complex, with ruins from the reign of 7th century ruler
Harsha. Present-day Thanesar is located on an ancient mound. The mound (1km long and 750m wide) is known as
Harsh ka Tila (Mound of Harsha). It has ruins of structures built during the reign of
Harsha, seventh-century CE. Among the archaeological finds from the mound include
Painted Grey Ware shards in the pre-
Kushana levels and
Red Polished Ware from the post-
Gupta period. In the post-Gupta period, Sthanishvara was the capital of the
Vardhana dynasty, which ruled over a major part of
North India during the late-sixth and early-seventh centuries.
Prabhakarvardhana, fourth king of the Vardhana dynasty, had his capital at Thanesar. After his death in 606 CE, his eldest son
Rajyavardhana ascended the throne, who was later murdered by a rival, which led to Harsha ascending to the throne at age 16. In the following years, he conquered much of North India, extended to
Kamarupa, and eventually made
Kannauj his capital, and ruled until 647 CE. His biography
Harshacharita ("Deeds of Harsha") describes his association with Thanesar. Thanesar is listed in the
Ain-i-Akbari as a
pargana under the
sarkar of
Sirhind, producing a revenue of 7,850,803
dams for the imperial treasury and supplying a force of 1500 infantries and 50 cavalries. It had a brick fort at the time. Majority of architectural remains including
Karavan serai, cells, and various arched and vaulted structures date from the
Mughal period. Building remains of a large palatial structure from the pre-Islamic era were also found with two distinct phases of construction which exposed brick covered drains and rooms situated around a central courtyard.
Sack of Sthaneshwar by Mahmud of Gazni Thanesar was sacked and many of its temples were destroyed by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1011.
Firishta records that Mahmud, having reached Thanesar before the Hindus, had time to take measures for its defence; the city was plundered, the idols broken, and the idol Jugsoma was sent to
Ghazni to be trodden underfoot. According to Haji Mahommed Kandahary, a ruby was found in one of the temples weighing 450
mithqals. It was allowed by everyone who saw it to be a wonder that had never been heard of. About the attack on Thanesar,
Utbi wrote "The blood of the infidels flowed so copiously that the stream was discoloured, notwithstanding its purity, and people were unable to drink it." (1567)
British era For their participation in the
first war of independence, the
Chaudharys and
Lambardars of villages who participated in the
rebellion in Haryana were deprived of their land and property. 368 people from
Hisar and
Gurugram were hanged or transported for life, and fines were imposed on the people of Thanesar (
Rs 235,000),
Ambala (Rs. 253,541) and
Rohtak (Rs. 63,000 mostly on
Ranghars,
Shaikhs and
Muslim Kasai). == Tourism ==