Ambur

Ambur ஆம்பூர்
Municipal Town
Ambur Trade Center
Nickname(s): Leather City
Ambur Location in Tamil Nadu, India
Coordinates: 12°47′N 78°42′E / 12.78°N 78.7°E / 12.78; 78.7Coordinates: 12°47′N 78°42′E / 12.78°N 78.7°E / 12.78; 78.7
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
District	Vellore
Government
• Type	Selection Grade Municipality
• Body	Ambur Municipality
Area
• Total	17.97 km2 (6.94 sq mi)
Elevation	316 m (1,037 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	114,608
• Density	6,400/km2 (17,000/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Tamil
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	635802
Telephone code	91 - 4174
Vehicle registration	TN-83
Sex ratio	1031 ♂/♀

Ambur is a town and state Assembly Constituency in the Vellore District of Tamil Nadu, India. It is located on the banks of the Palar River on the Chennai-Bangalore National Highway. The economy is dependent on leather tanning industry, earning it the nickname Leather City of South India. It is also known for Biryani, a tasty rice dish.

The words 'Amb' (our) and 'ur' (place) became Ambur meaning "Our place". During the 15th and 16th centuries, Ambur was under the control of rulers of the Vijayanagara Empire which in 1687 was brought under the control of the Vijayanagar Nawabs of the Carnatic. On 20 May 1740, the Nizam of Hyderabad incited the Marathas to invade Carnatic. Nawab Dost Ali Khan and Chanda Sahib met the Maratha army under Chattrapati Shahu at Ambur. The Marathas won the battle by killing Dost Ali Khan and capturing Chanda Sahib. The Battle of Ambur on 3 August 1749 was the first major battle of the Second Carnatic War between the English and the French with Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan supported by the English being killed by Chanda Sahib, who was supported by the French. In 1767, during the First Anglo-Mysore War, a combined force of Mysore and Hyderabadi troops under the command of Hyder Ali of Mysore conducted the Siege of Ambur but was successfully defended by a force of British East India Company troops along with a garrison of local troops.