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{{Short description|City in Gujarat india}}
{{about|a city in Gujarat, India|the town in Myanmar|Khampat|the surname|Khambatta|the Gulf |Gulf of Khambhat}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Khambhat
| other_name = Cambay
| settlement_type = City
| image_skyline = City of Khambaht(Tower Area).jpg
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Tower Road, Khambhat
| nickname = Trambavati Nagari
| image_map =
| map_alt =
| map_caption =
| pushpin_map = India Gujarat
| pushpin_label_position = right
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption =
| coordinates = {{coord|22.3|N|72.62|E|region:IN-GJ_type:city(99,000)|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = India
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of districts of India|District]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Gujarat]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Anand district|Anand]]
| established_title = 
| established_date =
| founder =
| named_for =
| government_type = [[Nagar Palika]]
| governing_body =
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_footnotes =
| area_total_km2 = 2932.9
| area_rank =
| population_total = 99,164 (M+OG)
| population_as_of = 2011
| population_footnotes =
| population_density_km2 = 620
| population_rank =
| population_demonym =
| demographics_type1 = Languages
| demographics1_title1 = Official
| timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5:30
| postal_code_type = [[Postal Index Number|PINs]]
| postal_code = 388620, 388625, 388630, 388540
| area_code = 02698
| area_code_type = Telephone code
| registration_plate = GJ 23
| website = {{URL|khambhatnagarpalika.in}}
| footnotes =
| demographics1_info1 = [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]
| official_name =
}}
'''Khambhat''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ʌ|m|b|ə|t}};<ref>{{Cite Dictionary.com|Khambhat}}</ref> {{IPA|gu|kʰəmbʱɑt|lang|Khambat.ogg}}), also known as '''Cambay''', is a city and the surrounding [[urban agglomeration]] in [[Anand district]] in the [[India]]n [[States and territories of India|state]] of [[Gujarat]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Alphabetical List of Towns and their Population: Gujarat |work= Census of India 2010|publisher=Office of The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |url=http://censusindia.gov.in/towns/guj_towns.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071124151904/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/towns/guj_towns.pdf |archive-date=24 November 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> It was once an important trading center, but its harbour gradually silted up, and the maritime trade moved to [[Surat]]. Khambat lies on an alluvial plain at the north end of the [[Gulf of Khambhat]], noted for the extreme rise and fall of its tides, which can vary as much as thirty feet in the vicinity of Khambat. Khambat is known for its halvasan sweet, [[sutarfeni]], [[Aqeeq|akik]] stone and [[kite]]s (patang), and for sources of oil and gas.

Khambat is perhaps the only place in India where the [[Indus Valley Civilisation|Harappan]] craft of agate bead making is found in the living tradition. Surprisingly Khambat has no stone deposits; the craft has survived mainly through acquiring stones from the [[Rajpipla]] hills, about 200 km away from the city. In the folklore of Khambat, the beginning of the craft is attributed to Baba Ghor, a 1500 AD saint from Ethiopia ([[Al-Habash|Habash]]) who had led a large contingent of Muslims ([[Siddi]]) to settle in the city. However, in the archaeological record the origin of the craft can be traced to nearby [[Lothal]], a Harappan outpost that flourished about 4000 years ago.

== Toponymy ==

=== Origin of name ===
Some people believe that the City of Khambat may be the Camanes of [[Ptolemy]]. [[James Tod]] believed that the name comes from the [[Sanskrit]] Khambavati or 'City of the Pillar'.

