Gondia was part of the kingdom of Maha Kosala, ruled by the Haihaya Rajput kings of Chhattisgarh in the seventh century and retains some recollection of Hindu kings who ruled from Nagardhan.
The 12th century saw the rule of Ponwars who were subsequently ousted by Gond chiefs who asserted their independence of the Ratanpur dynasty. This was followed by Raghoji Bhonsle of Vidarbha who established himself as the king of Chanda, Deogarh and Chattisgarh in 1743. In 1755, Janoji was declared as the sovereign of the territory, after the death of his father Raghoji Bhonsle. The two brothers Mudhoji and Rupaji of Raghoji Bhonsle of Hingani-Beradi were contemporaries of Shahaji, the father of Chhatrapati Shivaji and one of the ancestors of the Bhonsles of Nagpur who rehabilitated the village of Beradi was probably the contemporary of Maloji, the grandfather of Chhatrapati Shivaji. After the death ofSambhaji, during the Mughal-Maratha conflict, Parasoji rendered invaluable help to Rajaram who had succeeded to the throne of Chhatrapati. The territories of Gondawana, Devagad, Chanda and Berar from which he had exacted tribute were given to his charge under a grant made in 1699 A.D.
In 1707 after the death of Aurangzeb when Shahu was released by Muhammad Azam, Parasoji Bhonsle was the first of the Maratha nobles to join him in west Khandesh.
The 17th century saw the invasion of the Peshwas who were instrumental in making the district a part of Berar. The Peshwas were succeeded by the Nizams during the 1850s; the Nizam ceded Berar to the British East India Company. In 1903, the Nizam leased Berar to the British Government of India. It was transferred to the Central Provinces. In 1956, with the re-organization of states, Bhandara was transferred from Madhya Pradesh to Bombay Province and in 1960 with the formation of Maharashtra; it became a district of the state. Gondia district was carved out by division of Bhandara district after the 1991 Census
