The Chunar Fort (also known as Chandrakanta Chunargarh and Charanadri) is located in Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh, in India.

The fort's history spans from 56 BC, Sher Shah Suri's (1532) rule, the Mughal Empire rule (Humayun, Akbar and many others including Nawab of Awadh) up to 1740, late Kashi Naresh Maharaja Balwant Singh had conquered it from nawab of awadh in 1740 and kept under his control till 1768 as British military officer Hector Munro had taken over it from Kashi Naresh and used it as a military base.

The fort stands on a rock, a detached part of the Vindhya Range,[1][4] at an elevation of 280 feet (85 m) above sea level.

God, known in these parts as Bawan Bhagwan, appeared before Bali, disguised as a Brahmin, and begged for three feet of land.

An inscription (not very legible) in Sanskrit on the gateway of the fort mentions that the place had been taken over by Swami Raja, who had established a stone tablet recording the event.

It is said that the Bahelia family were in possession of the land holdings till the fort was finally ceded to the British in 1772.

[2][3] In 1532, Sher Khan (later known as Sher Shah Suri after he captured Bengal), a highly ambitious Pathan of Afghan descent but born in district of Narnaul in the present day state of Haryana in India, took control of the fort with high ambitions of becoming the King in Delhi.

Humayun also demanded from Suri the surrender of his treasure which he had taken to Bengal and a precious (chattar) umbrella and throne, and also to agree to be under the protection of the Mughal Empire.

The last of Suris dynasty Adil Shah remained confined to the fort till 1556 handing over the entire administration and military powers to the Hindu Prime Minister Hemu.

He acquired it as he considered the fort strategically located to guard the Ganges and the major land routes to eastern India.

[9] During his rule, the west gate was built in the fort entrance, with the date 1586 having been engraved on the stone archway.

During the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb, his appointee for Governor of the fort, Mirza Bairam Khan, constructed a mosque here in 1663, near the Bharion Burj.

[2] In 1804, Marathas ceded all their territories in Bundelkhand to East India Company following their defeat in the second Anglo-Maratha war.

[10] A small armed force was collected under Major Home Riggs Popham and Chait Singh was eventually evicted from his control of neighboring areas.

[2][3] In 1849, Maharaja Ranjit Singh's wife, Rani Jind Kaur was incarcerated in Fort Chunar after the British usurped the Sikh kingdom.

[11][12] Chunar Fort was on the hit list of the Naxalites as it was the recruitment training center of the PAC, and has a large amount of arms and ammunition stored in its armoury.

The walls resonate with tales of the legendary King Vikramaditya, the Mughals, Sher Shah Suri and Governor-General Warren Hastings.

[7] Chunar's quarries, notable since the Maurya period, were used in building the fort, and skilled masons were available locally.

He is said to have served under Munim Khan who was granted the fort and the surrounding lands since it yielded a lot of revenue, in 1567.

The Citadel which is the main structure of the fort, in its northeastern part, was mounted with many cannons and also had a gunpowder magazine.

At the highest point of the rocky bluff within the fort, there is an old Hindu palace, a very large vaulted structure.

It is mentioned that in 1333 AD, princess Sonwa, daughter of Sandeva, a Nepali king, came here frequently to take baths in the Ganga River through this tunnel.

[2] There is also a square stone slab with shade provided by a peepal tree, where according to the local legend, God is seated for 9 hours during the day and the rest of 3 hours of the day shifts to Varanasi, and further mentions that during the absence of God, the fort can be captured only between 6 AM and 9 AM.