Bhopal
Princely state capital, 1818–1947
झीलों की नगरीभोपाल
Today Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. Same place, same name.
Key facts
- Historical name
- Bhopal
- Type
- Princely state capital
- Coordinates
- 23.2589° N, 77.4125° E(seed dataset)
- Governance
- Administered through an Agency
- Record confidence
- High confidence
- Identifiers
- Q80989
Administered through a British Agency covering a group of states. Not part of British India in the statutory sense.
Location
Pin placed at the coordinates recorded for this place. Colonial-era boundaries are not drawn.
Description
Capital of Bhopal State, the second largest Muslim-ruled princely state of British India, on the great lakes ascribed by tradition to Raja Bhoj.
Historical notes
A subsidiary ally from 1818 and ruled for much of the 19th century by the Begums of Bhopal; the state acceded to India in 1949 and Bhopal became capital of Madhya Pradesh in 1956.
Administrative history
Administrative parenthood changed over time. Each row states the years it is recorded for, and the source it comes from.
| Years | Relation | Unit | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| from 1901 | Part of | Central India AgencyAgency · Administered through an AgencySnapshot from the 1901 census and the Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908-31). End of the relationship not established; recorded as open rather than inferred. | High confidencesource |
| from 1901 | Part of | BhopalPrincely state · Princely stateSnapshot from the 1901 census and the Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908-31). End of the relationship not established; recorded as open rather than inferred. | High confidencesource |
| from 1901 | Capital of | BhopalPrincely state · Princely stateSnapshot from the 1901 census and the Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908-31). End of the relationship not established; recorded as open rather than inferred. | High confidencesource |
Recorded names
Every documented spelling and transliteration held for this place. The historical name is canonical; modern names redirect to it.
| Name | Script | Type | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bhopal | Latin | Historical English | — |
| Bhojpal | Latin | Alternative spelling | — |
| Bhoopal | Latin | Alternative spelling | — |
| Bhopal City | Latin | Alternative spelling | — |
| Bhupal | Latin | Alternative spelling | — |
| City of Lakes | Latin | Alternative spelling | — |
| झीलों की नगरी | Devanagari | Indigenous | — |
| भोपाल | Devanagari | Indigenous | — |
Records and references
- Imperial Gazetteer of India
- Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908-31), Vol. VIII (8)
- Census of India
- Census of India, 1901, Vol. XIX (19): Central India
Sources
- Encyclopedia· generalCC BY-SA
Wikipedia: Bhopal, Wikimedia Foundation
Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0
Retrieved 2026-08-29
- Archive· descriptionPublic domain
Internet Archive scan: india.history.resource.92531, Internet Archive
Scanned volume of a pre-1929 publication (Imperial Gazetteer of India 1908–31 / Census of India 1901); public domain. Digitisation courtesy of the Internet Archive.
Retrieved 2026-08-29
- Gazetteer· administrativeLicence unverified
Digital South Asia Library, University of Chicago — the 1908–31 text is public domain, but DSAL's digital presentation states no licence; link-out only
Retrieved 2026-08-29
- Database· identityCC0
Wikidata (Q80989), Wikimedia Foundation
Wikidata, CC0 1.0
Retrieved 2026-08-29
Sources tagged “Licence unverified” are linked to rather than reproduced. Scans and images are only displayed inline where the licence is confirmed permissive.