Kalam

Kalam, now Kalamb in the Yavatmal country of Vidarbha, was an important fortress of Berar. Under the Bahmani sultans it guarded the northern part of this district alongside Mahur. The garrisons stood on the approaches to the Gond kingdom of Chanda, making the fort a point of contact and conflict between the sultanate and its southern neighbours.

During Ahmad Shah Bahmani's reign, local rebels took Kalam and Mahur, apparently with support or encouragement from Chanda. The sultan recovered Mahur and then Kalam, using the latter as the departure point for an expedition into Gond territory. In 1596 Berar was ceded to the Mughals, and the administrative account in the Ain-i-Akbari listed Kalam as one of its sarkars, or revenue districts. Later, Maratha expansion brought another set of claims. Shahu granted Parasoji Bhonsle authority over several Berar centres including Kalamb, whose sarkar then contained nineteen villages. Kalam's importance thus rested on both a stronghold and a revenue jurisdiction.