=== Variants of name ===
* Cambay

==== Historical ====
* Cambaet of [[Marco Polo]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The Travels of Marco Polo|last1=Polo|first1=Marco|last2=Pisa|first2=Rustichello|year=c. 1300|author-link1=Marco Polo|author-link2=Rustichello da Pisa}}</ref>
* Cambaia of [[Duarte Barbosa]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cAgkDwAAQBAJ|title=The Book of Duarte Barbosa: An Account of the Countries bordering on the Indian Ocean and their Inhabitants: Written by Duarte Barbosa, and Completed about the year 1518 A.D, Volume 2|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9781317040149|author1=Duarte Barbosa |author2=Mansel Longworth Dames |date=15 May 2017}}</ref>
* Cambeth of [[Marino Sanuto the Elder|Marino Sanudo]]<ref>{{Cite book|title=Marino Sanudo Torsello, The Book of the Secrets of the Faithful of the Cross: Liber Secretorum Fidelium Crucis|last=Lock|first=Peter|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|year=2013|isbn=978-1-4094-8210-9|pages=49}}</ref>
* Trambavati of [[James Tod|Tod]]<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Hobson-Jobson/C#cambay|title=Hobson-Jobson/C|website=Wikisource}}</ref>
*Kambáya<ref name=":1" />
*Combea<ref name=":1" />
*Quambaya<ref name=":1" />
*Camanes of [[Ptolemy]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.169554|title=Memoir of a Map of Hindoostan; Or, The Mogul Empire: With an Introduction, Illustrative of the Geography and Present Division of that Country: and a Map of the Countries Situated Between the Head of the Indus, and the Caspian Sea|last=Rennell|first=James|publisher=M. Brown|year=1788|pages=136}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Mohman Khan Nawab of Cambay.jpg|left|thumb|Mohman Khan Nawab of [[Cambay State|Cambay]]]]
[[File:Moulai Abadullah khambhat.JPG|thumb|Mausoleum of 1st Wali–ul–Hind Moulai Abdullah, Khambat, Gujarat, 1050AD-1100AD.]]
[[File:Illustration of The city of Cambay in the 15th century.jpg|thumb|The city of Cambay was an important Indian manufacturing and trading center noted by Marco Polo and illustrated here in the 15th century.]]
[[File:Ludovico-di-Varthema-King-of-Khambat-16th-century-India.jpg|thumb|The king of Cambay (in present-day Gujarat) from "Figurae variae Asiae et Africae," a 16th-century Portuguese manuscript in the Casanatense Library in Rome ([[Codex Casanatense 1889]]).]]
Cambay was formerly a flourishing city, the seat of an extensive trade, and celebrated for its manufactures of [[silk]], [[chintz]] and gold stuffs.<ref name=EB1911>{{EB1911 |wstitle=Cambay |volume=5 |page=81 |inline=1}}</ref> The Arab traveler [[al-Mas'udi]] visited the city in 915 AD, describing it as a very successful port; it was mentioned in 1293 by [[Marco Polo]], who, calling it Cambaet, noted it as a busy port. He mentions that the city had its own king. [[Indigo dye|Indigo]] and fine [[buckram]] were particular products of the region, but much cotton and leather was exported through Cambay. In the early 1340s, the Moroccan traveller [[Ibn Battuta]] remarked on its impressive architecture and cosmopolitan population.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Rehla of Ibn Battuta (India, Maldive Islands and Ceylon)|last1=Baṭṭūṭa|first1=Ibn|last2=Husain|first2=Mahdi|publisher=Oriental Institute|year=1976|location=Baroda|pages=172}}</ref> <blockquote>"Cambay is one of the most beautiful cities as regards the artistic architecture of its houses and the construction of its mosques. The reason is that the majority of its inhabitants are foreign merchants, who continually build there beautiful houses and wonderful mosques -- an achievement in which they endeavour to surpass each other."</blockquote>An Italian traveler, [[Marino Sanuto the Elder|Marino Sanud]]o, said that Cambeth was one of India's main two ocean ports. Another Italian, visiting in about 1440, [[Niccolò de' Conti]], mentions that the walls of the city were twelve miles in circumference.

The Portuguese explorer [[Duarte Barbosa]] visited the city, which he calls Cambaia, in the early sixteenth century.<ref name=":2">''Livro em que dá relação do que viu e ouviu no Oriente''. p. 77 sq.</ref>
His description of the city is very full. He states:

<blockquote>"Entering by Guindarim [Gandhar port, [[Bharuch]]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.189298/page/n225|title=The Book Of Duarte Barbosa Vol. 1|website=Internet Archive}}</ref> which is within on the river, there is a great and fair city called Cambaia in which dwell both 'mouros' [Muslims] and 'gentios' [Hindus]. Therein are many fair houses, very lofty, with windows and roofed with tiles in our manner, well laid out with streets and fine open places, and great buildings of stone and mortar."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.189298/page/n227|title=The Book Of Duarte Barbosa Vol. 1|year=1918|website=Internet Archive}}</ref>(translation of <ref name=":2" />)</blockquote>He describes the city as very busy and affluent, with merchants coming frequently by sea from the world around. Duarte Barbosa also noted that many ships from the Kingdom of Cambaya sailed to the [[Sultanate of Mogadishu]] in the [[Horn of Africa]] with cloths and spices for which they in return received [[gold]], [[wax]] and [[ivory]].<ref>Page 18 - A description of the coasts of East Africa and Malabar in the beginning of the sixteenth century, by Duarte Barbosa, a Portuguese. Tr. from an early Spanish manuscript in the Barcelona library; with notes and a preface, by the Hon. Henry E.J.Stanley" : [http://psimg.jstor.org/fsi/img/pdf/t0/10.5555/al.ch.document.sip100025_final.pdf PDF] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203233517/http://psimg.jstor.org/fsi/img/pdf/t0/10.5555/al.ch.document.sip100025_final.pdf |date=3 December 2021 }}</ref>

