Historically, it was a majority Muslim town with references made to a fort during Delhi Sultanate times.

This fort was pillaged by Babur following the First Battle of Panipat for having rendered assistance to Ibrahim Khan Lodi.

Following its destruction, the Sikhs started occupying territory, the Nishananvali Misl, under Dasaundha Singh and Sangat Singh, took possession of a long and narrow stretch of land south of the Sutlej, extending from Singhanvala in Moga, Punjab district up to Shahabad with Ambala as the headquarters.

It was during this period, between 1770 and 1780, that a magnificent old mosque, said to have been built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1630, was converted into a Sikh gurdwara.

The Sikh holy book Guru Granth Sahib is seated in the centre in front of the mihrab.

A market known as Kahan Chand Mandi was constructed in 1923 on the outskirts of the town but it did not flourish and now serves as a residential colony.

Chief Minister of Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda announced Sub Divisional Status for Shahabad Markanda on 9 May 2011.

Hundreds of Sikhs who were made prisoner were strung up by Firuz to the road-side trees, their long hair and beards being twisted to perform the office of a rope.

It lies on the banks of the River/stream Markanda, a tributary of the Ghaggar, and supposed to be a part of the ancient Vedic Saraswati River basin system.

Pipli, near Kurukshetra, Nilokheri and Karnal are the other nearby towns south of Shahabad on the Grand Trunk Road.

The Shahabad Municipal Committee has population of 58,795 of which 28,913 are males while 26,694 are females as per report released by the 2011 Census of India.

Shahabad Municipal Committee has total administration over 9,222 houses to which it supplies basic amenities like water and sewerage.

It is also authorize to build roads within Municipal Committee limits and impose taxes on properties coming under its jurisdiction.

In higher education Markanda National College and Arya Kanya Mahavidyalya are important to note.

From the last decade Shahabad has produced many women hockey players who have donned Haryana, Railways or Indian team colours.

Beside hockey Shahabad also excels in other sports too: Narender Singh of Bibipur block, Shahbad, has climbed Mount Everest and created a new record by staying on the summit for an hour without oxygen.

Narinder Singh created another three [sic] records: a) Cycle to recycle starting from Mt Everest base to Kanyakumari 11906 km in 63 days; b) Underwater Cycling 100 m in sea of Goa in 2012-13; c) he climbed Mt Elburs [sic] (i.e. the highest peak in Iran) in 2012; d) he cycled from Srinagar (J Sardar Shingara Singh Hanjra sacrificed his life for the country during the Indo-Pakistani Partition 1947.

Five Shaurya Chakra were awarded by the President Of India to the brave family of Dr. Harnam Singh.

Bullet marks on the exterior surface of the domes and the walls document turbulence in the eighteenth century.