| Solapur district | |
| Settlement Type: | District of Maharashtra |
| Total Type: | Total |
| Coordinates: | 17.8333°N 105°W |
| Coor Pinpoint: | Solapur |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  India |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Maharashtra |
| Subdivision Type2: | Division |
| Subdivision Name2: | Pune Division[1] |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Seat Type: | Headquarters |
| Seat: | Solapur |
| Parts Type: | Tehsils |
| Parts Style: | para |
| P1: | 1. Akkalkot, 2. Barshi, 3. Karmala, 4. Madha, 5. Malashiras, 6. Mangalwedha, 7. Mohol, 8. Pandharpur, 9. Sangola, 10. North Solapur and 11. South Solapur |
| Area Total Km2: | 14895 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Total: | 4,317,756 |
| Population Urban: | 31.83% |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Demographics |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Literacy |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 71.2% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Sex ratio |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 935 |
| Governing Body: | Solapur Zilla Parishad |
| Leader Title: | Guardian Minister |
| Leader Name: | Chandrakant Patil |
| Leader Name3: | NA |
| Leader Title4: | MPs |
| Leader Name4: | Praniti Sushilkumar Shinde Dhairyasheel Patil Omprakash Rajenimbalkar |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +05:30 |
| Registration Plate: | MH13 Solapur MH45 Akluj (Solapur Rural) |
| Website: | http://solapur.gov.in/ |
Solapur District (Marathi pronunciation: [solaːpuːɾ]) is a district in Maharashtra state of India. The city of Solapur is the district headquarters. It is located on the south east edge of the state and lies entirely in the Bhima and Seena basins.[2] The entire district is drained by the Bhima River.[3]
Solapur district leads Maharashtra in production of Indian cigarettes known as beedi.[4]
In ancient times, the northern part of the district was part of Asmaka while the southern part of the district, along with Satara and Sangli districts, was part of the region of Manadesha, part of the larger region of Kuntala. Kuntala became part of the Mauryan Empire during the time of Ashoka. After the fall of the Mauryans, Kuntala came under the Sathavahanas. Solapur lay near the Sathavahana heartland, and so remained under their rule while the rest of their empire became conquered by outside powers. The region must have had a high level of prosperity at the time, as it lay at the centre of multiple trade routes. In c. 250 CE, the Sathavahanas were overthrown by the Abhiras, whose empire later broke apart.
A dynasty calling itself the Rashtrakutas, whose first ancestor ruled in around 350CE, had their base at Manapura in modern Satara district. Their core territory was the Kuntala region, and they often harassed the Vakatakas in Vidarbha. A work ascribed to Kalidasa mentions how the Gupta ruler Vikramaditya sent him as ambassador to the Kuntala king, who eventually warmed up to him. Kalidasa says how he made peace between the Vakatakas and the Rashtrakutas, but was scathing of the lord of Kuntala's neglect of statecraft. Around the 5th century CE, an inscription records an invasion of Kuntala by the Vakatakas and that the lord of Kuntala was made into a feudatory of theirs.[5] Around the turn of the 6th century CE, the Vakatakas were defeated. A tradition recorded around 125 years later claims the last Vakataka king was given wholly over to pleasures and neglected his kingdom, encouraged by a son of his feudatory in Asmaka. When the kingdom was sufficiently weakened, the ruler of Asmaka invited the Kadambas to invade. In the battle between Kadambas and Vakatakas, the rulers of Asmaka and Kuntala betrayed their overlord and helped the Kadambas win the battle. Afterwards the ruler of Asmaka took over Vidarbha as well as Kuntala, but he was soon overthrown by the Vishnukundins. The Vishnukundins may have briefly controlled Kuntala for a time, but after their overthrow the Rashtrakutas declared independence. The Chalukyas under Pulakeshin II soon ousted the Rashtrakutas and took over Kuntala.[6]
According to the 2011 census Solapur District has a population of 4,317,756, the 43rd largest district in India by population (out of 640). The district has a population density of 290PD/sqkm. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 12.1%. Solapur has a sex ratio of 932 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 77.72%. 32.40% of the population lived in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 15.05% and 1.80% of the population respectively.[7] [8]
At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 73.13% of the population in the district spoke Marathi, 9.28% Kannada, 6.47% Hindi, 4.49% Telugu, 3.94% Urdu and 0.94% Lambadi as their first language.[9] [10]
Solapur district is subdivided for administrative purposes into eleven talukas, which in turn comprise smaller divisions. The talukas are North Solapur, South Solapur, Akkalkot, Barshi, Mangalwedha, Pandharpur, Sangola, Malshiras, Mohol, Madha and Karmala.[11]