History of Hisar

Present day Hisar city of Haryana has its golden past. Serving as the administrative headquarters of the Hisar district, this city is one of the fast growing urban establishments in the northwestern part of the country. This city is famous for its historical monuments, parks, trade & business units and most importantly its historic importance portrayed from various monuments that are landmarks in the region for the explorers of region’s history.

Origin of the name

Hisar was once known as Hisar-e-Firoza by its Turkic ruler founder Firuz Shah Tughlaq in the year 1354 AD. Although it had remained one of the inhabited places even before Tughlak’s rule but its name is derived from the name he gave to this region. Previous names are not in record hence Hisar-e-Firoza remained the name of the region which with time was limited only to Hisar.

Ancient History of Hisar

Repeated archeological excavations in and around modern day Hisar especially the Rakhigarhi, Siswal and Lohari Ragho locations indicated the presence of human habitation. Research findings concluded their existence since pre-Harappan period. So were found out the signs of the Aryan settlements nearby Drsadvati River in Haryana. It is believed that the Kingdom of Hisar had its capital at Agroha that had active role to support Chandragupta Maurya to fight with Greek rulers. The discoveries of Ashokan pillars in city’s vicinity are the indications of this region having been ruled by the Mauryas.

Medieval History of Hisar

Hisar came into limelight with the advent of Tughlaq dynasty. Two other important periods in the history of Hisar after Tughlaqs were the Mughal rule in 16th century and the British in 19th century until country attained freedom and this region remained part of Punjab and then Haryana state thereafter. Name of the modern Hisar city is derived from its early rulers Firoz Shah Tughlaq who founded it in the year 1354 AD. The ruler of the Sultanate of Delhi named it Hisar-e-Firoza and took many steps to develop this region. The walled fort with four gates namely Delhi gate; Mori Gate; Nagori Gate and Talaqi gate still remains biggest landmark in this region. Constructed in 1356 AD the fort had Firoz Shah Palace in its complex. Other buildings of this complex like Baradari, Lat ki Masjid, Diwan-e-Aam and Shahi Darwaza are notable attractions tyoday.

Mughal Rule in Hisar

Hisar was part of Ibrahm Lodi’s empire and served as a strategic center. . Prince Humayun showed bravery and defeated the troops led by Hamid Khan. Once Mughals controlled the area Humayun was given charge to rule it and develop it further. Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun in 1540 and took control of Hisar. By 1555, Humayun fought back and took it back. This region flourished faster during the period of Mughal King Akbar (1556–1605). It remained under the control of Mughals until 1760 and was later denoted with the Duke of Wellington of Mughal era in the Indian history.

British Era of Hisar

Irish adventurer cum independent king, George Thomas occupied Hisar in 1798 and made Hansi the capital of his small kingdom to rule till 1801 when Sikh-Maratha-French confederacy drove him away. By 1802, Hansi was merged into British East India Company rule hence it became the part of the British rulers thereafter. By 1832, Hisar became headquarters from where British began to control the region. This area became the key center of Indian independence movement that began through Indian Rebellion of 1857 until country attained freedom from the foreign rulers.

Post-Independence Hisar

Unification of Hisar with Indian Punjab state was completed post-independence which paved the way for its further growth and industrialization. Once Punjab was divided in the year 1966, Hisar city came under the newly carved out Haryana state and became one of its developed districts. Present day Hisar city serves as district headquarters as well as region’s most important urban area. It emerged into a prominent center of education while the then Veterinary College namely Fateh Chand College for Women and Dayanand Brahma Mahavidyalaya had to be moved from Lahore to this city due to former becoming part of newly carved out country Pakistan. Several educational institutions including reputed educational Haryana Agriculture University, Guru Jambheshwar University and Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences were established in Hisar thereafter.Besides emerging into educational hub in the region, Hisar has also turned into industrially developed city in the country once government's industrial policy was implemented. Today Hisar remains one of the famous industrial hubs in India with global reputation.