History

Origin of Name of District

The district is named after the headquarters town of Fatehpur. The name, according to local tradition, is derived from a battle won by Ibrahim Shah of Jaunpur over Raja Sita Nand of Athgarhia. The belief is based solely on tradition and the name of the conqueror is sometimes given as Jalal-ud-din, the ruler of Bengal. Another derivation of the name is traced to Fateh-mand Khan who is supposed to have founded the town. It is based on a frag-mentary inscription found at Denda Sai, in tahsil Khaga, to the effect that Fatehmand Khan, an officer of Sultan Ala-ud-din, obtained a Farman from him in 1519 A.D. A difficulty, however, arises from the fact that in 1519 A.D. there was no king of the name, Ala-ud-din, and the title of the Sultan must be wrong if the date is correct. Again, Denda Sai is no less than about 48 km. from Fatehpur; and it is seemingly stretching a point too far to connect an inscription found there with the name of the founder of the town of Fatehpur.

Location, Boundaries, Area and Population

Location and BoundariesThe district, included in the Prayagraj / Allahabad Division, is situated in the eastern or lower portion of the Ganga-Yamuna doab and lies between Lat. 25°26′ N. and Lat. 26°16′ N. and Long. 80°14′ E. and Long. 81°20′ E. It is bounded on the north-west by the district of Kanpur Nagar and on the south-east., by district Allahabad/Prayagraj. To the north beyond the Ganga lie the districts of Unnao, Rae Bareli and, for a short length, Pratapgarh, while on the south the Yamuna separates it from districts Banda and Hamirpur. In shape it is roughly rectangular.
According to the Census 2011 , the district has an area of 4,064.99 sq. km. and as per the census of 2011, the district has a population of 26,32,733 (females 12,48,011 males 13,84722), the rural population being 23,10,740 and the urban 3,21,993.

History of District as Administrative Unit

According to tradition a large part of the district was held by the rajas of Argal, and formed part of the Kannauj kingdom. During the early Muslim period it was included in the province of Kora and in the 15th century formed part of the short-lived kingdom of Jaunpur. Under Akbar, the western half of the district was part of the sirkar of Kora, while the eastern half was included in Kara. During the slow decline of the Delhi dynasty, Fatehpur was entrusted to the governor of Avadh; but in 1736 it was overrun by the Marathas, who retained possession of the district till 1750 when it was wrested from them by the Pathans of Fatehpur. Three years later the tract was reconquered by Safdar Jang, and in 1801 it was ceded to the British.