History of Thane

The city of Thane is situated on the western banks of Thane creek with Parsik hills on the east and Yeour hills on the west. Having a glance at the noted history of this beautiful city, Thane has left its mark under various names. However, its present name is derived from Sthan or Sthanaka, the capital of the Shilahara kings of Konkan. Followed by a large number of events of historical importance and archeological collectives, Thane city have earned its name of being rich in cultural heritage. This has contributed to the enrichment of the history of Thane city.

A brief History

The existence of Thane city comes to the sight in the global history since the 9^th century A.D. At that time it was more popularly known as the Capital of the Shilahar dynasty. The earliest evidence of Thane appears in the works of the Greek geographer, Ptolemy, who, in his writings ( 135 - 150 AD) refers to a place called Chersoneses’, which, according to researches, is the area around Thane creek.

The History of Thane district can be differentiated into five major periods, the Vedic period to 1300 A.D which comprises of Hindu or ancient period, 1300-1660  A.D where Mohamedan and Portuguese ruled, 1660-1800 A.D where Maratha and Portuguese ruled, 1660-1800 A.D the known British Rule and lastly 1947 to now which the Post independence of Thane.

Throughout the Indian expedition of Greek emperor Alexander, a number of philosophers, historians and geographists visited India. Among them a Greek historian 'Tolemi' has mentioned about the city of Thane in his writings. In 1290 A.D, a famous sailor named ‘Marco polo’ had also visited Thane and noted it to be one of the best cities in the world. A place called 'Ghodbunder' was famous for horse trading thus invented its name from the word ghoda i.e. horse and bunder meaning port. Around this period a fabric called 'Tansi' was exported from Thane. So from this period i.e. from 13 A.D to 17 A.D the Muslims, Portuguese, Marathas, & the British dynasties ruled Thane.

When Marco Polo travelled to Thane, he described this city as great kingdom, which apparently had a well-developed port, for he refers a continuous traffic of ships, and merchants trading and exporting leather, buckram, cotton, and importing horses. The fact is that, today also Ghodbunder is said to be the site where horses were unloaded from ships. Friar Jordanus, which was fond of travelling, visited the city between AD 1321 and 1324, left a detailed sketch of early Christians in Thane and refers to the martyrdom of four Christian priests in the region, more than 200 years before the Portuguese ever set foot in India.

Fellows of Friar Jordanus, Ibn Batuta and Abul Feda when came to Thane,  refer it as  as Kukin Tana and saying about its popularity a port from which ships sailed to the gulf carrying a kind of cloth called 'Tanasi' which was produced in Thane. Duarte Barbosa, a noted traveller, described Thane by the name Tana Mayambu 25 years before the portuguese conquest. He paints a vivid picture of the town as one of Moorish mosques and temples, with many pleasant gardens.

History of Portuguese is incomplete without mentioning Vasai. The Portuguese remain in possession of Vasai for roughly two hundred years from 1535 to 1739. . Timber was sent from vasai to mecca to help the Egyption to build a fleet. Thane coast was famous for its ship building. The ships built between 1550 & 1600 Agashi & Vasai made many voyages to Europe. The Portuguese power passed into the hands of Maratha after a long siege by Chimaji Appa, the brother of Peshwa Bajirao. The Portuguese ruled Thane for over 200 years till 1739. Thane was then known as Cacabe de Tana.

Then came the Marathas. In 1670’s the great Maratha warrior was defeated in 1670’s by the Portuguese forces at sea. But later Shivaji defeated them on land & took several forts to his reign. For about sixty-four years, from 1739 to 1802 Vasai remained under the Maratha finally, in 1802 by the Treaty of vasai it became a British possession & in 1818 it was incorporated in the Bombay Presidency.

During the period, due to the non- religious attitude and tolerance of Shilahars towards different religions, a large number of people from different communities like Parsis, Christians, Muslims and Jews settled down in Thane, thus sowing seeds of a cosmopolitan city.

In 1663 A.D St. John the Baptist Church was constructed in Thane. The construction work of famous Thane Killa (Fort) was started in 1730 A.D. In 1737 A.D. Chimaji Appa the Maratha Sardar planned the 'Conquest of Vasai' and on 28^th March, 1738 the Marathas conquered the Thane Killa. The fort is presently being used as 'Thane Central Jail'.

Post independence, Thane grew slowly and achieved the status of an industrial town in the 60's and 70's. There was also a corresponding growth in trade, transport and construction activities, which picked up tremendously in the 80's. The 90’s have seen the city burgeoning ahead, with great stride in construction and housing. The population has also increased manifold and Thane now occupies pride of place as a prime suburb and is all set to make its mark in the next millennium by developing in every sector.

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