History of Nagpur district is closely connected to the rise and development of the city of Nagpur. Thus to trace the historical rise and fall of the district, the development of the city too has to be looked into since the district and the city are so closely linked. The earliest history of Nagpur district can be 1st century B.C. Evidences pointing towards the same are found in the hills and hillocks of Hidimba Tekadi, 40 kms from Nagpur near Mansar, where pieces of Terracotta belonging to the Vakataka dynasty, Maruya Empire and the Shung period have been obtained by archaeologists. The name of Nagpur appeared for the first time on record in the 10th century A.D. Nagpur was founded in the year 1702 AD by the Gond King Bakht Buland Shah of Devagad, on the banks of the Nag River. That is why the city was named as `Nagpur`. He founded the city by joining 12 small hamlets formerly known as `Rajapur Baraasa` or `Barasa`. In 1706, the eldest son of Bakht Buland Shah, Raja Chand Sultan ascended on the throne of Devagad in 1706 A.D. and he shifted his capital from Devagad to Nagpur. The contemporary Devagad was a small wooden fortress located 30 kms away in the Chhindwara district. The contemporary Devagad state included Nagpur, Bhandra, Seoni, Balaghat, Betul and Hoshangabad districts. Raja Chand Sultan initiated the construction of his fortress at Mahal. He constructed a 3 km long wall around this fortress and for the first time laid the foundation of a planned layout for Nagpur city. He continuously ruled over and made an all out development of Nagpur for 33 years.

After the death of Raja Chand Sultan, Nagpur again went into obscurity and was gradually dominated by the Bhonsle dynasty of Deor. In 1742 A.D. the Bhonsle King Raghuji Bhonsle ascended the throne of Nagpur in place of the Gond king Raja Chand Sultan. Nagpur became the capital of Raghuji Bhonsle. Nagpur was burnt substantially in 1765 and again partially in 1811 by the marauding tribe of the Pindaris. However, the development of the city of Nagpur continued. Nawabpur, Old Mangalwari, Shukrawari Tank, Hansapuri, Jaripatka, Rajabaksha, Rambagh and Itwari areas were established and developed during the Bhonsle period.

In the famous battle of Sitabuldi, the Marathas lost the fortress and the city to the Britishers. Britishers became the undisputed rules and monarch of the area. Nagpur was ultimately incorporated into British residency in 1853 A.D. In 1857, the effect of the first freedom struggle was felt at Nagpur too. This laid down the foundation of many non violent, non co-operation movements here. In 1861 Nagpur was declared the capital of the central provinces, and the Municipality of Nagpur was established in 1864. A number of developments and incidents took place in the years that followed right up till the country got its independence.

These are briefly listed below.
1867 A.D. - A new British train route between Nagpur to Mumbai, - `Great Indian Peninsula (G.I.P) `railway` was laid down which transformed the future of Nagpur for good. The first train steamed out of the city in 1867 A.D.

1891 A.D. - On 28th December 1891, the seventh All India Congress Session was organized at Lalbagh locality at Nagpur, in which the famous P. Anandacharlu presided.

1899 A.D. - The great plague strikes and takes a heavy toll in Nagpur.

1912 A.D. - Foundation Stone of Vidhan Sabha was laid.

1920 A.D. - 35th All India Congress session was held for the second time at Nagpur for which a new colony Congress nagar was laid down near Dhontoli park. In this session over 60 thousand Congress representative attended. The session was presided over by Shri. Jamnalal Bajaj. He openly supported Mahatma Gandhi as the undisputed leader of the union.

1923 A.D. - Nagpur University was founded. To mark the all India `Jhanda Satyagrah Aandolan` a protest rally was also organized at Nagpur in which Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajrishi Tondon participated.

1940 A.D. - Netaji Subash Chandra Bose`s All India Forward Bloc organized its second all India session at Nagpur.

1942 A.D. - Nagpur participated in `Bharat Chodo Aandolan` in which Maganlal Bagdi`s Lal Sena actively participated. He was imprisoned and the freedom fighter Shankar was hanged.

1947 A.D. - The country got its freedom from the British yoke and Nagpur also participated in this celebration. All India Radio Station was founded at Nagpur.

The Nagpur Municipality was converted to a Municipal Corporation in the year 1951. In the same year, the foundation of the `Bhartiya Jansangh` was also laid. Finally, in the year 1960 A.D., Nagpur city and district were transferred to Maharashtra State, as a part of state reorganization.