Gwalior may have been held by the Guptas or some of their disciples, but the oldest historical evidence shows the fort was conquered by the Hunas in the early sixth century. The evidence for this is a stone inscription of the time of Mihirakula recording the construction of a temple to the sun god. It is now in India Museum, Calcutta. Subsequently, the Gwalior was taken by Gurjar Pratihars of Kannauj. From inscription found such as Rakhetra stone inscription, scholars assert that Gwalior was under the possession of Gurjara Pratiharas till at least 942-43 AD
In the 10th century, after Gurjara Pratiharas, Gwalior was taken by the Kachwaha Rajputs. Qutb-ud-din Aybak captured the city in 1196. Shamsud-din Altamsh took control of the area in 1232. By the 15th century the city had a noted singing school which was attended by Tansen. It first fell to the British in 1780, and before that was ruled by the Mughals and then the Marathas but was one of the cities taken during the Sepoy Rebellion.
Today Gwalior includes the former city of Lashkar. Laskar was the capital of Gwalior state, one of the princely states of India during the British Raj. It then served as the capital of Madhya Bharat from 1950 to 1956
