Khambhat Cambay | |
|---|---|
City | |
.jpg) Tower Road, Khambhat | |
| Nickname: Trambavati Nagari | |
  Khambhat | |
| Coordinates:22°18′N72°37′E / 22.3°N 72.62°E /22.3; 72.62 | |
| Country | India |
| State | Gujarat |
| District | Anand |
| Government | |
| • Type | Nagar Palika |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,932.9 km2 (1,132.4 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 99,164 (M+OG) |
| • Density | 620/km2 (1,600/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Gujarati |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PINs | 388620, 388625, 388630, 388540 |
| Telephone code | 02698 |
| Vehicle registration | GJ 23 |
| Website | khambhatnagarpalika |
Khambhat (/kɑːmˈbɑːt/,Gujarati:[kʰəmbʱɑt]ⓘ), also known asCambay, is a city and the surroundingurban agglomeration inAnand district in theIndianstate ofGujarat.[1] It was once an important trading center, but its harbour gradually silted up, and the maritime trade moved toSurat. Khambat lies on an alluvial plain at the north end of theGulf of Khambhat, noted for the extreme rise and fall of its tides, which can vary as much as thirty feet in the vicinity of Khambat. Khambat is known for its halvasan sweet,sutarfeni,akik stone andkites (patang), and for sources of oil and gas.
Khambat is perhaps the only place in India where theHarappan craft of agate bead making is found in the living tradition. Surprisingly Khambat has no stone deposits; the craft has survived mainly through acquiring stones from theRajpipla hills, about 200 km away from the city. In the folklore of Khambat, the beginning of the craft is attributed to Baba Ghor, a 1500 AD saint from Ethiopia (Habash) who had led a large contingent of Muslims (Siddi) to settle in the city. However, in the archaeological record the origin of the craft can be traced to nearbyLothal, a Harappan outpost that flourished about 4000 years ago.
Some people believe that the City of Khambat may be the Camanes ofPtolemy.James Tod believed that the name comes from theSanskrit Khambavati or 'City of the Pillar'.
Cambay was formerly a flourishing city, the seat of an extensive trade, and celebrated for its manufactures ofsilk,chintz and gold stuffs.[7] The Arab traveleral-Mas'udi visited the city in 915 AD, describing it as a very successful port; it was mentioned in 1293 byMarco Polo, who, calling it Cambaet, noted it as a busy port. He mentions that the city had its own king.Indigo and finebuckram were particular products of the region, but much cotton and leather was exported through Cambay. In the early 1340s, the Moroccan travellerIbn Battuta remarked on its impressive architecture and cosmopolitan population.[8]
"Cambay is one of the most beautiful cities as regards the artistic architecture of its houses and the construction of its mosques. The reason is that the majority of its inhabitants are foreign merchants, who continually build there beautiful houses and wonderful mosques -- an achievement in which they endeavour to surpass each other."
An Italian traveler,Marino Sanudo, said that Cambeth was one of India's main two ocean ports. Another Italian, visiting in about 1440,Niccolò de' Conti, mentions that the walls of the city were twelve miles in circumference.
The Portuguese explorerDuarte Barbosa visited the city, which he calls Cambaia, in the early sixteenth century.[9]His description of the city is very full. He states:
"Entering by Guindarim [Gandhar port,Bharuch],[10] which is within on the river, there is a great and fair city called Cambaia in which dwell both 'mouros' [Muslims] and 'gentios' [Hindus]. Therein are many fair houses, very lofty, with windows and roofed with tiles in our manner, well laid out with streets and fine open places, and great buildings of stone and mortar."[11](translation of[9])
He describes the city as very busy and affluent, with merchants coming frequently by sea from the world around. Duarte Barbosa also noted that many ships from the Kingdom of Cambaya sailed to theSultanate of Mogadishu in theHorn of Africa with cloths and spices for which they in return receivedgold,wax andivory.[12]
Owing principally to the gradually increasing difficulty of access by water by the silting up of the gulf, its commerce has long since fallen away, and the City became poor and dilapidated. Thespring tides rise upwards of 30 ft (10 m) and in a channel usually so shallow that it is a serious danger to shipping. By 1900, the trade was chiefly confined to the export ofcotton. The City was celebrated for its manufacture ofagate andcarnelian ornaments, of reputation, principally inChina.[7]
The houses in many instances are built of stone (a circumstance which indicates the former wealth of the city, as the material had to be brought from a very considerable distance); and remains of a brick wall, three miles (five km) in circumference, which formerly surrounded the City, enclose four large reservoirs of good water and threebazaars. To the southeast there are very extensive ruins of subterranean temples and other buildings half-buried in the sand by which the ancient City was overwhelmed. These temples belong to theJains and contain two massive statues of their deities: one black, the other white. The principal one, as the inscription intimates, is Pariswanath or Parswanath, carved in the reign of the emperorAkbar; the black one has the date of 1651 inscribed.[7]
