Beed is a historic town of possibly medieval origin. Its early history is unclear. Historians speculate, based on archaeological remains, that the city may have been founded by the Yadava rulers (1173-1317) of Devagiri (Daulatabad). Beed was later ruled by the Nizam during the period of British India. Operation Polo, code name for the Hyderabad "Police Action", was a military operation carried out in September 1948 in which the Indian armed forces invaded the state of Hyderabad and overthrew the Nizam, annexing the state to India. . Beed remained in the annexed state of Hyderabad until 1956, when it was absorbed into the Bombay Presidency. On May 1, 1960, the state of Maharashtra was created on a linguistic basis, and the Marathi- and Muslim-dominated district of Beed became part of Maharashtra.
The early history of Beed is unknown and there are contradictions in historical accounts of its founding and early history. According to legend, Beed was an inhabited place during the period of Pandavas and Kurus as Durgavati. The name was later changed to Balni. Champavati, sister of Vikramaditya, was captured and renamed Champavatinagar. The city subsequently fell to the Chalukya, Rashtrkuta and Yadava dynasties before falling under Muslim rule. However, some scholars say that it may have been founded by the Yadava rulers of Devagiri.
