Banda

Banda stands on the Ken River in Bundelkhand, with the fort of Bhuragarh on the opposite bank. It became a centre of the Bundela chiefs and later of a line of nawabs connected to the Maratha Peshwas. The river and its crossings placed the town within the network of forts and territories contested by Bundela, Maratha and Mughal powers.

After the death of the Bundela chief Chhatrasal, his son Jagat Raj received territory around Banda. In 1791 Ali Bahadur, a descendant of Peshwa Baji Rao, took control of the town and became Nawab of Banda. He died during an attempt to capture Kalinjar in 1802. His son Shamsher Bahadur made Banda his residence but was defeated by British forces and accepted their supremacy in 1804.