Owing principally to the gradually increasing difficulty of access by water by the silting up of the gulf, its commerce has long since fallen away, and the City became poor and dilapidated. The [[spring tide]]s rise upwards of 30 ft (10 m) and in a channel usually so shallow that it is a serious danger to shipping. By 1900, the trade was chiefly confined to the export of [[cotton]]. The City was celebrated for its manufacture of [[agate]] and [[carnelian]] ornaments, of reputation, principally in [[China]].<ref name=EB1911/>

The houses in many instances are built of stone (a circumstance which indicates the former wealth of the city, as the material had to be brought from a very considerable distance); and remains of a brick wall, three miles (five km) in circumference, which formerly surrounded the City, enclose four large reservoirs of good water and three [[bazaar]]s. To the southeast there are very extensive ruins of subterranean temples and other buildings half-buried in the sand by which the ancient City was overwhelmed. These temples belong to the [[Jain]]s and contain two massive statues of their deities: one black, the other white. The principal one, as the inscription intimates, is Pariswanath or Parswanath, carved in the reign of the emperor [[Akbar]]; the black one has the date of 1651 inscribed.<ref name=EB1911/>

A few members of Shia community settled in Khambhat during 18th century from Iran. Among these the most known was Nawab Mohammed Jaffar Ali Khan Najamesani and his son Nawab Yavar Ali khan Najamesani. Nawab Yavar Ali khan Najamesani ruled 84 villages when he was crowned as a Nawab. Nawab Yavar Ali Khan was titled Sarkar Sahab (Governing Prince), because he was able to maintain peace and unity. The name Cambay to Khambhat was also given by Nawab Yavar Ali Khan during Pre-independence period. Nawab Yavar Ali Khan died in July 1996. His family still lives in Khambhat.{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}

=== Hub of mercantile activity ===
The traders and the merchants reached here from across the world. Cambay was known for its cotton and silk cloths. Cambay was one of India's most active [[trade]] center since the 14th century (Source: [[Ibn Battuta]]). After 200 years, [[Duarte Barbosa]] described Cambay as an important commercial center with [[Mughal carpets|carpets]], and other textile goods in Mughal established [[Mughal Karkhanas|industries]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Walker|first=Daniel|url=https://archive.org/details/FlowersUnderfootIndianCarpetsoftheMughalEra00|title=Flowers Underfoot: Indian Carpets of the Mughal Era|date=1997|publisher=|isbn=|location=|pages=5|language=English}}</ref>

==== Cambay cloth ====
Cambay was famous for its cloth manufacturing and trading activities. There were certain coarse cotton cloths which were called Cambay cloth.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Indian Trade Cloths|url=http://asiantextileart.com/tradecloths.html|access-date=2021-01-11|website=asiantextileart.com}}</ref> For instance, the checked cloths.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Peck|first=Amelia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BYjh82N63IQC|title=Interwoven Globe: The Worldwide Textile Trade, 1500-1800|date=2013|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|isbn=978-1-58839-496-5|location=|pages=305|language=en}}</ref> There are records of extensive trading of Gujarati Cambay cloth.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kumar|first=Raj|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e8o5HyC0-FUC|title=Encyclopaedia of Untouchables Ancient, Medieval and Modern|date=2008|publisher=Gyan Publishing House|isbn=978-81-7835-664-8|location=|pages=231|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=|first=|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XhcIAQAAIAAJ|title=Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency: Rewa Kántha, Nárukot, Cambay, and Surat states|date=1880|publisher=Government Central Press|isbn=|location=|pages=191|language=en}}</ref>

===Princely State of Cambay===
{{main|Cambay State}}

[[File:Cambayflag.png|thumb|Cambay flag of Royal family of Nawab Jaffar Ali Khan najamesani.]]
Khambat was the capital of [[Cambay State]], a [[princely state]] of [[British India]]. It was the only state in the Kaira Agency of the Gujarat division of the [[Bombay Presidency]]. It had an area of {{cvt|350|sqmi}}. It was founded in 1730, at the time of the dismemberment of the [[Mughal Empire]]. The Nawabs of Cambay were descendants of Mumin Khan, the last of the Mughal governors of [[Gujarat]], who in 1742 defeated his brother-in-law Nizam Khan, governor of Khambhat,<ref name=EB1911/> and established himself there.<ref>[http://www.worldstatesmen.org/India_princes_A-J.html Princely States of India]</ref>

