According to archaeological discoveries of the Jorwe culture in Chandoli and Inamgaon, portions of the district have been occupied by humans since the Chalcolithic (the Copper Age, 5th–4th millennium BCE).

[5] Many ancient trade routes linking ports in western India (particularly those of coastal Konkan) with the Deccan Plateau pass through the district.

The town of Junnar has been an important trading and political center for the last two thousand years, and it was first mentioned by Greco-Roman travellers in the early first millennium CE.

[6][7][8] The Karla Caves in Karli, near Lonavala, are near the Western Ghats and a major ancient trade route running eastward from the Arabian Sea to the Deccan Plateau.

[10] Inscriptions at Karla and Junnar suggest that in the early part of the Common Era, the area was controlled by the Shaka ruler Nahapana.

[28] Among Kondadeo's reported reforms was a tax of one-fourth the cash equivalent of a land's yield, and the Fasli calendar was introduced at this time.

[32] Shivaji traveled the hills and forests of the Sahyadri range with his Maval friends, acquiring skills and familiarity with the land which would be useful in his military career.

[48] The Bhimthadi (or Deccani) horse was developed in the region under Maratha rule by crossing Arabian and Turkic breeds with local ponies.

[52] Baji Rao moved his administration from Saswad to nearby Pune in 1728, laying the foundation for turning a kasbah into a large city.

The leading role was played by the ambitious Raghunathrao, the younger brother of Nanasaheb, who wanted power at the expense of his nephews Madhavrao I and Narayanrao.

After Narayanrao's 1775 murder by order of Raghunathrao's wife, power was exercised in the name of his son Madhavrao II by a regency council led by Nana Fadnavis for most of the century.

[59] Order in Peshwa Pune was maintained by the kotwal, who was a police chief, magistrate and municipal commissioner and whose duties included investigating, levying and collecting fines for offences.

The Dakshina festival, celebrated in the Hindu month of Shravan (when millions of rupees were distributed), attracted Brahmins from throughout India to Pune.

[67][68][69] Peshwas and knights residing in the city had individual hobbies and interests; Madhavrao II had a private collection of exotic animals, such as lions and rhinoceros, near the Peshwe Park zoo.

[71] Many Peshwas and their courtiers were patrons of lavani and Maharashtrian dance, and a number of composers (such as Ram Joshi, Anant Phandi, Prabhakar and Honaji Bala) flourished during this period.

Peshwa rule ended with the defeat of Baji Rao II by the British East India Company, under the leadership of Mountstuart Elphinstone, in 1818.

The riots were responsible for the Bombay presidency government enacting the Deccan Agriculturists Relief Act to protect peasants from land grabbing by money lenders.

The Bombay-Poona line was electrified in the 1920s; this cut travel time between the cities to three hours, enabling day trips for events such as the Poona races.

[95] Power was used to electrify trains running between Mumbai and Pune and for industrial and residential use, and a dam was built on the Velvandi River in Bhor.

All the district's rivers (the Pushpavati, Krushnavati, Kukadi, Meena, Ghod, Bhama, Andhra, Indrayani, Pavna, Mula, Mutha, Ambi, Mose, Shivganga, Kanandi, Gunjavni, Velvandi, Nira, Karha and Velu) flow into the Bhima or its tributaries.

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 78.17% of the population in the district spoke Marathi, 10.00% Hindi, 1.89% Urdu, 1.40% Kannada, 1.34% Marwadi, 1.30% Telugu, 1.15% Gujarati, 0.58% Tamil, 0.53% Malayalam and 0.46% Sindhi as their first language.

Most of the private colleges were founded after the Maharashtra state government of Chief Minister Vasantdada Patil liberalised the education sector in 1982.

[112] So far MIDC has set up Industrial parks indifferent areas of the district at Pimpri, Chinchwad, Bhosari, Ranjangaon, Kurkumbh, Jejuri, Baramati, Chakan, Indapur, Hinjawadi, and Talawade.

Since most arable land is still rain-fed, the southwest monsoon season (between June and September) is crucial to the district's food sufficiency and quality of life.

The eastern part of the district has been historically drought-prone, but irrigation provided by dams, canals and wells have made agriculture less dependent on rainfall.

The defence related organizations include the National Defence Academy at Khadakwasla for training army officers, INS Shivaji at Lonavala for training naval officers, the head quarters of southern command of Indian Armed Forces based in Pune cantonment, Indian Airforce base at Lohagaon airport, Armed Forces Medical College at Wanawadi, the College of Military Engineering, the Army Institute of Physical Training, and the Institute of Armament Technology, the DRDO engineers lab at Dighi, High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, and ordinance factories at Khadki.Other central government of India undertakings in the district include National Water academy at Khadkwasla to train water resources engineers, National chemical Laboratory at Pashan, National Centre for Radio Astrophysics and their Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope at Narayangaon, and the National film and television Institute.

Because municipal transport coverage was patchy, a number of employers in the industrial belt near Pimpri-Chinchwad and Hadapsar offered bus service to their employees.

The Commonwealth Youth Games were held the following year, which encouraged additional development in north-western Pune and added a fleet of buses running on compressed natural gas (CNG) to the city's streets.

[124] Pune Airport (IATA: PNQ) is a civil enclave at Lohegaon Air Base, northeast of the city, with service to a number of domestic and international destinations.

The district has a number of mountain forts and buildings from these eras, in addition to shrines revered by Marathi Hindus (including five of the eight Ashtavinayaka Ganesha temples).