[1] During the ancient Vedic period, it was the capital city of the Panchala Kingdom during the reign of king Vajrayudha.

[2][3] In the medieval era, it formed the core of the Kingdom of Kannauj and was ruled by multiple successive royal families.

Under the names of Kuśasthala and Kanyakubja, it is mentioned as a well-known town in the Hindu Epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, and by the grammarian Patanjali (c. 150 BCE).

[7] The early Buddhist literature mentions Kannauj as Kannakujja, and refers to its location on the trade route from Mathura to Varanasi and Rajgir.

[8] Kannauj may have been known to the Greco-Roman civilization under the name of Kanagoja or Kanogiza, which appears in Geography by Ptolemy (c. 140 CE).

It became the greatest city of Northern India under Emperor Harsha (r. 606 to 647 CE) of the Vardhana dynasty, who made it his capital.

[12][13] Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang visited India during the reign of Harsha, and described Kannauj as a large, prosperous city with many Buddhist monasteries.

[17][19] When the Rashtrakuta ruler Dhruva Dharavarsha advanced back to the south, Dharampala was left in control of Kannauj for some time.

[16] However, Nagabhata II was in turn soon defeated by the Rashtrakuta Govinda III (r. 793–814 CE), who had initiated a second northern surge.

After the death of Dharampala, Nagabhata II regained hold over Kannuaj and made it the capital of the Gurjara Pratihara Empire.

[16] Famous Pir-e-Kamil, Hazrat Pir Shah Jewna Al-Naqvi Al-Bokhari was also born in Kannauj in 1493 in the reign of King Sikandar Lodi.

[20][21][22][23] In Hindu epics, Kannauj or Kanyakubja was the capital of Amavasu the son of Pururavas and an ancestor of Rigvedic sage Vishwamitra.

[26] It seems likely that Kannauj and Middle country was the place of origin of majority of migrating Brahmins throughout the medieval centuries.

[27] In 1010 A.D. Mahmud of Ghazni saw Kannauj as a "City which raised its head to skies which in strength and structure might justly boast to have no equals".

Alberuni has referred to "Kannoj" as the key geographical point to explain marching distances to other Indian cities.

[32] The Nawab Hakim Mehndi Ali Khan has been constantly associated with the development of city of Kannauj by the travellers and writers of the period.

A ghat (Mehndighat), a Sarai (for the free stay of travellers and merchants) and various metalled roads were built by the Nawab which also bear his name.