(1) Raichur  

     

It is situated in Karnataka between the rivers of Krihna and Tungbhadra. During the 14^th century, it was the part of Kakatiya kingdom. It was later captured by the Bahmanis and became the bone of contention between the Bahmanis and Vijayanagara Empire. In 16^th Century, Vijayanagara King Krishnadevaraya made extensive preparations for a grand attack on Raichur doab.

The city is famous for Raichur Fort which was built by Kakatiya king Rudra.It was capture by the Bahmanis in 1323 CE.

Bijapur Sultanate made Raichut its capital in 1489.

Raichur is very rich from the epigraphical point of view. The inscriptions are in a variety of languages such as Sanskrit, Prakrit, Kannada, Arabic, and Persian and belonging to almost all the dynasties that ruled over the Deccan.

Among the ruins of the immense fort are many irrigation tanks and old temples.

(2) Raigarh

It is a hillfort situated in Raigad district of Maharashtra. It was under the control of Vijayanagara Empire and also under Nizam Shahi rulers and Bijapuri Sultans. When Aurangzeb was busy in battles, Maratha king Shivaji captured Raigarh.

Shivaji rebuilt this fort and made it his capital in 1674. Shivaji built many royal buildings like palaces mansions, mint, quarters, offices and graneries. The fort has several other monuments like Tomb of Shivaji, Tomb of Jijabai (Shivaji’s mother), Nagarkhana Darwaja, Ganga Sagar Lake etc.

In 1690, it was taken by Aurangzeb, but came under the Marathas during the decline of the Mughal power in Delhi. Later it was captured by British East India Company.

(3) Rajagriha / Rajgir

 

It is located in the Nalanda district of Bihar. It was the ancient capital of the Magadha Empire until the 5^th century BC when Ajatashatru (and finally Udayin) moved the capital to Pataliputra. Rajagriha was surrounded by five hills which made it impregnable.

It is also mentioned in Buddhist and Jain scriptures and related to the life of both Buddha and Mahavir. Gautama Buddha spent several months meditating, and preaching in Rajagriha.

Chinese Buddhist pilgrims, particularly Faxian and Xuanzang mention Rajagriha.

Rajagriha was the venue of the first Buddhist council.

(4) Rajahmundary / Rajahmundry

• The city origins can be traced back to the rule of the Chalukya king Raja Raja Narendra who reigned around 1022 AD, after whom it is named Rajamahendri or Rajamahendravaram.
• The city is known as the Cultural Capital of Andhra Pradesh which is noted for its versatile Vedic culture and intellect.

(5) Rajim / Rajam

• Rajim is a ancient town and the holiest place in Chattisgarh as it is situated at the eastern bank of Mahanadi river. Mahanadi enjoys the same status as that of Ganga in Chattisgarh hence taking bath and performing rituals at the bank Mahanadi is considered very sacred.
• Rajiv-Lochan Temple: There are five temples inside the courtyard, central main temple and four shrines at four corners.  Rajiv-Lochan shrine stands in center, shrine for Narasimha on north-west corner, shrine for Badrinatha on north-east corner, shrine for Vamana on south-east corner and a shrine for Varaha on south-west corner. There is an image of Sheshashai Vishnu in the center of the door lintel. Many of its features point to Gupta craftsmanship. An image of Gaja-Lakshmi is placed just below the central image of Sheshashai Vishnu. There is an image of Buddha placed on one corner of inner chamber.

(6) Rajmahal 

Rajmahal in the modern Bengal which was founded by Akbar’s commander Man Singh in 1592 and made the capital of his Subah. In Todarmal’s records, it is mentioned as Uga Mahal. It was the capital of Bengal from 1639 to 1660.

The French traveller Travenier came here and wrote many things about it in his account.

(7) Rakhigarhi 

• Rakhigarhi is a village in Hisar District in the state of Haryana  the site of the largest known city of Indus Valley civilization. Another related site in the area is Mitathal, which is still awaiting excavation.

Discoveries:

• The pottery is similar to Kalibangan and Banawali. Pits surrounded by walls have been found, which are thought to be for sacrificial or some religious ceremonies. Fire was used extensively in their religious ceremonies.
• There are brick lined drains to handle sewage from the houses.
• Terracotta statues, weights, bronze artefacts, comb, copper fish hooks, needles and terracotta seals have also been found. A bronze vessel has been found which is decorated with gold and silver.
• A gold foundry with about 3000 unpolished semi-precious stones has been found. Many tools used for polishing these stones and a furnace were found there.
• A burial site has been found with skeletons, with their heads in the north direction. Near the heads of these skeletons, utensils for everyday use were kept. The three female skeletons have shell bangles on their left wrists. Near one female skeleton, a gold armlet has been found. In addition semi precious stones have been found lying near the head, showing that they were part of some sort of necklace.
• Fire altars and Apsidal structures were revealed in Rakhigarhi.
• Cotton cloth traces preserved on silver or bronze objects were known from Rakhigarhi, Chanhudaro and Harappa. An impressive number of stamps seals were also found at this site.

Hakra ware:

• The site has thick deposits of ‘Hakra Ware’ (typical of settlements dating back before the early phases of Indus Valley and dried up Sarasvati river valley).
• It also has Early and Mature Harappan artefacts. The Hakra and the Early phases are separated by more than 500–600 years and the Hakra people are considered to be the earliest Indus inhabitants. it is said that the site may date back to about 2500 BC to 3000 BC.

