Surat is mentioned in the Sanskrit epic, the Mahābhārata, when Lord Krishna stopped there en route from Mathura to Dwarka. According to other later Sanskrit records, the area was ruled by the Western Chālukyas in 610 CE, and continued to be ruled by Hindu kings until it was captured by one of the generals of Quṭbuddīn Aibak. The Parsis started to settle there from the 8th century onward, and added greatly to its prosperity, with there having been a thriving sea trade between Iran and Gujarat, owing to the famous Silk Route.
Local Hindu traditions state that the city as we know it today was founded in the last years of the fifteenth century by a Brahman named Gopi, who called it Suryapūr (City of the Sun).
In the early centuries during the reign of a Maratha King, the port of Surat was used as the gateway to Mecca for pilgrims of the Hajj from India's interior regions. Both the Makkai Pul and the Mughal Sarai guest house for hajjis (pilgrims) are indicators of this historical function.
In 1512 and 1530 Surat was burned and ravaged by the Portuguese Empire who were trying to maintain influence in the area. In 1513, the Portuguese traveller, Duarte Barbosa, described Surat as an important seaport, frequented by many ships from Malabar and various parts of the world. By 1520, the name of the city was Surat.
Surat eclipsed Khambhat as the major port of western India, when Khambhat's harbour began to silt up by the end of fifteenth century. During the reigns of the Mughal emperors Akbar, Jahāngīr and Shāh Jahān, Surat rose to become a chief commercial city of India, and an imperial mint was established there. As the major port on the west coast of India, Surat also served as the port for the Hajj to Mecca. At the end of the 16th century, the Portuguese were undisputed masters of the Surat sea trade. There still is a picturesque fortress on the banks of the river built in 1540.
In 1608, ships from the English East India
