Districts of East Uttar Pradesh consist of Varanasi District, Azamgarh District and Faizabad District. Varanasi in Varanasi District is one of the most important religious city in Uttar Pradesh.
Varanasi District
Varanasi is one of the 72 districts in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Varanasi grew as an important industrial centre, famous for its muslin and silk fabrics, perfumes, ivory works, and sculpture. Gautama Buddha is believed to have founded Buddhism here around 528 BC when he gave his first sermon at Sarnath. Varanasi has vast religious importance. The religious legacy continued to grow since 8th century, when Adi Shankaracharya established the worship of Lord Shiva or Mahadeva as an official sect of Varanasi. Despite the Muslim rule, Varanasi remained the centre of activity for Hindu intellectuals and theologians during the medieval age also, which further contributed to its reputation as atytyu cultural centre of religion and education. Tulsidas wrote his epic poem on Rama`s life called Ram Charit Manas in Varanasi. There are several other major figures born from the Bhakti movement in Varanasi, including Kabir and Ravidas. Guru Nanak Dev visited Varanasi for Shivratri in 1507, a trip that played a large role in the founding of Sikhism. In the 16th century, Varanasi experienced a cultural revival under the Muslim-Mughal emperor Akbar who invested in the city, and built two large temples dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu, though much of modern Varanasi was built during the 18th century, by the Maratha and Bhumihar kings. The kingdom of Benares was given official status by the Mughals in 1737. The rule of Kings of Varanasi was continued as a dynasty-governed area until Indian independence in 1947. The Silk weaving, carpets and crafts and tourism employ a significant number of the local population.
Faizabad District
Faizabad is the old capital of Awadh. The Kingdom of Awadh was flourished in post Mughal era. The headquarters of Faizabad District is the city of Faizabad. It is also a most important connecting centre of Faizabad division as well. It is a municipal corporation with Ayodhya in the state of Uttar Pradesh, situated on the banks of river Ghaghra. It was the first capital of the Nawabs of Awadh and has many monuments of Awadhi architecture built by the Nawabs, like the Tomb of Bahu Begum, Gulab Bari, Fort Calcutta, Mausoleum of Bahu Begum, Muasoleum of Shuja-ud-daulah and Moti Mahal.
Azamgarh District
Azamgarh district is one of the three districts of Azamgarh division in Uttar Pradesh. Azamgarh district has an area of 4,054 square kilometers. Azamgarh district lies between the Ganges and the Ghagahara. Azamgarh district is surrounded by the districts of Mau in the east, Gorakhpur in the north, Ghazipur in the south-east, Jaunpur in the south-west, Sultanpur in the west and Ambedkar Nagar in the north-west.
