Prayagraj
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Prayagraj,
formerlyAllahabad
(ăl'əhəbăd`, –bäd`), city (1991 pop. 844,546), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India. It is a district administrative headquarters and trading center and has an airport and a university. Prayagraj is located at the junction of two sacred rivers, the Yamuna and the Ganges, on the site of Prayag, an ancient Indo-Aryan holy city. The confluence is known as Sangam and is visited by thousands of Hindu pilgrims every 12 years. The oldest monument is a pillar (c.242 B.C.) with inscriptions from the reign of AśokaAśokaor Ashoka,
d. c.232 B.C., Indian emperor (c.273–c.232 B.C.) of the Maurya dynasty; grandson of Chandragupta. One of the greatest rulers of ancient India, he brought nearly all India, together with Baluchistan and Afghanistan, under one sway for the
..... Click the link for more information. . The Mughal emperor AkbarAkbar
, 1542–1605, Mughal emperor of India (1556–1605); son of Humayun, grandson of Babur. He succeeded to the throne under a regent, Bairam Khan, who rendered loyal service in expanding and consolidating the Mughal domains before he was summarily dismissed (1560) by
..... Click the link for more information. founded (late 16th cent.) the fortress and city of Ilahabas or Ilahabad there, which was later renamed Allahbad. The city was the scene of much fighting in the Indian MutinyIndian Mutiny,
1857–58, revolt that began with Indian soldiers in the Bengal army of the British East India Company but developed into a widespread uprising against British rule in India. It is also known as the Sepoy Rebellion, sepoys being the native soldiers.
..... Click the link for more information. (1857). Allahabad was the capital of the United ProvincesUnited Provinces,
former state, N India, now almost coextensive with the modern state of Uttar Pradesh. The United Provinces embraced the plain of the Ganges, the heartland of India. This region was the scene of the ancient Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
..... Click the link for more information. from 1901 to 1949 and the center of the Indian independence movement. Allahabad was renamed Prayagraj by the state government in 2018, and the change was formally approved by the national government in 2019. There is a museum on the estate of the NehruNehru, Jawaharlal
, 1889–1964, Indian statesman, b. Allahabad (now Priyagraj); son of Motilal Nehru. A politician and statesman of great skill, Nehru was enormously popular in India.
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