The Palamu district has sites of Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlement in the confluence of the Son and North Koel rivers in Kabra-Kala mound.

His son, Bhagwat Rai, continued the same policy, but was soon attacked by Mughal forces and fled to Dev Sahi, a Rajput holding the fort of Dhanundanr.

With Puran Mal, Dev Sahi's son, he took service with the Raja of Palamu Man Singh.

Medini Rai was able to launch expeditions against the Maharaja of Chota Nagpur and built the Fort of Palamu.

In 1641, Chero ruler Pratap Rai refused to pay tribute to then-emperor Shah Jahan.

Shaista Khan was sent to destroy the Chero kings with an expedition of 15,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry, which penetrated as far as Ara and laid siege to the Palamu Fort.

During the siege, in 1642, the Cheros attacked a Mughal party, but was soon itself defeated, forcing Pratap Rai to give a sum of Rs.

[3] For the next twenty years however, the Cheros neglected to pay their tribute and continued to make raids into Mughal territory in Bihar.

Khan first conquered Kotna, which the Cheros had abandoned, proceeded to Palamu Fort which took months due to the thick jungle.

The Cheros briefly regained the fort of Deogan, but soon lost it due to conflict with Namudag estate Gaur royal family and Palamu was placed under a Muslim faujdar.

The Raja of Sonpura was the most important of these families, but had fallen out of favour with the Mughal court and lost his lands to Ghulam Hussain Khan after a protracted struggle.

The Raja offered no resistance to the Maratha general Raghoji I Bhonsle, who passed through the district on his way to raid Medinipur in Bengal.