Aurangabad: The city that has many names

Maharashtra is witnessing a big debate over the move to rename Aurangabad as Sambhaji Nagar.

The name Aurangabad comes from the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. However, there has been a popular demand to rename the city and district as Sambhaji Nagar after Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the son of legendary Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Incidentally, Sambhaji Maharaj was brutally murdered at the behest of Aurangzeb.

Aurangabad is now Maharashtra’s tourism capital and divisional headquarters of the Marathwada region. It is an ancient city and it has been known by various names over the years, decades, and centuries.

It has seen the influence and rule of various dynasties – Satvahana, Vakataka, Chalukya, Rashtrakuta, Yadav, Khilji, Tuglaq, Bahmani Sultanate, Nizam Shahi, Deccan Sultans under Mughals and Hyderabad Nizams and Marathas and Britishers.

The strategic location of Aurangabad as the entry point in ancient Dakshinapatha was the main reason why the region witnessed the rise and fall of so many dynasties, according to Tejas Garge, the Director of Maharashtra government’s Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, who has written a book ‘Aurangabad and its Neighbourhood’.

The ancient town of Paithan on the banks of the Godavari river is located in Aurangabad. In historical and medieval times, it was known as Pratisthana, which was known for its Buddhist, Jain and Brahmanical literature.

From Deogiri or Devagiri, the Yadavas ruled areas between Tungabhadra and Narmada's rivers covering parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh.

Alauddin Khilji defeated Yadava king Krishna in 1296 and placed it under the control of slave-general Malik Kafur.

Muhammad bin Tughluq later became the Sultan of Delhi and in 1327, shifted the capital to Deogiri and renamed it Daulatabad. In 1334, however, the capital was back in Delhi.

In 1499, Daulatabad became a part of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate.

In 1610, a new city named Khirki or Khaḍkī was established at the location of modern Aurangabad to serve as the capital of the Ahmednagar Sultanate by Siddhi leader Malik Ambar, who was brought to India as a slave but rose to become a popular prime minister of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate.

Malik Ambar was succeeded by his son Fateh Khan, who changed the name of the city to Fatehnagar.

In 1636, Aurangzeb, who was then the Mughal viceroy of the Deccan region, annexed the city into the Mughal Empire.

In 1653, Aurangzeb renamed the city "Aurangabad" and made it the capital of the Deccan region of the Mughal Empire.

The Aurangabad district houses UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Ajanta and Ellora, medieval structures like Bibi ka Maqbara, the Grishneshwar Temple, which is a Jyotirling, the Daulatabad Fort, Panchakki and several other tourist locations. "It is a very interesting city and a very rich heritage," says MP Joshi, who is a journalist-turned-PR professional, and had worked for a long time in Aurangabad.