Mahoba was the capital of the Chandel Rajputs, who ruled Bundelkhand from the 10th to the 16th centuries. The Chandel king Vijaypal (1035–1045) built the Vijay-sagar reservoir, one of several artificial lakes in Mahoba created by the Chandel rulers. During the reign of king Paramardi (c. 1165-?), the Chauhan king Prithviraj III of Delhi and Ajmer captured Mahoba c. 1182, despite the resistance of his generals Alha & Udal. The Chandelas recaptured Mahoba a few years later, but the city was captured by the Muslim general Qutb-ud-din Aybak, later Sultan of Delhi, in 1203.
The Chandel ruler Keerat Pal Singh recaptured Mahoba in the 14th century. Emperor Sher Shah Suri campaigned against the Chandelas, and captured Mahoba before dying while besieging Kalinjar in 1545. The Mughal emperor Akbar captured Mahoba a few decades later.
The Bundela leader Maharaja Chhatrasal captured Mahoba in 1680, during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Upon his death in 1732, Chhatra Sal bequeathed Mahoba and the surrounding area to the Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao I in return for Baji Rao's assistance against the Mughals. The Marathas ruled Mahoba until 1803, when it was ceded to British India by the Treaty of Bassein. Mahoba was made a subdivision of Hamirpur District.
The name Mahoba is derived from 'Mahotsav Nagar', the city of great festivals, which were celebrated here by Chandra-Verman or Nannuka, The traditional founder of the Chandella Dynasty. The Bardic tradition preserves three other names of the City: Kekaipur, Patanpur and Ratanpur. These names are said to have been current in the Treta and Dwapar Yugas. The existence of the sacred 'Ram-Kund' and 'Seeta-Rasoi' cave at the Gokhar hill here are said to be monumental to the visit of Rama who widely treated this hilly region while in 14-year exile at Chitrakoot.
Before the rise of Chandels, Mahoba was held by the Gahadvala and Pratihara clans of Rajputs. The Chandela ruler Chandra-Verman, who