A few members of Shia community settled in Khambhat during 18th century from Iran. Among these the most known was Nawab Mohammed Jaffar Ali Khan Najamesani and his son Nawab Yavar Ali khan Najamesani. Nawab Yavar Ali khan Najamesani ruled 84 villages when he was crowned as a Nawab. Nawab Yavar Ali Khan was titled Sarkar Sahab (Governing Prince), because he was able to maintain peace and unity. The name Cambay to Khambhat was also given by Nawab Yavar Ali Khan during Pre-independence period. Nawab Yavar Ali Khan died in July 1996. His family still lives in Khambhat.[citation needed]
The traders and the merchants reached here from across the world. Cambay was known for its cotton and silk cloths. Cambay was one of India's most activetrade center since the 14th century (Source:Ibn Battuta). After 200 years,Duarte Barbosa described Cambay as an important commercial center withcarpets, and other textile goods in Mughal establishedindustries.[13]
Cambay was famous for its cloth manufacturing and trading activities. There were certain coarse cotton cloths which were called Cambay cloth.[14] For instance, the checked cloths.[15] There are records of extensive trading of Gujarati Cambay cloth.[16][17]
Khambat was the capital ofCambay State, aprincely state ofBritish India. It was the only state in the Kaira Agency of the Gujarat division of theBombay Presidency. It had an area of 350 sq mi (910 km2). It was founded in 1730, at the time of the dismemberment of theMughal Empire. The Nawabs of Cambay were descendants of Mumin Khan, the last of the Mughal governors ofGujarat, who in 1742 defeated his brother-in-law Nizam Khan, governor of Khambhat,[7] and established himself there.[18]
The sport ofcricket in India was first played inCambay State in 1721.[19]
In 1780 Cambay was taken by the army of general Goddard Richards, but it was restored to theMarathas in 1783. Finally it was ceded to the British by thePeshwa under the treaty of 1803. The state was provided with a railway in 1901.[7]
Khambhat is at22°18′N72°37′E / 22.3°N 72.62°E /22.3; 72.62.[20] It has an average elevation of 8 metres (26 ft).
Khambhat has warm and humid climate. It is located on the plains. The land on which Khambhat sits is the silt deposited by theMahi River, so Khambhat has very fertile, wet coastal alluvial soil. The area south of Khambhat is muddy wetlands and then coast line comes. Normally April to June is summer. From July, it rains until September. It has a muggy climate for most of the year except winters. Sometimes Khambhat receives heavy rain, and surrounding areas get affected from floods in theMahi River. Mid November to January is winter, which results in essentially mild cold during the nights and early mornings with warm noons. Maximum average temperatures are 25 to 30 °C (77 to 86 °F) and minimum average temperatures are 10 to 12 °C (50.0 to 53.6 °F). Summer average maxima are 38 °C or 100.4 °F and minima around 22 °C or 71.6 °F. In summer, high winds are common. Khambhat coast's tides are among the highest in the world at up to 35 feet or 10.7 metres.[21]
As of 2011 Indiacensus,[22] Khambhat had a population of 201,964. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Khambhat has an average literacy rate of 73%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 78%, and female literacy is 67%. In Khambhat, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.
In the 14th and 15th centuries, Khambhat was well known for Muslim gravestones carved in marble which were exported to various locations along the Indian Ocean rim, including Southeast Asia.[23]
Many here are in theagate business,diamond cutting-polishing and colored stone business (mainlyruby), and have shops which sell eatables and household products. Kite making is another important business in the City among few particular communities. Fishing and salt harvesting are other businesses some particular communities are occupied with.
Khambhat is connected withAnand by Railway Line.Total 8 trains depart per day forAnand.
Khambhat is connected withAhmedabad,Kheda,Tarapur,Dharmaj,Vataman,Petlad,Nadiad,Anand (State Highway 16 of Gujarat)
Bus Service (GSRTC)
Khambhat is well connected toAhmedabad by GSRTC Bus service route calledAhmedabad - Khambhat.(ViaKheda,Matar,Tarapur) Daily Service To Connect Mega City Of Gujarat.
In May 2001, India's Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Science and Technology division,Murli Manohar Joshi, announced that the ruins of an ancient civilization had been discovered off the coast of Gujarat, in theGulf of Khambhat. The site was discovered byNIOT while they performed routine pollution studies usingSONAR, and was described as an area of regularly spaced geometric structures. It is located 20 km from the Gujarat coast, spans 9 km, and can be found at a depth of 30–40 meters. In his announcement, Joshi represented the site as an urban settlement that pre-dates theIndus Valley civilization. However, these claims were made without the backing of any experts and have since been debunked by prominent archaeologists.[24]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cambay".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 81.
Media related toKhambhat at Wikimedia Commons
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