History of Allahabad

An Ancient Indian city

Allahabad is an ancient city of India. Puranas state that Prayag or the ancient city of Prathisthana was ruled by the Chandrawanshi kings. People even ended their lives in this sacred land to attain salvation, a practice that has been testified in the accounts of Chinese traveller Hieun-Tsang who visited this great land in the reign of king Harshavardhana.

According to historian Badauni, the great Mughal Emperor Akbar also visited Prayag and founded the imperial city of Illahabad that later on came to be known as Allahabad. The construction of the Akbar Fort bears testimony to the importance of the city that was made the provincial capital during the Mughal period.

Even during the British period, the capital of north-west province was shifted to Allahabad from Agra by the then Viceroy Lord Canning. The city not only served as the epicenter of the freedom struggle but continued to shape the destiny of the country even after independence through the various prime ministers who hailed from the city.

Puranas pay a glowing tribute to the city of Prayag which is also illustrated in the beautiful verses of the great poet Kalidasa. The famous character of poet in the drama Raghuvansham, speaks of the great line which divided the clear blue stream of The Yamuna from the muddy stream of The Ganga.