The region, known as Kundal (now a small village near Sangli city) in medieval India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, was the capital of the Chalukya Empire in 12th century AD.

History

Sangli State was one of the 11-gun salute princely states of British India, under the Kolhapur-Dekkan Residency in the Bombay Presidency

Bombay Presidency

The Bombay Presidency was a province of British India. It was established in the 17th century as a trading post for the English East India Company, but later grew to encompass much of western and central India, as well as parts of post-partition Pakistan and the Arabian Peninsula.At its greatest...

, and later the Deccan States Agency

Deccan States Agency

The Deccan States Agency was a unit of British India exercising suzerainty over a number of princely states. The agency was created in the 1930s, and was composed of a number of princely states in western India, located in the present-day Indian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka...

. It was one of the southern Maratha

Maratha

The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...

 Jagir

Jagir

In historic India, a jagir was a small territory granted by the ruler to an army chieftain in fairly short terms usually of three years but not extending beyond his lifetime, in recognition of his military service...

s. Its territory was widely scattered among other native states and British districts.

Sangli was part of Maratha Empire

Maratha Empire

The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian imperial power that existed from 1674 to 1818. At its peak, the empire covered much of South Asia, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 million km²....

, however, there are no direct references mentioning Sangli before 1801. During the time of Shivaji, Sangli, Miraj and surrounding areas were captured from the Mughal Empire

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

. Until 1801, Sangli was included in Miraj Jahagir. The First Chintamanrao Appasaheb Patwardhan established a different principality with Sangli as the capital city.

The Principality of Sangli covered an area of 1112 square miles (2942 square kilometers), and had a population of 226,128 in 1901, while the population of the town itself was 16,829 in that year. In 1911, the state enjoyed a revenue estimated at £10,000.

The last ruler of Sangli was Capt. HH Shrimant Raja Saheb Sir Chintamanrao II Dhundirajrao Appasaheb Patwardhan. Sangli joined the Dominion of India

Dominion of India

The Dominion of India, also known as the Union of India or the Indian Union , was a predecessor to modern-day India and an independent state that existed between 15 August 1947 and 26 January 1950...

 on March 8, 1948 and is currently a part of the state of Maharashtra.

The city derives its name from "Saha Galli" ("Six Lanes" in Marathi

Marathi language

Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...

). Sangli city is known as Natyapandhari, the birthplace of Marathi

Marathi cinema

Marathi cinema refers to films produced in the Marathi language in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is the oldest and pioneer film industry in India...

 drama. The city has a rich cultural influence of Marathi music & drama. It has a historic Ganpati temple built in the 18th century by ruling Patwardhan

Patwardhan

The Patwardhan family is a prominent clan in modern India who previously ruled over a number of princely states of the British Raj. These included Jamkhandi, Kuruntwad, Miraj and Sangli...

 dynasty of Sangli. The temple attracts thousands of devotees annually.

Sangli previously known as southern satara.

Notable persons

Sangli is birth place of many legends in social as well as political reformers. Gopal Ganesh Agarkar born in Thembu [Small town in Khanapur-Aatpadi constituency]. Balgandharva was also born in this distcrict. Also Maharashtra's Former Chief-Minister Vasantraodada Patil Born in Padmale (Near Sangli). Other notable personality born in Sangli include Asha Bhosle

Asha Bhosle

Asha Bhosle is an Indian singer. She is one of the best-known and most highly-regarded Hindi playback singers in India, although she has a wider repertoire. Bhosle's career started in 1943 and has spanned over six decades. She has done playback singing for over a thousand Bollywood movies...

.