Granary:

• A granary belonging to mature Harappan phase (2600 BCE to 2000 BCE) has been found here. Granary is made up of mud-bricks with a floor of ramped earth plastered with mud. It has 7 rectangular or square chambers.
• Significant traces of lime & decompossed grass are found on the lower portion of the granary wall indicating that it can also be the storehouse of grains with lime used as insecticide & grass used to prevent entry of moisture. Looking at the size, it appears to be a public granary or a private granary of elites.

Cemetery:

• A Cemetery of Mature Harappan period is discovered at Rakhigarhi, with eight graves. Often brick covered grave pits had wooden coffin in one case. Different type of grave pits were undercut to form an earthen overhang and body was placed below this; and then top of grave was filled with bricks to form a roof structure over the grave.
• Parasite eggs which were once existed in the stomach of those buried were found in the burial sites along with human skeletans.

(8) Rameshwaram

Rameshwaram is an island situated in the Gulf of Mannar in Tamilnadu. Ramanathaswamy Temple dedicated to god Shiva located on Rameswaram. It is one of the three of the most revered Nayanars (Saivite saints), Appar, Sundarar and Tirugnana Sambandar, have glorified the temple with their songs (Tevaram is the 7^th– 8^th century Tamil compositions on Shiva). The temple was expanded during the 12^th century by Pandya Dynasty.

Together with Banaras, it is considered to be one of the holiest pilgrim places for Hindus and called ‘Banaras of the south’. It is pilgrim site for both Vaishnavite and Shaivites.

(9) Ranthambhor 

Ranthambore is situated in the old Jaipur state. Fort of Ranthambhor is one of the six forts included in the World Heritage Site inscription Hill Forts of Rajasthan.

After the defeat of the Chauhan king Prithviraj Chauhan by Muhammad of Ghori in 1192, Ranthambore, led by Govinda Raja, son of Pritviraj, became the center of Chauhan resistance to the expanding Sultanate of Delhi. Govinda Raja was succeeded by his son Balhana.The Delhi Sultan Iltutmish captured Ranthambore in 1226, but the Chauhans recaptured it after his death in 1236.

Ranthambhor was a Rajput stronghold before it was captured by Qutubuddin Aibak in 1192 AD. Iltutmish again seized the fort in 1226 AD. Later it became independent and Mughal Emperoro Akbar reconquered it.

The fort is known for the glory and valor of Hammir dev of the Chauhan dynasty. Alauddin Khilji had attacked and conqured it killing Hammir Deo in 1301.

The fortress was captured by the kingdom of Mewar under Rana Hamir Singh (1326–1364) and Rana Kumbha (1433–1468). The Mughal Emperor Akbar captured the fortress in 1559.The fortress passed to the Kachwaha Maharajas of Jaipur in the 17th century.

(10) Rana Ghundai

• It ia pre-harappan site in Baluchistan. Nearby sites are Dabar Kot , Sur Jungal. These three are in Anambar Valley.
• The site of Rana Ghundai produced a stratification which showed, in the third phase of the village’s history, a type of pottery with bold designs in black on a red background.

(11) Ratnagiri

It is situated in Odissa in in Jajpur district. The excavations have revealed the remains of an imposing stupa and two monasteries, besides many shrines. The antiquities indicate the popularity and sanctity of Ratnagiri as a centre of Buddhism comparable to Nalanda in the Gupta and post-Gupta periods.

The excavations have brought to light a rich crop of antiquities which include a large number of stone sculptures of various Buddhist divinities, iron objects, stone querns etc. The discovery of bronze objects in the form of images and other goods indicates that Ratnagiri was a centre of bronze casting.

A number of clay sealings and inscribed terracotta plaques have also been found. One of those terracotta sealings testifies the fact that Ratnagiri like Nalanda was a renowned centre of Buddhist learning and attracted students from far away places.

(12) Rewa

• Predecessor state was founded circa 1140. The chiefs of Rewa were Baghel Rajputs descended from the Solanki clan which ruled over Gujrat from the tenth to the thirteenth century. Vyaghra Deo, brother of the ruler of Gujarat, is said to have made his way into northern India about the middle of the thirteenth century and obtained the fort of Marpha, 18 miles north-east of Kalinjar. His son Karandeo married a Kalchuri (Haihaya) princess of Mandla and received in dowry the fort of Bandhogarh which, until its destruction in 1597 by Akbar was the Baghel Capital.
• In 1298, Ulugh Khan, acting under orders of emperor Alauddin drove the last Baghel ruler of Gujrat from his country and this is believed to have caused a considerable migration of the Baghels to Bandhogarh. Until the 15th century the Baghels of Bandhogarh were engaged in extending their possessions and escaped the attention of the Delhi kings. In 1498-9, Sikandar Lodi failed in his attempt to take the fort of Bandhogarh.

(13) Rohtas (in Sasaram)

(14) Rojdi

• One of the bigger sites belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization in Rupnagar district in of Punjab.
• It continued its significance up to Gupta time. It lays on chief trade route to the north-west. The discovery of large number of coins (from punch marked coins of Gupta to various iron and copper objects) indicates that Roper was centre of craft and commerce.
• The remains of a smith’s workshop with a furnace and a heap of agate beads belonging to the NBPW period.