from Navdatoli, Malwa, 1300 BCE. and
Lakshmi (Ujjain, –75 BC) Several early Stone Age or
Lower Paleolithic habitations have been excavated in eastern Malwa. The name
Malwa is derived from the name of the ancient Indian tribe of
Malavas. The name
Malava is said to be derived from the Sanskrit term
Malav, which means "part of the abode of
Lakshmi". The location of the Malwa or
Moholo, mentioned by the 7th-century Chinese traveller
Xuanzang, is plausibly identified with present-day Gujarat. The region is cited as
Malibah in
Arabic records, such as
Kamilu-t Tawarikh by Ibn Asir. The
Malwa Culture was a
Chalcolithic archaeological culture which existed in the Malwa region, as well as nearby parts of
Maharashtra to the south, during the 2nd millennium BCE.
Ujjain, also known historically as
Ujjaiyini and
Avanti, emerged as the first major centre in the Malwa region during India's second wave of
urbanisation in the 7th century BC (the first wave was the
Indus Valley Civilization). Around 600 BCE an earthen rampart was built around Ujjain, enclosing a city of considerable size. Ujjain was the capital city of the
Avanti kingdom, one of the prominent
mahajanapadas of ancient India. In the post-
Mahabharata period—around 500 BCE—
Avanti was an important kingdom in western India; it was ruled by the
Haihayas, a people who were responsible for the destruction of Naga power in
western India. The region was conquered by the
Nanda Empire in the mid-4th century BCE, and subsequently became part of the
Maurya Empire.
Ashoka, who was later a Mauryan emperor, was governor of Ujjain in his youth. After the death of Ashoka in 232 BCE, the Maurya Empire began to collapse. Although evidence is sparse, Malwa was probably ruled by the
Kushanas, the
Shakas and the
Satavahana dynasty during the 1st and 2nd century CE. Ownership of the region was the subject of dispute between the
Western Kshatrapas and the
Satavahanas during the first three centuries AD. Ujjain emerged a major trading centre during the 1st century CE. Pavilion at
Mandu, built by
Miyan Bayezid Baz Bahadur (1555–62) Malwa became part of the
Gupta Empire during the reign of
Chandragupta II (375–413), also known as
Vikramaditya, who conquered the region, driving out the
Western Kshatrapas. The Gupta period is widely regarded as a golden age in the history of Malwa, when Ujjain served as the empire's western capital. The astronomer
Varahamihira was based in Ujjain, which emerged as a major centre of learning, especially in
astronomy and
mathematics. Around 500, Malwa re-emerged from the dissolving
Gupta Empire as a separate kingdom; in 528,
Yasodharman of Malwa defeated the
Hunas, who had invaded India from the north-west. During the seventh century, the region became part of
Harsha's empire, who disputed the region with the
Chalukya king
Pulakesin II of
Badami in the
Deccan. During his reign the
Buddhist pilgrim monk
Xuanzang had visited India and mentions seeing a hundred Buddhist monasteries along with a same number of Deva temples of different kinds with the adherents of
Pashupata Shaivism making a majority. He also states that there were two places in India that were remarkable for the great learning of the people, viz., Malwa and
Magadha. The people there esteemed virtue, were of an intelligent mind and exceedingly studious. In 756 AD
Gurjara-Pratiharas advanced into Malwa. In 786 the region was captured by the
Rashtrakuta kings of the Deccan, and was disputed between the Rashtrakutas and the Gurjara Pratihara kings of
Kannauj until the early part of the tenth century. The Emperors of the
Rashtrakuta dynasty appointed the
Paramara rulers as governors of Malwa. From the mid-tenth century, Kingdom of Malwa was ruled by the
Paramaras, who established a capital at
Dhar. King
Bhoja, who ruled from about 1010 to 1060, was known as the great
polymath philosopher-king of medieval India; his extensive writings cover philosophy, poetry, medicine, architecture, construction,
town planning,
veterinary science,
phonetics,
yoga, and
archery. Malwa became an intellectual centre of India, and became home to a major astronomical observatory, attracting scholars from all over India including
Bhāskara II. His successors ruled until about 1305, when Malwa was
conquered by the Delhi Sultanate. Malwa was several times invaded by the south Indian
Western Chalukya Empire. at their height
Dilawar Khan, previously Malwa's governor under the rule of the Delhi sultanate, declared himself sultan of Malwa in 1401 after the
Mughal conqueror
Timur attacked
Delhi, causing the break-up of the sultanate into smaller states. Khan started the
Malwa Sultanate and established a capital at
Mandu, high in the
Vindhya Range overlooking the
Narmada River valley. His son and successor,
Hoshang Shah (1405–35), developed Mandu as an important city. Hoshang Shah's son, Ghazni Khan, ruled for only a year and was succeeded by
Mahmud Khalji (1436–69), the first of the
Khalji sultans of Malwa, who expanded the state to include parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan, and the
Deccan. The Muslim sultans invited the
Rajputs to settle in the country. Rajputs from various clans came and settled in Malwa. They came from different parts of
Rajasthan,
Gujarat, and many other regions of India. In the early 16th century, the sultan sought the aid of the sultans of Gujarat to counter the growing power of the Rajputs, while the Rajputs sought the support of the
Sesodia Rajput kings of
Mewar. During that time Much of the Malwa was conquered by
Rana Sanga of
Mewar who appointed one of his close allies
Medini Rai as ruler of Malwa under his lordship.
