Chaul

Chaul was a flourishing port on a tidal river of the northern Konkan. Known to ancient geographers and medieval merchants, it became the chief port of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. Its position attracted trade in horses and other goods from across the Arabian Sea. Downstream at Revdanda, the Portuguese established a separate settlement that became known as Lower Chaul.

In 1508 Portuguese ships fought a fleet commanded by Mir Hussein in the river at Chaul; Lourenço de Almeida, son of the Portuguese viceroy, was killed. The Portuguese later negotiated with Ahmadnagar, and in 1521 Governor Diogo Lopes de Sequeira obtained permission to build a fort at Lower Chaul. The fortified settlement endured later attacks and remained under Portuguese control until 1740. Across the river and along the estuary, the town and fort bore witness to a port shared and contested by the sultanate, European traders and neighbouring powers.