The
Bareilly district (, ) belongs to the state
Uttar Pradesh in
northern India. Its capital is
Bareilly city and it is divided in six
administrative division or
tehsils:
Aonla,
Baheri, Bareilly city,
Faridpur,
Mirganj, and
Nawabganj. The Bareilly district is a part of the
Bareilly Division and occupies an area of 4120 km² with a population of 3,618,589 people (according to the census of 2001). In the
Sanskrit epic poem,
Mahābhārata, the Bareilly region (
Panchala) is described as the birthplace of
Draupadi, also referred to as Pachali (which means one from the kingdom of Panchāla) or
Krishnaa (kṛṣṇā). After
Yudhishthira becomes the king at the end of the Mahābhārata, she becomes his queen. In the 12th century, the kingdom was ruled by several clans of
Kshatriya Rajputs. After the Islamic invasion, the region became part of the
Delhi Sultanate before getting absorbed by the emerging
Mughal Empire. The modern City of Bareilly was founded by
Mukrand Rai in 1657. Later it became the capital of the
Rohilkhand region before getting handed over to Nawab Vazir of Awadh and then to the
East India Company, becoming an integral part of
India.