Chunar Fort

The Chunar fort is situated in the Vindhya Range at a distance of about 45 odd km from Varanasi. The Chunar fort is located in the Mirzapur district. According to the Puranas the oldest name of Chunar was Charanadri as Lord Vishnu had taken his first step in his Vaman incarnation in the dynasty of Great king Bali. However Chunar came into prominence after the visit of Babar followed by Shershah Suri, Humayun, Akbar, Aurangzeb and finally the Britishers.

It is said that Maharaja Vikramaditya, the king of Ujjain established the fort of Chunar. According to the Alha Khand, King Sahadeo made this fort as his capital and established the statue of Naina Yogini in a cave of Vindhya hill. To commemorate his victory on 52 rulers, King Sahadeo built a stone umbrella inside the fort.

The Chunar fort became important for its association with the Mughal king, Babar and later Shershah Suri, who got the possession of the fort by marrying the wife of Taj Khan Sarang-Khani, the Governer of Ibrahim Lodi. In 1531 AD Humayun made an unsuccessful effort to capture this fort but later in 1574AD, Akbar the great captured this fort and since that very time it remained under the Mughals up to 1772AD. In the year 1772AD the East India Company captured the Chunar fort.