The sport of [[cricket]] in India was first played in [[Cambay State]] in 1721.<ref name="Downing1737">{{cite book|author=Clement Downing|title=A Compendious History of the Indian Wars with an Account of the Rise, Progress, Strength and Forces of Angria the Pyrate. Also the Transactions of a Squadron of Men of War under Commodore Mathews sent to East-Indies to suppress the Pyrates. To which is annex'd, An Additional History of Wars between the Great Mogul, Angria, and his Allies, With an Account of the Life and Actions of John Plantain, a notorious Pyrate, at Madagascar, his Wars, with the Natives on that Island, where having continued eight Years, he join'd Agria, and was made his chief Admiral, by Clement Downing, Midshipman on board the Salisbury, afterwards Lieutenant of the Victory frigate, Fame Gally, and Revenge Grab, part of the Squadron employ'd by the East India Company to attack Angria; and sometimes Engineer in the service of the Great Mogul|url=https://archive.org/details/acompendioushis00downgoog|year=1737|pages=[https://archive.org/details/acompendioushis00downgoog/page/n232 228]–229}}</ref>

In 1780 Cambay was taken by the army of general Goddard Richards, but it was restored to the [[Maratha]]s in 1783. Finally it was ceded to the British by the [[Peshwa]] under the treaty of 1803. The state was provided with a railway in 1901.<ref name=EB1911/>

==Geography and Climate==

Khambhat is at {{Coord|22.3|N|72.62|E|}}.<ref>Khambhat is between the tropical and subtropical climatic zone.[https://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/09/Khambhat.html Falling Rain Genomics, Inc – Khambhat]</ref> It has an average elevation of {{convert|8|metres|feet}}.

Khambhat has warm and humid climate. It is located on the plains. The land on which Khambhat sits is the silt deposited by the [[Mahi River]], so Khambhat has very fertile, wet coastal alluvial soil. The area south of Khambhat is muddy wetlands and then coast line comes. Normally April to June is summer. From July, it rains until September. It has a muggy climate for most of the year except winters. Sometimes Khambhat receives heavy rain, and surrounding areas get affected from floods in the [[Mahi River]]. Mid November to January is winter, which results in essentially mild cold during the nights and early mornings with warm noons. Maximum average temperatures are {{convert|25|to|30|C|F}} and minimum average temperatures are {{convert|10|to|12|C|F|1}}. Summer average maxima are {{convert|38|C|F|1|disp=or}} and minima around {{convert|22|C|F|1|disp=or}}. In summer, high winds are common. Khambhat coast's tides are among the highest in the world at up to {{convert|35|feet|metres|1|disp=or}}.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Tidal propagation in the Gulf of Khambhat, Bombay High, and surrounding areas|journal=Journal of Earth System Science|volume=108|issue= 3|author=A. S. Unnikrishnan, S. R. Shetye and G. S. Michael|pages=155–177}}</ref>
[[File:Creative artwork in a mosque.jpg|thumb|Creative artwork in a mosque]]

==Demographics==
As of 2011 India [[census]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Khambhat Population (2020/2021), Taluka Village List in Anand, Gujarat|url=https://www.indiagrowing.com/Gujarat/Anand/Khambhat#:~:text=Khambhat%20is%20a%20Town%20and,females%20per%201000%20of%20males.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140710043219/http://www.indiagrowing.com/Gujarat/Anand/Khambhat#:~:text=Khambhat%20is%20a%20Town%20and,females%20per%201000%20of%20males.|url-status=usurped|archive-date=10 July 2014|access-date=2021-07-03|website=www.indiagrowing.com}}</ref> Khambhat had a population of 201,964. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Khambhat has an average literacy rate of 73%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 78%, and female literacy is 67%. In Khambhat, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

==Economy==

In the 14th and 15th centuries, Khambhat was well known for Muslim gravestones carved in marble which were exported to various locations along the Indian Ocean rim, including Southeast Asia.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lambourn|first=Elizabeth|date=2004|title=Carving and Communities: Marble Carving for Muslim Patrons at Khambhāt and around the Indian Ocean Rim, Late Thirteenth–Mid-Fifteenth Centuries|journal=Ars Orientalis|volume=34|pages=99–133}}</ref>

Many here are in the [[agate]] business, [[diamond]] cutting-polishing and colored stone business (mainly [[ruby]]), and have shops which sell eatables and household products. Kite making is another important business in the City among few particular communities. Fishing and salt harvesting are other businesses some particular communities are occupied with.

