Kalpi

Kalpi stands on the southern bank of the Yamuna, at a crossing between the northern plains and Bundelkhand. Its river frontage and fort made it a valued centre for rulers seeking control of the approaches to central India. The town passed through the hands of the Delhi sultans and became the seat of a short-lived independent kingdom during the fragmentation of their authority.

Around 1390 Mahmud established his capital at Kalpi, naming the city Muhammadabad; his dynasty ruled for roughly half a century. The town later came under Mughal authority, then passed to the Marathas in the eighteenth century. British forces captured Kalpi in 1803, and it remained in their possession after 1806. Its history reflects the changing powers that sought to command the Yamuna crossing and the country beyond it.