Belgaum – Erakina

➢ Belgaum was founded in the late 12th century AD by the Ratta Dynasty, founded in nearby Saundatti.

➢ The Ratta monk Bichiraja built the Kamal Basadi, a Jain temple dedicated to Neminatha in 1204, later known as the Kamalabasti.

➢ Columns found inside the Belgaum fort have Kannada inscriptions in Nagar text, one from 1199 of Ratta King Kartavirya IV.

➢ The real name of the city was Venugrama, a Sanskrit word meaning “bamboo valley”.

➢ Besides, it is called Venupura in the original Indian texts, which means “city of bamboo”.

➢ Belgaum became part of the Yadava (Sevunas) dynasty in the early 13th century.

➢ An inscription dated 1261 of King Krishna of the Yadava dynasty confirms this.

➢ The region was invaded by the Khalji dynasty of Delhi Sultanate in the 14th century.

➢ Shortly thereafter, the Kingdom of Vijayanagara was established in the Deccan plain.

➢ Belgaum came under the rule of Vijayanagara.

➢ In 1474, the Bahmani Sultanate defeated Belgaum with an army led by Mahamood Gawan.

➢ In 1518, the Bahamian monarchy split into five smaller provinces, and Belgaum became part of the Bijapur Sultanate.

➢ The Belgaum fort was fortified by the Sultan of Bijapur and they built the Safa Mosque.

➢ A Persian inscription states that the mosque was built by Asad Khan, the ruler of Bijapur.

➢ Earlier in the day, the Bijapur Sultanate extended its control to the port of Goa, but withdrew after coming to war with the Portuguese.

➢ In 1686, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb overthrew the Bijapur empire and Belgaum moved to the Mughals, whom he called “Azamnagar”.

➢ But Mughal rule lasted until 1707 – the death of Aurangzeb – and then the Maratha movement occupied Belgaum.

➢ It was under Marathais that Peshwas’ rule began.

➢ The Maratha coalition took power during the reign of the Peshwas.

➢ In 1776, the region was overthrown by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan after Hyder Ali’s uprising in the Mysore Empire.

➢ Pesha regained Belgaum, after Tipu Sultan was defeated by British troops.

➢ In 1818, the British annexed Belgaum and the province that ruled Pesha.