Etawah

Etawah stands on the Yamuna near the country where it meets the Chambal. The surrounding region once formed part of ancient Panchala, and local traditions connect nearby Chakarnagar with the Mahabharata. In the centuries after the Ghurid conquest of northern India, Rajput clans settled across the district while the rulers of Delhi and Gwalior sought authority over it.

In 1400–1401 Mallu Iqbal Khan marched into the region and defeated Rai Sumar Singh of Etawah and other local landholders near the Kali Nadi. During Akbar's reign the district was granted as a jagir to Bahadur Khan. Much later, in 1801, the Nawab of Awadh ceded Etawah and other territories of the lower Doab to the British, though disputes with local landholders continued into the following years.