Chanderi

Chanderi lies among hills, lakes and forests southwest of the Betwa River. Its old Jain temples and the monuments of the Malwa sultans and Bundela Rajputs bear witness to the town's long history. The scholar al-Biruni mentioned Chanderi in 1030, when it was held by the later Pratihara kings. In 1438 Mahmud Khalji of Malwa took the town after a siege lasting several months.

Rana Sanga of Mewar later appointed Medini Rai, a former minister of Malwa, as ruler, and Chanderi became his capital. Babur captured its fort from Medini Rai; facing defeat, Rajput women performed jauhar, entering a fire before the final assault. The town passed through the hands of Sher Shah Suri and the Mughals before the Bundelas took it in 1586. Their family held Chanderi until its annexation by the Scindia ruler of Gwalior in 1811.