Tikamgarh district is one of the 52 districts of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. Tikamgarh town is the district headquarters. The district is part of Sagar Division. It is bounded on the east and southeast by Chhatarpur District of Madhya Pradesh, and by the Uttar Pradesh districts of Lalitpur on the west and Niwari District on the north. Origin of name The district is named after its headquarters, Tikamgarh. The original name of the town was Tihri. In 1783, the ruler of Orchha Vikramajit (1776–1817) shifted his capital from Orchha to Tihri and renamed it Tikamgarh (Tikam is one of the names of Krishna). History The area covered by this district was part of the Princely State of Orchha till its merger with the Indian Union. The Orchha state was founded by Rudra Pratap Singh in 1501. After merger, it became one of the eight districts of Vindhya Pradesh state in 1948. Following the reorganization of states on 1 November 1956 it became a district of the newly carved Madhya Pradesh Orchha was founded some times after 1501 AD, by the Bundela chief, Rudra Pratap Singh, who became the first King of Orchha, (r. 1501–1531) and also built the Fort of Orchha. He died in an attempt to save a cow from a lion. The Chaturbhuj Temple was built, during the time of Akbar, by the Queen of Orchha, while Raj Mandir was built by 'Madhukar Shah' during his reign, 1554 to 1591. During the rule of Mughal Emperor, Jahangir, his ally, Vir Singh Deo (r. 1605–1627) reigned here, and it was during this period that Orchha reaches its height, and many extant palaces are a reminder of its architectural glory, including Jahangir Mahal (born c. 1605) and Sawan Bhadon Mahal. In the early 17th century, Raja Jhujhar Singh rebelled against the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, whose armies devastated the state and occupied Orchha from 1635 to 1641. Orchha and Datia were the only Bundela states not subjugated by the Marathas in the 18th century. The town of Tehri, now Tikamgarh, about south of Orchha, became the capital of Orchha state in 1783, and is now the district town; Tehri was the site of the fort of Tikamgarh, and the town eventually took the name of the fort. Hamir Singh, who ruled from 1848 to 1874, was elevated to the style of Maharaja in 1865. Maharaja Pratap Singh (born