History[edit]

Latur has an ancient history, which probably dates to the Rashtrakuta period. It was home to a
branch of Rashtrakutas which ruled the Deccan from 753 to 973 AD. The
first Rashtrakuta king, Dantidurga, was from Lattalur (Kannada: ), probably the ancient
name for Latur. Ratnapur is also mentioned as an historic name for Latur.[3]
The King Amoghavarsha of Rashtrakutas developed the Latur city, originally the native place of
the Rashtrakutas. The Rashtrakutas who succeeded the Chalukyas of Badami in 753 AD called
themselves the residents of Lattalut.
It was, over the centuries, variously ruled by the Satavahanas, the Sakas, the Chalukyas, the
Yadavas of Deogiri, the Delhi Sultans, the Bahamani rulers of South India, Adilshahi, and
the Mughals.
Later in the 19th century, Latur became part of the independent princely state of Hyderabad. In
1905 it was merged with surrounding areas and renamed Latur tehsil, becoming part
of Osmanabad district. Before 1948, Latur was a part of Hyderabad State under Nizam. The chief
of Nizam's Razakar army, Qasim Rizwi, was from Latur.
After Indian independence and the merger of Hyderabad with the Indian
Union, Osmanabad became part of Bombay Province. In 1960, with the creation of Maharashtra,
Latur became one of its districts. On August 16, 1982, a separate Latur district was carved out
of Osmanabad district.

Geography and climate[edit]

Latur

Climate chart (explanation)

M A

2.8

2.1

3.3

3.5

29

32

36

38

12

14

19

22

M J

24

O N D

114

116

120

122

61

11

6.5

38

34

30

29

30

32

30

28

25

24

22

21

21

19

15

12

Average max. and min. temperatures in C

Precipitation totals in mm
Source: MSN Weather
[show]Imperial conversion

Latur is situated 636 metres above mean sea level, on the Balaghat plateau, near the
MaharashtraKarnataka state boundary. It receives its drinking water from the nearby Manjira
River, which suffered from environmental degradation and silting in the late 20th and early 21st

centuries.[4] As a result of this and lack of implementation of a water management strategy,

during the drought of the 2010s the city ran out of water.[5][6]
Temperature : Annual temperatures in Latur range from 13 to 41 C (55 to 106 F), with the
most comfortable time to visit in the winter, which is October to February. The highest
temperature ever recorded was 45.8 C (114.4 F). The lowest recorded temperature was 6.9 C
(44.4 F). In the cold season the district is sometimes affected by cold waves in association with
the eastward passage of western disturbances across north India, when the minimum
temperature may drop down to about 2 to 4 C (36 to 39 F).[7]
Rainfall : Most of the rainfall occurs in the monsoon season from June to September. Rainfall
varies from 9.0 to 693 mm/month. Average annual rainfall is 725 mm.

Latur earthquake of 1993[edit]

Main article: 1993 Latur earthquake
Latur had a devastating intraplate earthquake on 30 September 1993 resulting in a huge loss of
life. The earthquake measured only 6.3 on the Richter magnitude scale but around 10,000
people were estimated to have died [8] and 30,000 injured mainly due to poor construction of
houses and village huts made of stones which collapsed on people who were fast asleep in early
morning hours. It struck southern Marathwada region of Maharashtra state in central-western
part of India and affected Latur, Beed, Osmanabad and adjoining districts about 400 km southeast of Mumbai. Latur was almost completely destroyed and life came to a standstill. The
earthquake's focus was around 12 km deep (relatively shallow), causing shock waves to cause
more damage. The number of lives lost was high as the earthquake occurred at 3:53 a.m. local
time, when people were fast asleep. After the earthquake, seismic zones were reclassified and
building codes and standards were revised all over India.