Jaunpur

bridge across the Gomati River

Jaunpur, city, southeastern Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It straddles the Gomati River, about 35 miles (55 km) northwest of Varanasi (Benares).

Jaunpur probably was originally founded in the 11th century but was washed away by Gomati floods. It was rebuilt in 1359 by Fīrūz Shah Tughluq, whose fort still stands. The city was the capital of the independent Muslim kingdom of the Sharqī dynasty (1394–1479). It was conquered by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1559 and fell under British rule in 1775. Jaunpur contains several old mosques, including the Aṭalā Mosque (1408) and the Jāmiʿ Masjid (Great Mosque; 1478). A splendid bridge, built in the 16th century, spans the Gomati.

Jaunpur is an important road and rail junction. It is also an agricultural market with more than half of its own area devoted to gardening. Almost the entire alluvial plain around the city is under cultivation, much of it irrigated. Crops include rice, corn (maize), barley, and sugarcane. The area has long suffered greatly from floods and droughts. Perfume is the principal industrial product. The city houses numerous colleges of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University in Gorakhpur. Pop. (2001) 160,055; (2011) 180,362.