Mughal empire and was described in Ain-e-Akbari , Akbar's autobiography , as a large city with 12,000 mosques, 14,000 stone houses, 360 caravanserais and 384 markets - even if the numbers are definitely exaggerated, they show but the enormous importance of Chanderis at this time. The Bundela Rajputs , striving for autonomy , conquered the region in 1586; then she became politically dependent on Orchha . It retained this status until 1811, when it came under the control of the Marathas , who had to give way to the British in 1844 , who transferred Chanderi to the princely state of Gwalior in 1861 .

Attractions

The city's sights are numerous - the Friday mosque from the middle of the 13th century and the fort, which is located on a hill and has been repeatedly renewed after various destruction, with its free-standing, high and representative archway framed by side stair towers are particularly worth mentioning ( Bada Mahal Darwaza ), which is unique in its kind in all of India, but also in the entire Islamic world. Not far away is the Shiva consecrated Sri Jageshwar Temple . There are several Hindu and Jain temples spread across the city . Numerous exquisitely designed mausoleums ( rauzas ) are also scattered around the city - the 15th century Nizamuddin complex with its diverse Jali windows, the Shahzadi ka Rouza and the so-called Bada Madrasa with two impressively crafted cenotaphs deserve special attention. In the past, around 1200 stepwells ( baolis ) are said to have existed in and around the city ; several are still preserved - including the Battisi baoli . The Chanderi Museum or the nearby Koshak Mahal from the mid-15th century round off the city tour.

Surroundings

In Budhi Chanderi, approx. 17 km away, or in the village of Thruvanji , approx. 26 km southwest, there are several medieval Jain temples.

literature

Web links

Commons : Chanderi  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Chanderi - Census 2011
  2. ↑ Chanderi - map with altitude information
  3. ↑ Chanderi - climate diagrams
  4. ^ Chanderi - City Population 1991–2011
  5. ↑ Chanderi - Census 2011