Adilabad is a city[5] which serves as the headquarters of Adilabad district, in the Indian state of Telangana.[3] Telugu, Urdu, Marathi, and Lambadi, Gondi are the most spoken languages of Adilabad.[6] Adilabad is famous for its extensive cultivation of cotton. Hence, Adilabad is also referred as "White Gold City". It is located about 304 kilometres (189 mi) north of the state capital, Hyderabad, 150 kilometres (93 mi) from Nizamabad and 196 kilometres (122 mi) from Nagpur. Before the 10th century, this town was referred to as Edlawāḍa, i.e. 'Land of Oxen'.[7] Later, during the Qutub Shahi rule it was referred to as Edlabad. Adilabad derives its name from the erstwhile ruler of Bijapur, Muhammad Yusuf Adil Shah.[8] It wasn't a homogenous unit for a long period. Adilabad was ruled by many dynasties like the Kakatiyas, Mauryas, Satavahanas, Chalukyas, Qutub Shahis, Asaf Jahis and by Gond Rajas of earlier sub-districts Sirpur and Chanda. It was created in 1872 by the ruler and In 1905 it was declared to be an independent district with a prominent headquarters. Later, many regions were combined and set apart. In 2016, it was divided into four districts namely, Adilabad, Nirmal, Asifabad, Mancherial.[9]