Patan, Gujarat
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Patan [pronunciation] is a city in Gujarat state of western India. It is the administrative seat of Patan District.
History
Patan is an ancient fortified town, founded in 746 by Vanraj Chavda, the most prominent king of the Chavda Kingdom. He named the city Anhilpur Patan after his close friend and Prime Minister Anhil. The city was also known as Anhilwara in the Middle Ages. Patan enjoyed a privileged status of capital of Gujarat, for about 600 years from 746 to 1411. The major Rajput clans of Chavdas (746-942), Solankis (942-1244) and Vaghelas (1244-1304) ruled the Hindu Kingdom of Gujarat from Patan.Patan was the home of the great scholar and author Hemachandra, a Jain Acharya who lived duing (1089 -1172).
Historian Tertius Chandler estimates that Anhilwara was the tenth-largest city in the world in the year 1000, with a population of approximately 100,000.
Muhammad of Ghor attacked the city in the 1180s, but was rebuffed by the Solankis; Muhammed's general (and later Sultan of Delhi) Qutb-ud-din Aybak sacked the city between 1200 and 1210, and it was destroyed by the sultans in 1298. After the collapse of the Delhi Sultanate at the end of the 14th century Gujarat became an independent Sultanate, and Sultan Ahmed Shah moved the capital to Ahmedabad.
The modern town of Patan later sprung up near the ruins of Anhilwara, and contains many Jain temples. Patan was part of the Maratha state of Baroda from the mid-eighteenth century until India's independence in 1947, when Baroda became part of Bombay state, which in 1960 was separated into Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Rani ki vav
During the period of the Solanki or Chalukya , the stepwell called the Rani ki vav, or Ran-ki vav (Queen’s step well) was constructed. It is a richly sculptured monument.It is generally assumed that it was built in the memory of Bhimdev I (A.D. 1022 to 1063) son of Mularaja, the founder of the Solanki dynasty of Anahilwada Pattan in about 1050 A.D. by his widowed queen Udayamati.
It was probably completed by Udayamati and Karandev I after his death. A reference to Udayamati building the monument is in the 'Prabandha Chintamani' composed by Merunga Suri in 1304 AD.
It was one of the largest and the most sumptuous structures of its type. It became silted up and much of it is not visible now, except for some rows of sculptured panels in the circular part of the well. Among its ruins one pillar still stands which is the proof not only of the elegance of its design, but also excellent example of this period. A part only of the west well is extant from which it appears that the wall had been built of brick and faced with stone. From this wall project vertical bracket in pairs, this supported the different galleries of the well shaft proper. This bracketing is arranged in tires and is richly carved.
Most of the sculpture is in devotion to Vishnu, in the forms of his avataras (Krishna, Rama and others), representing their return to the world.
The modern city
Presently, Patan is home to the Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University. Patan is a prominent medical centre in the north Gujarat with almost 200 practicing medical professionals. Patan serves as a central market place for local farmers.
Patan is also a tourist destination with a rich religious and cultural history and landmarks. Patan has numerous Hindu and Jain temples as well as Muslim mosques.
References
Chandler, Tertius. 1987. Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth: An Historical Census. St. David's University Press.
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