Amreli

Amreli is a city and municipality in Amreli district in the Indian state of Gujarat, and the headquarters of the district. An inscription in the Nagnath temple shows that its ancient name was Amarpalli, it is named Amarvalli in ancient Gujarati, and it was also called Girvanvalli. Remains of the ancient town include memorial stones and foundations found in the fork of the Thebi and Vari rivers, and two old temples, Kamnath and Trimbaknath. Modern Amreli dates from 1793, when Vakhatsingh of Bhavnagar sacked the neighbouring Kathi possession of Chital and drove many of its people to Amreli and Jetpur. The city was part of the territory of the Gaekwad of Vadodara, and Vithalrao Devaji, appointed Sar Subah of the Gaekwad possessions in Kathiawad, settled there and developed it into a proper city with temples, offices, a market and a dam for the town water supply. In 1886 the Gaekwad administration adopted compulsory and free education here. The 2001 census of India counted 90,243 people in Amreli, and Jivraj Narayan Mehta, the first chief minister of Gujarat, is among its notable natives.