The district was historically part of the
Nimar and
Khandesh regions, Khandesh subha (province), and was part of the various dynasties that rose and fell here. During the rise of Buddhism, the region was part of
Avanti. The
Mauryas ruled the region for a while, and were succeeded by the
Satavahanas,
Vakatakas. The region was part of the Gupta empire but after its collapse passed to Harshavardhana in 608 CE. Asirgarh and its surroundings were then ruled by the Tak Rajputs. In 1296, Alauddin Khilji conquered Asirgarh. In the Mughal rule of India, this district was part of Khandesh province and Burhanpur was its capital city. In 1536, Humayun visited Burhanpur and forced the submission of Raja Ali Khan, also known as Adlil Shah, who controlled Burhanpur and Asirgarh. His son Bahadur Khan rebelled against Akbar, who soon arrived personally in the region to examine Asirgarh fort for himself. Shah Jahan stayed in the fort starting in 1630 for 2 years to conduct operations against the various Deccan powers, and there his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal died and was initially buried in Burhanpur. In 1632, Shah Jahan left and left Mahabat Khan as viceroy of the Deccan. Burhanpur was under the control of Aurangzeb in the late 17th century. In 1681, the Marathas made their first raid on Khandesh and sacked Burhanpur. In 1720, the Nizam of Hyderabad took over control of all Mughal possessions in the Deccan, including Burhanpur, but was constantly beset by the forces of Maratha Peshwa Balaji Rao I until it was ceded to the Marathas. The district was variously controlled by the Scindias or Holkars until in 1818, it came under British rule after the Third Anglo-Maratha War. In 1857,
Tatya Tope passed through the district during the rebellion. Various nationalist figures and freedom fighters arose in the Nimar region. After Independence the district became part of the newly-formed state of Madhya Pradesh. == Geography ==