[2] The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition wrote of Budaun:[3] A town and district of British India, in the Rohilkhand division of the United Provinces.

There are ruins of an immense fort and a very handsome mosque of imposing size, crowned with a dome, and built in 1223 in great part from the materials of an ancient Hindu temple.

The first authentic historical event connected with it, however, was its capture by Kutb-ud-din in 1196, after which it became a very important post on the northern frontier of the Delhi empire.

In the 13th century two of its governors, Shams-ud-din Altamsh, the builder of the great mosque referred to above, and his son Rukd-ud-din Firoz, attained the imperial throne.

In 1571 the town was burnt, and about a hundred years later, under Shah Jahan, the seat of the governorship was transferred to Bareilly; after which the importance of Badaun declined.According to professor Goti John, the city was named Vedamooth (वेदामूथ) on an 11th-century stone inscription which is held at the Lucknow Museum.

[4][1][better source needed] In 2006, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Budaun one of the country's 251 special funded cities (out of a total of 640).

[7] The major urban areas in the district according to March 2015 estimates are Budaun (population 397,000), Ujhani (124,000), Sahaswan (118,000) and Kakrala (85,000).