==Transport==

===Railway===
Khambhat is connected with [[Anand, Gujarat|Anand]] by Railway Line.
Total 8 trains depart per day for [[Anand, Gujarat|Anand]].

===Road===
Khambhat is connected with [[Ahmedabad]], [[Kheda]], [[Tarapur, Gujarat|Tarapur]], [[Dharmaj]], [[Vataman]], [[Petlad]], [[Nadiad]], [[Anand, Gujarat|Anand]] (State Highway 16 of Gujarat)

'''Bus Service (GSRTC)'''

Khambhat is well connected to [[Ahmedabad]] by GSRTC Bus service route called '''Ahmedabad - Khambhat.'''(Via [[Kheda]], [[Matar, Kheda|Matar]], [[Tarapur, Gujarat|Tarapur]]) Daily Service To Connect Mega City Of Gujarat.

==Schools==
* [https://www.justdial.com/Anand/Shree-Adarsh-Saraswati-Vidya-Mandir-Khambhat/9999P2692-2692-140329161250-N1A2_BZDET Adarsh Saraswati Vidhya Mandir, NAGRA]
* Bits Education High School
* Chachaldeep Vidyavihar, NANAKALODRA
* Dr. J.B. Patel Primary School, ALING
* Harsh Balvatika, NANAKALODRA
* Jalsan High School, JALSAN
* Kendriya Vidyalaya ONGC (CBSE)
* Lok Jagruti High School
* [https://oruschool.in/india/m-t-high-school-granted-school-khambhat M.T. High School]
* [https://www.icbse.com/schools/madhavlal-shah-shala-granted-v36yv4 Madhavlal Shah High School]
* Metpur High School
* N.A. Patel Shishuvidhyalay, NANAKALODRA
*[[Roman catholic|RC]] Mission School
* S.B. Vakil Primary School (English Medium)
* S.D. Kapadiya High School
* Shree S.K. Vaghela High School
* Shree S.Z. Vaghela High School (Science + Common Stream)
* Smt. B.C.J. High School, JALUNDH, PIPLOI
* Smt. K.M.J. Patel High School, SAYAMA (Arts + Commerce Stream)
*[[Francis Xavier|St Xavier]]'s High School (Science + Common Stream)
* Supath High School
* Vatsalya International School

==Colleges==
* L.B. Rao Institute of Pharmaceutical Education
* Nav Jagruti Arts & Commerce College for Women
* R.P. Arts, K.B. Commerce & B.C.J. Science College
* Shri M N College of Pharmacy
* Smt. B.C.J. College of Education
*Vatsalya Institute of Nursing

== Tourism ==
[[File:Kite fastival in gujarat.jpg|thumb|[[Uttarayana]] at Khambhat]]
[[File:Shivling, Ralaj,Khambhat, Gujarat.jpg|thumb|Shivling, Ralaj, Khambhat]]

* Babu Shah Baba
* Dariyai [[Uttarayana]] (Organized on first Sunday after [[Uttarayana]] at Seashore)
* Jain [[Jain temple|Derasar]]
* [[Jami Mosque, Khambhat|Jami Masjid]]
* Saiyed Miran Ali and Wali
* Sikotar Mata Mandir, Ralaj
* Swaminarayan Mandir
* Neja

== Marine archeology ==

{{main|Marine archeology in the Gulf of Khambhat}}
In May 2001, India's Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Science and Technology division, [[Murli Manohar Joshi]], announced that the ruins of an ancient civilization had been discovered off the coast of Gujarat, in the [[Gulf of Khambhat]]. The site was discovered by [[National Institute of Ocean Technology|NIOT]] while they performed routine pollution studies using [[Sonar|SONAR]], and was described as an area of regularly spaced geometric structures. It is located 20 km from the Gujarat coast, spans 9 km, and can be found at a depth of 30–40 meters. In his announcement, Joshi represented the site as an urban settlement that pre-dates the [[Indus Valley civilization]]. However, these claims were made without the backing of any experts and have since been debunked by prominent archaeologists.<ref name="Bavadam 2002a">Bavadam, Lyla. "Questionable claims: Archaeologists debunk the claim that underwater structures in the Gulf of Khambhat point to the existence of a pre-Harappan civilisation." ''Frontline'' 2–15 March 2002. [http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl1905/19050670.htm].</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Khambatta]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{commons category-inline}}

{{Anand district}}
{{Princely states of India}}
{{Portuguese overseas empire}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Gulf of Khambhat]]
[[Category:Cities and towns in Anand district]]

Khambhat - Revision history

Mohit8811 at 00:11, 20 January 2026