Akola

Akola अकोला
City
The Khandelwal Clock-tower, a landmark of Akola city
Nickname(s): The Cotton City, Rajeshwar Nagari
Akola
Coordinates: 20°42′N 77°00′E / 20.7°N 77.00°E / 20.7; 77.00Coordinates: 20°42′N 77°00′E / 20.7°N 77.00°E / 20.7; 77.00
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
Region	Vidarbha
District	Akola
Established	17th century
Government
• Type	Mayor–Council
• Body	AMC
• Mayor	Ujwala Deshmukh
• Municipal Commissioner	Ajay Lahane
Area
• City	124 km2 (48 sq mi)
Elevation	286 m (938 ft)
Population (2011)
• City	537,149
• Rank	IN: 99th MH: 18th Vidarbha: 3rd
• Density	4,300/km2 (11,000/sq mi)
• Urban	721,349
Languages
• Official	Marathi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	444xxx
Telephone code	0724
Vehicle registration	MH 30 (entire Akola district)
Literacy	92%
Sex ratio	0.968
HDI	Medium
Website	http://akola.nic.in

Akola is a city in Vidarbha region in the state of Maharashtra in central India. It is about 290 miles(580 km) east of the state capital Mumbai and 140 miles f(250 km) west of the second capital Nagpur. Akola is the administrative headquarters of Akola District located in Amravati Division. Akola city is governed by Akola Municipal Corporation.

Akola District has an area of about 5,431 square kilometres and a population of 1,818,617 (2011 census). Akola is the third largest city in Vidarbha region after Nagpur and Amravati. Marathi is the most popular spoken language, though Hindi, English and Urdu are also used. Akola District is bordered on the north and east by Amravati District, on the south by Washim District, and on the west by Buldhana District.

Akola District along with the rest of the Berar province was part of the legendary kingdom of Vidarbha mentioned in the Mahabharata. Barar also formed part of the Mauryan Empire during the reign of Ashoka (272 to 231 BCE). Berar later came under the rule of the Satavahana dynasty (2nd century BCE–2nd century CE), the Vakataka dynasty (3rd to 6th centuries), the Chalukya dynasty (6th to 8th centuries), the Rashtrakuta dynasty (8th to 10th centuries), the Chalukyas again (10th to 12th centuries) and finally the Yadava dynasty of Devagiri (late 12th to early 14th centuries). A period of Muslim rule began when Ala ud din Khilji, Sultan of Delhi, conquered the region in the early 14th century. The region was part of the Bahmani Sultanate, which broke away from the Delhi Sultanate in the mid-14th century. The Bahmani Sultanate broke up into smaller sultanates at the end of the 15th century, and in 1572 Berar became part of the Nizam Shahi sultanate, based at Ahmadnagar. The Nizam Shahis ceded Berar to the Mughal Empire in 1595. The Mughals ruled the Berar Province during 17th century. As Mughal rule started to unravel at the start of the 18th century, Asaf Jah I, Nizam of Hyderabad seized the southern provinces of the empire (including Berar) in 1724, forming an independent state.