Patan

Patan, once called Anhilavada, was a great capital of Gujarat on the Saraswati River. Under the Chaulukya rulers it became a centre of commerce, learning and temple patronage. Its most celebrated monument is Rani ki Vav, an immense stepwell attributed to Queen Udayamati in memory of King Bhima I. Descending through storeys of carved pillars and galleries towards the water, the well is adorned with hundreds of sculptures of deities and celestial figures.

Jain scholars and merchants played an important part in the city’s life. The scholar Hemachandra served at the Chaulukya court and composed works on grammar, poetry and religion. After the Delhi Sultanate conquered Gujarat at the end of the thirteenth century, Patan remained an administrative centre. Early Gujarat sultans ruled from the city before Ahmad Shah founded Ahmedabad as his new capital in 1411. Though political power shifted, Patan retained its temples, stepwells and traditions of fine craftsmanship. Its patterned patola textiles, made using a demanding double-ikat technique, became renowned far beyond Gujarat.