HOSHANGABAD, the headquarters town of the above district, 22° 45' 30" N. lat., 77° 46' E. long., is situated on the south side of the Nerbudda. Population (1877) 11,613. It is supposed to have been founded by Hoshang Shah, the second of the Ghori kings of Malwa ; but it remained an insignificant place till the Bhopal conquest about 1720, when a massive stone fort was constructed, with its base on the river, commanding the Bhopal road. It sustained several sieges, and passed alternately into the hands of the Bhopal and Nagpur troops. From 1818 it has been the residence of the chief British officials in charge of the district. A church has been built, and a first-class jail constructed. The town has a dispensary and schoolhouses. It is the chief seat of the English piece-goods trade of the district, and has a brisk trade in cotton, grain, and bills of exchange.