Early history
Archeological excavations at nearby locations of Rakhigarhi, Siswal and Lohari Ragho suggest the presence of human habitation from pre-Harappan period. Later, Aryan people settled around Drsadvati River. The Jain literature Uttaradhayana Sutra mentions a town Isukara in the Kuru country which is believed to be the earlier name of Hisar. The kingdom of Hisar, with its capital atAgroha, possibly assisted Chandragupta Maurya in his war against the Greeks. The kingdom was then included in the Mauryan Empire, as evidenced by the discovery of Ashokan pillars in the vicinity of the city. The city later came under the Kushan Empireand the Gupta Empire. In 12th century, the Chauhan king Prithviraj Chauhan made Hansi, located in the present day Hisar district, his capital and built a fort. It remained a strategic place for Chauhan Empire until Prithviraj was defeated in the Second Battle of Tarain by the invading Ghurid ruler Shahabuddin Muhammad Ghori.
Tughlaq Era
Hisar was founded in 1354 AD, as 'Hisar-e-Firoza' by Firoz Shah Tughlaq, who reigned over the Sultanate of Delhi from 1351 to 1388. He built a walled fort with four gates which were subsequently named as the Delhi Gate and Mori Gate to the east, the Nagori Gate to the south and Talaqi Gate to the west. The construction of the fort started in 1354 AD and was completed in 1356 AD. In the middle of the fort stood the Firoz Shah Palace. Apart from its several underground apartments, the complex had different buildings like Baradari, Lat ki Masjid, Diwan-e-Aam and Shahi Darwaza. Near to the palace was the Gujri Mahal built by the emperor for his wife Gujri. The city was named as Hisar-e-Firoza, which means Fort of Firoz in Arabic. Timur invaded the city in 1398 AD and his soldiers set fire to the fort.
The city later come under the rule of
