Pune History, Maharashtra

Pune boasts of a glorious history. The fearless King Chattrapati Shivaji , by his sheer grit, courage and intelligence, built his dream city Queen of Decan, the Puna called by the British and currently named Pune. It is believed that the name of the city was derived from the Puneyshwar Temple of Asura.Another school of thought is that the name Pune came from ancient Punyapur. Since ages this city has has been ruled by several dynasties. The Rashtrakootas were the early rulers of this place followed by the Yadava dynasty. The Muslim also dominated it till the middle of the seventeenth century.

Its journey to fame came with the emergence of Chhatrapati Shivaji the founder of the Maratha empire who contributed a lot in making this city historically rich. It was Dadaji Konddev, Shivaji's mentor who contributed a lot in developing this city. After that it was during the reign of the second Peshwa Thorala (senior) Bajirao, this city gained importance. His rule gifted the city lot of architectural beauty such as Shaniwarwada the palace of the Peshwas. What followed next was the reign of several other Peshwas who kept enhancing the architectural beauty of this city.The most memorable of them was Nanasaheb Peshwa who ruled the Maratha kingdom from 1740 to 1761 and was instrumental in urbanising the city. The numerous Peths or wards are the result of his encouragement. The Maratha power ended in 1818 with the British defeating them and it became free when the country got independence.

Apart from the mights of the Peshwas and Shivaji, the city has gifted numerous great personalities who played an important role in scripting India's independence. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Gopal Krishna Gokhale andDhondo Keshav Karve and several other luminaries are some of the important pillars of the history of Pune.