Ujjain: History, Former Names & Timeline

Capital of the ancient kingdom of Avanti and one of the seven sacred cities of Hinduism; Indian astronomers placed their prime meridian here.

Map showing Ujjain in 1200 — Border map for 1200. See the world in 1200.

Explore Ujjain in the interactive map

Embed this interactive map on your site

Free to use on blogs, school pages and course sites. Copy the code below; please keep the credit line.

<iframe src="https://chronicamaps.com/?embed=1#y1200-c-ujjain-l-en" width="100%" height="520" style="border:0;max-width:100%" loading="lazy" title="Ujjain: History, Former Names &amp; Timeline"></iframe>
<p style="font-size:13px;margin:4px 0 0">Interactive map: <a href="https://chronicamaps.com/en/city/ujjain">Ujjain: History, Former Names &amp; Timeline</a> · Chronica Maps</p>

Former names of Ujjain

From	Name	Note
600 BC	Ujjayini	capital of Avanti

Timeline of Ujjain

Year	Event
275 BC	Ashoka serves as governor of Ujjain before becoming emperor (about this date)
AD 400	Court culture flourishes under the Gupta king Chandragupta II (about this date)
1235	Iltutmish of Delhi sacks Ujjain
1731	The Maratha Scindias take control of Ujjain
1810	The Scindias move their capital to Gwalior

Who ruled Ujjain

Derived from the border maps; each row runs until the next recorded border change.

Period	State
500 BC–401 BC	Avanti
400 BC–324 BC	Hindu kingdoms
323 BC–301 BC	Magadha
300 BC–2 BC	Mauryan Empire
1 BC–399	Saka Kingdom
400–599	Gupta Empire
600–699	Hindu kingdoms
700–799	Maitraka Kingdom
800–999	Gurjara Pratihara
1000–1099	Rajput kingdoms
1100–1199	Solankis
1200–1299	Rajput kingdoms
1300–1491	Sultanate of Delhi
1492–1649	Ahmadnagar
1650–1782	Mughal Empire
1783–1799	Mahratta states
1800–1814	Rajputs
1815–1879	Maratha Confederacy
1880–1944	British Raj
1945–today	India

Famous people of Ujjain

Lived	Person
c. 304 BC – 232 BC	Ashoka	Maurya emperor

Nearby cities

Agra · about 498 km
Mumbai · about 546 km

Questions about Ujjain

What was Ujjain called in the past?

Ujjain has been known as Ujjayini (from 600 BC, capital of Avanti). Its present name dates from 600 BC.

Which states have ruled Ujjain?

On the historical border maps from 500 BC to today, Ujjain lies within 18 different states: Avanti, Hindu kingdoms, Magadha, Mauryan Empire, Saka Kingdom, Gupta Empire, Maitraka Kingdom, Gurjara Pratihara, Rajput kingdoms, Solankis and others.

What are the key dates in the history of Ujjain?

275 BC: Ashoka serves as governor of Ujjain before becoming emperor (about this date). AD 400: Court culture flourishes under the Gupta king Chandragupta II (about this date). 1235: Iltutmish of Delhi sacks Ujjain. 1731: The Maratha Scindias take control of Ujjain. 1810: The Scindias move their capital to Gwalior.

Which famous people are connected with Ujjain?

Ashoka (maurya emperor, c. 304 BC – 232 BC).

Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.