AZAMGARH, or AZIMGARH  , a city and district of British India, in the Gorakhpur division of the United Provinces . The town is situated on the river Tons, and has a railway station . It is said to have been founded about 1665 by a powerful landholder named Azim Khan, who owned large estates in this part of the country . Pop . (1901) 18,835 . The area of the district is 2207 sq. m . It is bounded on the N. by the river Gogra, separating it from Gorakhpur district; on the E. by Ghazipur district and the river Ganges; on the S. by the districts of Jaunpur and Ghazipur; and on the W. by Jaunpur and Fyzabad . The portion of the district lying along the banks of the Gogra is a low-lying tract, varying considerably in width; south of this, however, the ground takes a slight rise . The slope of the land is from north-west to south-east, but the general drainage is very inadequate . Roughly speaking, the district consists of a series of parallel ridges, whose summits are depressed into beds or hollows, along which the rivers flow; while between the ridges are low-lying rice lands, interspersed with numerous natural reservoirs . The soil is fertile, and very highly cultivated, bearing magnificent crops of rice, sugar-cane and indigo . There are several indigo factories .

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branch of the Bengal & North-Western railway to Azamgarh town was opened in 1898 . In 1901 the population was 1,529,785, showing a decrease of 11 jo in the decade . The district was ceded to the Company in 18or by the wazirs of Lucknow . In 1857 it became a centre of mutiny . On the 3rd of June 1857 the 17th Regiment of Native Infantry mutinied at Azamgarh, murdered some of their officers, and carried off the government treasure to Fyzabad . The district became a centre of the fighting between the Gurkhas and the rebels, and was not finally cleared until October 1858 by Colonel Kelly .