Editing Aligarh (section)

==History==
Written references to the city commence only from 12th century onward; however, archaeological records suggest that the town used to be inhabited by Jains.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Rezavi|first=Syed Ali Nadeem|date=24 September 2021|title=Aligarh or Harigarh?|url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/communalism/politics-of-renaming-aligarh-or-harigarh/article36287567.ece|journal=Frontline|pages=60–62|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102010712/https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/communalism/politics-of-renaming-aligarh-or-harigarh/article36287567.ece|archive-date=2 January 2022}}</ref> The area of Aligarh before the Ghurid conquest of the region was under the sway of [[Dor Rajputs]] in 12th century.<ref name="Chandra">{{Cite book|author=Satish Chandra|author-link=Satish Chandra (historian)|title=Medieval India:From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (1206-1526) |volume=1|publisher=Har-Anand Publications|year=2004 |isbn=978-8-12411-064-5 |pages=27|quote=The areas of Meerut, Baran (modern Buland sher) and Koil (modern Aligarh) in upper doab had been under the control of Dor Rajputs, had been occupied by the Turks shortly after the battle of Tarain|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L5eFzeyjBTQC&pg=PA27}}</ref>

In 1194, [[Qutb-ud-din Aibak]] mounted a successful invasion of the region and Hisam-ud-din Ulbak was installed as the first Muslim governor; court-historian [[Hasan Nizami]] noted Kol to be "one of the most celebrated fortresses of Hind".<ref name=":0" /> Beginning the 13th century, the place featured — as Kol or Koil — in multiple Persian (as well as non-Persian) [[Delhi Sultanate|Sultanate]] sources as a center of economic prominence, especially for production of distilled wine.<ref name="Chandra"/><ref name=":0" />{{efn|The origins of this name is unclear; it might have been the name of the inhabiting tribe or a mythological character or a local mountain.<ref name=":0" />}} By the mid-13th century, the town commanded enough importance for (would-be Sultan) [[Ghiyas ud din Balban]] to erect a minaret.<ref name=":0" />

Under the Khiljis and Tughlaqs, the prominence continued unabated; it had become an ''[[Iqta'#Mamluk sultanate of Delhi|iqta]]'' by the times of [[Alauddin Khalji]].<ref name=":0" />

Kol is mentioned in [[Ibn Battuta]]'s ''[[Rihla]]'', when Ibn Battuta, along with 15 ambassadors representing [[Toghon Temür|Ukhaantu Khan]], emperor of the [[Mongol Empire|Mongol]] Chinese [[Yuan dynasty]], travelled to Kol city en route to the coast at [[Cambay]] (in [[Gujarat]]) in 1341.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kol is mentioned in Ibn Battuta's Rihla |url=https://aligarh.nic.in/history/}}</ref><ref>The Adventures of Ibn Battuta, by [[Ross E. Dunn]], p. 215</ref> According to Battuta, it would appear that the district was then in a very disturbed state since the escort of the Emperor's embassy had to assist in relieving [[Jalali, Uttar Pradesh|Jalali]] from an attacking body of Hindus and lost an officer in the fight. Ibn Batuta calls Kol "a fine town surrounded by mango groves". From these same groves the environs of Kol would appear to have acquired the name ''Sabzabad'' or "the green country".{{citation needed|date=July 2018}}

In the reign of [[Akbar]], Kol was made a Sirkar and included the ''dasturs'' of Marahra, Kol ba Haveli, Thana Farida and Akbarabad.{{citation needed|date=July 2018}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=In the reign of Akbar, Koil was made a Sirkar and included the dasturs of Marahra, Kol ba Haveli, Thana Farida and Akbarabad |url=https://aligarh.nic.in/history/}}</ref> Akbar and [[Jahangir]] visited Kol on hunting expeditions. Jahangir clearly mentions the forest of Kol, where he killed wolves.<ref name="history_of_aligarh_site">{{cite web|title=Histor11|url=http://www.aligarhdirectory.com/history.php|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041011105835/http://www.aligarhdirectory.com/history.php|archive-date=11 October 2004|access-date=29 July 2015|publisher=Aligarhdirectory.com}}</ref>

During the time of [[Ibrahim Lodhi]], Muhammad, son of Umar, was the governor of Kol. He built a fort at Kol and named the city Muhammadgarh, after himself, in 1524–25. Sabit Khan, who was then the governor of this region, rebuilt the old Lodhi fort and named the town Sabitgarh, after himself.

The ruler of Koil was Bargujar King Bahadur Singh who, in 1753, rose against the destruction of Hindu temples.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The ruler of Koil was Bargujar King Rao Bahadur Singh |url=https://aligarh.nic.in/history/#:~:text=The%20ruler%20of%20Koil%20was,the%20destruction%20of%20Hindu%20temples.}}</ref> The [[Jat]] ruler, [[Surajmal]], with consent of [[Safdar Jang]], occupied the fort of Koil. Bahadur Singh continued the battle from another fort and died fighting in what is known as the "Battle of Ghasera". It was renamed Ramgarh and Rao Durjan Singh Poonia of Bijauli was made the kiledar of the fort.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Siddiqi|first=Jamal Muhammad|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KuwdAAAAMAAJ&q=bahadur+singh |title=Aligarh District: A Historical Survey, from Ancient Times to 1803 A.D.|date=1981|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal|isbn=978-0-8364-2355-6|pages=109–112}}</ref>  When a Persian Mughal [[Shia]] commander, [[Mirza Najaf Khan|Najaf Khan]], captured Ramgarh, he renamed it and gave it its present name of Aligarh.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Aligarh|first=Statistics|title=Aligarh Statistics|publisher=JR Hutchinson|year=1856|location=Aligarh}}</ref> [[Aligarh Fort]] (also called Aligarh Qila), as it stands today, was built by French engineers under the control of French officers [[Benoît de Boigne]] and [[Pierre Cuillier-Perron|Perron]].<ref name="history_of_aligarh_site"/>

===Battle of Aligarh (1803)===
[[File:Gerard Lake.jpg|thumbnail|150px|right|General [[Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake|Lord Gerard Lake]] who oversaw the [[Siege of Aligarh]]]]
The [[Battle of Aligarh]] was fought on 1 September 1803 during the [[Second Anglo-Maratha War]] (1803–1805) at [[Aligarh Fort]]. The British [[76th Regiment of Foot|76th Regiment]], now known as the [[The Duke of Wellington's Regiment|Duke of Wellington's Regiment]] besieged the fort, which was under the control of the French officer [[Pierre Cuillier-Perron|Perron]], and established British rule. In 1804, the Aligarh district was formed by the union of the second, third and fourth British divisions with the addition of Anupshahr from [[Moradabad|Muradabad]] and Sikandra Rao from [[Etawah|Etawa]]. On 1 August 1804, Claude Russell was appointed the first Collector of the new district.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O54IAAAAQAAJ&q=aligarh+russell&pg=PA348 |title=Descriptive and Historical Account of the Aligarh District |author=Edwin T. Atkinson |page=348 |year=1875 |access-date=13 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140705125841/http://books.google.com/books?id=O54IAAAAQAAJ&dq=aligarh+russell&as_brr=1&pg=PA348&ci=131,1035,783,115&source=bookclip |archive-date=5 July 2014 |url-status=live  }}</ref>