Kathiawar Peninsula

Peninsula, southwestern Gujarat state, west-central India.

Occupying an area of 23,000 sq mi (60,000 sq km), it is bounded by the Arabian Sea on the southwest. It was first occupied in prehistoric times and was settled in the 3nd–2nd millennium BC by Harappan peoples. It was ruled by many great dynasties beginning with the Mauryan empire in the 3rd century BC. The area came under Muslim rule in the 13th century and became part of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century. Many of its small princely states came under British protection after 1820. Made a part of Gujarat state in 1960, it is the site of a national park that contains the last wild Asiatic lions in India.

* * *

▪ peninsula, India

also called  Saurashtra Peninsula 

      peninsula in southwestern Gujarat (Gujarāt) state, west-central India. It is bounded by the Little Rann (marsh) of Kachchh (Kachchh, Rann of) (Kutch) to the north, the Gulf of Khambhat (Khambhat, Gulf of) to the east, the Arabian Sea to the southwest, and the Gulf of Kachchh (Kachchh, Gulf of) to the northwest. From the northeast an ancient sandstone formation extends into the peninsula, which has an area of 23,000 square miles (60,000 square km). Most of the sandstone, however, is masked by lavas. The coastal regions are flanked west and east by clays and limestones and south by alluvium and miliolite, a wind-deposited sand concretion known as Porbandar stone and widely used for building material. The area flanking the Gulf of Khambhat is largely alluvial.

      Much of the peninsula is less than 600 feet (180 metres) above sea level, but the Girnar Hills and the isolated Gir Range reach top elevations of 3,665 feet (1,117 metres) and 2,110 feet (643 metres), respectively. The natural vegetation of the dry, hot region is mainly thorn forest, but mangrove stands are common in low-lying areas near the sea. Gir National Park in the south contain the last wild Indian lions, and other wildlife abounds. Agriculture is the chief occupation on the peninsula; the principal crops raised include wheat, millet, peanuts (groundnuts), and cotton. Bhavnagar is the principal port and city.

      The settlement of Kathiawar dates to the 3rd millennium BCE. Archaeological remains of the Harappan civilization (named for Harappa (Harappā) village in Pakistan) occur at Lothal and Prabhasa Patan (Patan Somnath). In the 3rd century BCE the peninsula came under Mauryan influence, but it was later dominated by the Shakas. In the early centuries CE it was ruled by the Kshatrapa dynasties, and, on the decline of the Gupta empire, Kathiawar was seized by the Valabhis in the 5th century CE. It suffered from early Muslim attacks, culminating in the campaigns of Maḥmūd of Ghazna (Maḥmūd) and the sack of Somnath in 1024. The area later passed under Mughal rule, and British paramountcy was recognized by the many small princely states after 1820.

* * *