Chanderi was capital of his kingdom.After the defeat of
Rajput confederation in
Battle of Khanwa near
Agra against
Babur which was fought for Supremacy of
Northern India between
Rajputs and
Mughals.
Babur then sieged
Chanderi offering Shamsabad to Medini rai instead of Chanderi as it was the capital of his kingdom and was of great importance but Rai refused
Babur's offer and chose to die. He was defeated by
Babur in January 1528 at
Battle of Chanderi and
Babur conquered the fort.
Gujarat stormed Mandu in 1518. In 1531,
Bahadur Shah of Gujarat, captured Mandu, executed Mahmud II (1511–31), and shortly after that, the Malwa sultanate collapsed. The
Mughal emperor
Akbar captured Malwa in 1562 and made it a
subah (province) of his empire. The
Malwa Subah existed from 1568 to 1743. Mandu was abandoned by the 17th century. During the 17th century much of Western Malwa was held by the
Rathors of the Ratanawat branch. The Ratanawats later broke into several states which later became
Ratlam State,
Sitamau State and
Sailana State. Some of the lesser states were
Multhan and
Kachi-Baroda. As the Mughal state weakened after 1700, the
Marathas held sway over Malwa under leadership of
Chimnaji Appa,
Nemaji Shinde and
Chimnaji Damodar were the first
Maratha generals to cross the boundary of
Maharashtra and to invade in Malwa in 1698. Subsequently,
Malhar Rao Holkar (1694–1766) became leader of Maratha armies in Malwa in 1724, and in 1733 the Maratha
Peshwa granted him control of most of the region, which was formally ceded by the Mughals in 1738.
Ranoji Scindia, noted Maratha commander, established his headquarters at Ujjain in 1721.. This capital was later moved to
Gwalior State by
Daulatrao Scindia. Another Maratha general, Anand Rao
Pawar, established himself as the Raja of
Dhar in 1742, and the two Pawar brothers became Rajas of
Dewas State. At the end of the 18th century, Malwa became the venue of fighting between the rival Maratha powers and the headquarters of the
Pindaris, who were irregular plunderers. The Pindaris were rooted out in a campaign by the British general
Lord Hastings, and further order was established under
Sir John Malcolm. The
Holkar dynasty ruled Malwa from
Indore and
Maheshwar on the
Narmada until 1818, when the Marathas were defeated by the British in the
Third Anglo-Maratha War, and the Holkars of Indore became a
princely state of the
British Raj. After 1818 the British organised the numerous princely states of central India into the
Central India Agency; the Malwa Agency was a division of
Central India, with an area of and a population of 1,054,753 in 1901. It comprised the states of
Dewas State (
senior and
junior branch),
Jaora,
Ratlam,
Sitamau and
Sailana, together with a large part of
Gwalior, parts of Indore and
Tonk, and about 35 small estates and holdings. Political power was exercised from
Neemuch. Upon
Indian independence in 1947, the Holkars and other princely rulers acceded to India, and most of Malwa became part of the new state of
Madhya Bharat, which was merged into Madhya Pradesh in 1956. == Geography ==