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Alibag

town in Maharashtra, India

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 13, 2026
Entity authorityQ385394
Source-derived summary

Alibag (pronounced [əlibaːɡ]), also known as Alibaug, is a coastal city and a municipal council in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. It is the headquarters of the Raigad district, and is south of the city of Mumbai. Alibag is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and is situated at a distance of about 96 kilometres (60 mi) from Mumbai and 143 kilometres (89 mi) from Pune.

Alibag is a holy place for Padmakshi Renuka, who is also known as the goddess of Konkan.

History

Alibag was founded in the 17th century by the Admiral of the Maratha Navy, Kanhoji Angre.

Alibag and its surrounding villages are the historic hinterlands of the Bene Israel Jews. According to Indian Jewish historian Esther David, Jews arrived in the region over 2000 years ago, escaping persecution from the Roman Empire, when their ship wrecked here. As they got into the business of oil-pressing and plantations, continued practising Sabbath, and took holidays on Saturday, they came to be known as Shanivar-Telis ('Saturday–Oilpeople'). There is a synagogue named Magen Aboth Synagogue in the "Israel Alley" area of the town.

Etymology

A Bene Israelite named Eli (Elisha/Elizah) used to live there at that time and owned many plantations of mangoes and coconuts in his gardens.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Alibag” as town in Maharashtra, India. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Alibag, town and Maharashtra.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2000—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Alibag, town and Maharashtra providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Alibag”, the useful work is to connect “town in Maharashtra, India” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q385394. VIAF identifies the subject as 142019535. The Library of Congress control number is n89265169. Authority coordinates are 18.641, 72.879. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2000.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Alibag”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Alibag primary sources, Alibag archive and Alibag research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Alibag”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Alibag” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.