The emperor was satisfied and permitted Rustam Khan to remain in charge of the new city, which now came to replace Sambhal as the Mughal governors' capital of the Katehar region, and the name Muradabad (or Moradabad) has been in use ever since.

Between 1200 and 1424 several attacks were done on the region by rulers of different dynasties under Delhi sultanate, each time with an intention to completely destroy it and kill every single inhabitant.

The raja of Kumaon complained about it to Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who then sent his general and governor of Sambhal Rustam Khan Dakhani to deal with the disturbance.

Rustam Khan sensed the mood of the emperor, and with great presence of mind stated that he has named the city Muradabad in honor of prince Murad Bakhsh, a son of Shah Jahan.

One of them Ali Mohammed Khan acquired considerable estate in the region and ultimately attained the status of Nawab under protection of Moradabad's Mughal governor Sheikh Azmatullah.

The Nawab of Oudh then staked claim to the entire Rohilkhand region, and started occupying its cities and bringing Rohilla leaders under his influence, including the governors of Moradabad.

He ultimately defeated Rohilla leader Hafiz Rahmat Khan in the battle of Miranpur Katra, putting an end to Rohilkhand state and bringing all of its territory, including Moradabad, under Oudh rule in 1774.

Unlike other places where rebelling was largely limited to sepoys and a few unsocial elements, in Moradabad the public (both landowners as well as common man) was also supporting it because of repressive policies under the British rule.

[14] On 8 May the news of Mutiny in Bareilly came to the city, and its effect was instantaneous: the sepoys of 29th Native Infantry overtook the British treasury and challenged their English officers.

The Quit India Movement, on the other hand, saw large scale violence in Moradabad,[19][20] including a massacre at Pan Dariba in which 6 were killed and more than 200 were injured due to indiscriminate firing of police on the protesters.

The violence didn't remain confined to Moradabad—it spread to other nearby cities including Sambhal, Bareilly, and Delhi, eventually reaching as far as Aligarh and even Prayagraj.

It is surrounded by rural towns and villages that fall under the Moradabad district (i.e. Dalpatpur, Pakbada, Fatehpur Khas, Lodhipur, Ratanpur, Husainpur Hamir, Dilari, Bijna, Ghatuawala, etc.).

[25][26] Most of these trees fall in the central Civil Lines area of the city, and they include Neem, Banyan, Indian Blackberry, and Ficus virens.

[27] Moradabad has a subtropical humid climate[24] characterized by hot summers, bracing winters, and generally low precipitation (except in the southwest monsoon season).

The commissioner is usually a Provincial Civil Service (PCS) officer appointed by the state government,[39] and he is responsible for all day-to-day functions of the municipal corporation.

A governing body consisting of MLAs, MP, Municipal Commissioner, and District Magistrate known as the Nagar Nigam Board organizes periodic meetings chaired by the mayor to discuss and plan for the various development works and issues of Moradabad.

This trend was almost on the verge of being broken in 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections though, because current MLA Ritesh Kumar Gupta won against SP's Mohammed Yusuf Ansari with a wafer-thin majority of 782 votes only.

[46] The economy of city relies heavily on its brass and metalworks industry, which exports metal handicrafts and other items to more than 80 countries[47] in North America, Europe, and other parts of Asia.

The industry is also prone to other challenges of informal sector such as unavailability of credit, poor access to government schemes, commoditization, outdated technology, and low job security.

[50] Over the years the brass industry has grown in size despite facing significant challenges such as demonetization, COVID-19 pandemic, and wars in Syria, Libya and Russia-Ukraine.

[54] In 2018, around 75 industrial units involved in the manufacturing of brassware were shut down[50] by the state government following a National Green Tribunal order[55] regarding the pollution of Ramganga river.

[60] Unlike major cities that rely on apartments, skyscrapers and vertical growth, Moradabad's cityscape consists mostly of two and three-storey buildings developed by individual residents.

For instance, in 2022 Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted a "kalash" decorated with the artwork of Ustad Dilshad Hussain to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the G7 Summit in Italy.

To this day, mushairas, qawwalis, and different types of Hindi stage plays and acts are a part of the city's vibrant culture and they are organized many times throughout the year.

The likes of people who have performed in these events include Munawwar Rana,[83] Mehshar Afridi,[84] Juhi Babbar,[85] Sonu Nigam,[86] Sunidhi Chauhan,[87] Guru Randhawa,[88] and many others.

[96] That tradition of garnishing and serving the Moradabadi dal with different kind of spices like lemon juice, chaat powder, coriander leaves, and green chillies continues to this day.

The dishes in Muradabadi cuisine also derive their distinct taste and flavor from use of brass vessels and whole spices (i.e. "khada garam masala") and raw onions to cook the food.

It is directly connected with Delhi, Mumbai,[118] Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Aligarh, Ghaziabad, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Haridwar, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Ambala, Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Kolkata, Jamshedpur, Varanasi, Ahmedabad, Patna.

Electrification: Moradabad railway station has a quadruple electric line with four parallel tracks, which allows faster trains to overtake the slower ones.

In 2022, it won the first prize among 44 cities with a population of 0.3–1 million for reducing the PM10 concentration by 36% in the Swachh Vayu Survekshan (SVS) of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).