Ahar, Uttar Pradesh

2025-08-22T04:18:38Z

2409:40D0:14CD:FF6:656F:4786:586C:8611:

{{Short description|Village in Uttar Pradesh, India}}
{{use Indian English|date=January 2018}}
{{use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Ahar
| native_name =
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| settlement_type = Village
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| pushpin_map = India Uttar Pradesh
| pushpin_label_position = right
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| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Uttar Pradesh, India
| coordinates = {{coord|28.464301|N|78.247828|E|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = [[India]]
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Uttar Pradesh]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of districts of India|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Bulandshahr district|Bulandshahr]]
| subdivision_type3 = [[Tehsil]]
| subdivision_name3 = [[Anupshahr]]
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| timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5:30
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'''Ahar''' ('''Ahar Mahadev''') is a village situated in the [[Anupshahr]] Tehsil of the [[Bulandshahr district]] in [[Uttar Pradesh]], India. It is located 11.98 kilometres from the Mandal headquarters in Anupshahr and is 39.09 kilometres from the district headquarters in [[Bulandshahar]].

There is a dargah in Ahar which is very famous since ancient times, Dargah Syed Ali Hussain Shah, and Syed Ajaj Hussain Shah, in whose memory Urs is celebrated with great pomp every year.

Villages nearby include Mohammadpur Bangar (2.4 km), Bamanpur (2.9 km), [[Aurangabad, Bulandshahr|Aurangabad Tahapur Bager]] (3.5 km), Mauharsa (3.6 km), Daravar (4.0 km), Hasanpur Bangar (4.1 km), and Pachdevra (4.7 km). Ahar is located on the west bank of the [[Ganges]] and is known for its temples dedicated to [[Shiva]] and Avantika.

== History ==
Ahar is identified with the early medieval city of '''Tattānandapura''', which is described in 10 different inscriptions ranging between 867 and 904 CE. Most of these deal with the purchase of houses and house sites in the city, mostly by the local temple of Kāñcanaśrīdevī. Although fragmentary, evidence from the Ahar inscriptions provides a picture of what Tattānandapura was like at the time.<ref name="Chattopadhyaya 1994"/>{{rp|134, 44}}

The inscriptions show that Tattānandapura belonged to the [[Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty|Gurjara-Pratihāra empire]] during this period. They also refer to Tattānandapura as a ''[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/पट्टन#Sanskrit paṭṭana]'', referring to a larger town as opposed to a village (''grāma'', ''pallī'', ''agrahāra''), so it must have been a decently large settlement.<ref name="Chattopadhyaya 1994"/>{{rp|134}}

The eastern market area (''purvahaṭṭa pradeśa'') seems to have been "one of the nerve centres of the town". It was lined with shops and residential buildings. Its description as specifically the "eastern" market area implies that others existed.<ref name="Chattopadhyaya 1994"/>{{rp|135}}

Six temples are mentioned in the inscriptions: one of Kāñcanaśrīdevī, or Kanakadevī; one of Nandabhagavatidevī; one of Vāmanasvāmin; one of Gandhadevī; one of [[Dashavatara|Daśāvatāra]]; and one of Sarvamaṅgalā. Those of Kāñcanaśrīdevī and Nandabhagavatidevī, at least, are described as being somewhat away from the town proper. Both of these temples also owned property in the eastern market area.<ref name="Chattopadhyaya 1994"/>{{rp|135}}

Several different types of streets are mentioned in the inscriptions: ''kurathyā'' (small, narrow streets), ''bṛhadrathyā'' (large streets), and ''haṭṭamārga'' (streets leading to the marketplace). These terms are also used in other contemporary sources, so they were probably considered functionally distinct types of streets, but their exact definitions are unknown.<ref name="Chattopadhyaya 1994"/>{{rp|134-5}}

Two basic types of building are referred to in the inscriptions: the ''āvāri'' (shops and enclosures) and the ''gṛha'' (residential buildings). In some cases, the ''āvāri''s seem to have been combined shops and houses, with some having inner apartments.<ref name="Chattopadhyaya 1994"/>{{rp|135}} Both kinds of buildings were made of burnt brick and had wooden doors with [[padlock]]s. Their typical size, according to inscriptions, was about 27 [[cubit]]s long.<ref name="Thakur 1998"/>{{rp|295}} Frequently, inscriptions describe contiguous groups of houses (''gṛhabhūmi''s) inhabited by people from different caste groups.<ref name="Chattopadhyaya 1994"/>{{rp|135}}

The city had an active merchant community, with commercial ties to various places. These included the Varkkaṭavaṇik community from Bhillamāla (present-day [[Bhinmal]] in Rajasthan), the Gandhikavaṇik community from [[Mathura|Mathurā]], and also merchants from an unidentified place called Apāpura. Another important community, and possibly the most prominent at Tattānandapura, was the Sauvarṇikavaṇikmahājana.<ref name="Chattopadhyaya 1994"/>{{rp|140-1}} There were also [[kshatriya|kṣatriya]] merchants at Tattānandapura.<ref name="Thakur 1998">{{cite journal |last1=Thakur |first1=Renu |title=The Nature and Role of the "Pattana" in Early Medieval India |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |date=1998 |volume=59 |pages=293-300 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44147000 |access-date=8 May 2023}}</ref>{{rp|295}}

According to [[Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya]], Tattānandapura evolved as an urban centre because it had already served as a local commercial centre, leading to the clustering of multiple ''haṭṭa''s in a close area. The city was formed as an agglomeration of these ''haṭṭa''s along with residential areas.<ref name="Chattopadhyaya 1994"/>{{rp|139}}

Archaeological mounds at Ahar cover an area of 3800 acres and span almost a mile and a half in length. Site B, which is dated to the 9th century, contained such finds as burnt-brick residences, high-quality pottery samples, hand-powered [[mill (grinding)|grinding mill]]s, a [[mortar and pestle|mortar]], an iron scythe, and at least three different varieties of coins.<ref name="Chattopadhyaya 1994">{{cite book |last1=Chattopadhyaya |first1=Brajadulal |author-link=Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya |title=The Making of Early Medieval India |date=1994 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New Delhi |isbn=0-19-564076-4 |url=https://ia801503.us.archive.org/28/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.117938/2015.117938.The-Making-Of-Early-Medieval-India.pdf |access-date=17 July 2023}}</ref>{{rp|135-6}}

== See also ==
*[[Ahar-Banas culture]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Villages in Bulandshahr district]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Uttar Pradesh]]

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Ahar, Uttar Pradesh