Editing Bhopal (section)

=== Early history ===
[[File:Statue of Raja Bhoja 01.jpg|thumb|  Bhopal was founded by and named after 11th-century [[Malwa]] king [[Bhoja]]]]
According to folklore, Bhopal was founded in the 11th century by the [[Paramara dynasty|Paramara]] king [[Bhoja]], who ruled from his capital at [[Dhar]]. This theory states that Bhopal was originally known as Bhojpal after a dam (''pal'') constructed by the king's minister.<ref name=census/> An alternative theory says that the city is named after another king called Bhupala (or Bhupal).<ref>{{cite book | title = Historical Geography of Madhya Pradesh from Early Records | author = Pranab Kumar Bhattacharyya | publisher = [[Motilal Banarsidass]] | year = 1977 | isbn = 978-0-8426-9091-1 | page = 275 }}</ref><ref>[http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/MP-BHO-cpi-joins-campaign-against-naming-bhopal-as-bhojpal-1939473.html CPI joins campaign against naming Bhopal as Bhojpal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111123014730/http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/MP-BHO-cpi-joins-campaign-against-naming-bhopal-as-bhojpal-1939473.html |date=23 November 2011 }}. Daily Bhaskar,16 March 2011.</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Ashfaq Ali |title=Bhopal, Past and Present |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=owMMAQAAIAAJ |year=1981 |publisher=Jai Bharat |page=xxix |access-date=19 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223154011/https://books.google.com/books?id=owMMAQAAIAAJ |archive-date=23 December 2016 |url-status=live  }}</ref> According to yet another version, Raja Bhoj suffered from leprosy. His physician advised him to build a lake with water from 365 rivers and take daily bath in it. When such a lake was built, it was called ''Bhoj Tal'' [or Bhoj's lake]. Gradually people started calling the city ''Bhojpal'', and finally Bhopal.<ref name="Salam_2022">{{cite news |author=Ziya Us Salam |date= 12 September 2022 |title= Of a female knight and the Begums of Bhopal |url= https://www.thehindu.com/books/of-a-female-knight-and-the-begums-of-bhopal/article65882458.ece|work= The Hindu |location= India |access-date=12 September 2022}}</ref>

In the early 17th century, Bhopal was a small village in the [[Garha Kingdom|Gond kingdom]]. The modern Bhopal city was established by [[Dost Mohammad Khan, Nawab of Bhopal|Dost Mohammad Khan]] (1660–1726) died at the age of 66,<ref name="bhopal.nic.in">{{cite web | url=https://bhopal.nic.in/en/history/ | title=History of Bhopal &#124; District Bhopal, Government of Madhya Pradesh &#124; India }}</ref> a [[Pashtun people|Pashtun]] soldier in the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] army.<ref>{{cite book | title = The Waterhouse albums: central Indian provinces | author = John Falconer, James Waterhouse | publisher = Mapin | year = 2009 | isbn = 978-81-89995-30-0 }}</ref> After the death of the emperor [[Aurangzeb]], Khan started providing mercenary services to local chieftains in the politically unstable [[Malwa]] region. In 1709, he took on the lease of [[Berasia]] estate and later annexed several territories in the region to establish the [[Bhopal State]].{{sfn|Khan|2000|p=11}} Khan received the territory of Bhopal from the Gond queen Kamlapati in lieu of payment for mercenary services and usurped her kingdom after her death.<ref name="KamlaMittal_1990">{{cite book | title = History of Bhopal State | author = Kamla Mittal | publisher = Munshiram Manoharlal | year = 1990 | oclc = 551527788 | page = 2 }}</ref> In the 1720s, he built the Fatehgarh fort in the village, which developed into the city of Bhopal over the next few decades.