The area around Ahmedabad has been occupied since the 11th century, when it was known as Ashaval. Solanki has ruled until the 13th century, when Gujarat came under the control of the Vaghela dynasty of Dholka. Gujarat finally came under the control of the Delhi Sultanate in the 14th century. However, by the earlier 15th century, the local Muslim governor Zafar Khan Muzaffar established his self government from the Delhi Sultanate and crowned himself Sultan of Gujarat as Muzaffar Shah I, there by founding the Muzaffarid dynasty. This area completely came under the control of his grandson Sultan Ahmed Shah in 1411 A.D. Ahmed Shah I laid the foundation of the city on 26 February 1411 at Manek Burj. Manek Burj is named after the legendary 15th century Hindu saint, Maneknath, who intercede to help Ahmed Shah I build Bhadra Fort in 1411. He choose it as the new capital on 4 March 1411.

In 1487, Mahmud Begada, the grandson of Ahmed Shah, fortified the city with an outer wall 10 km (6.2 meter) in circumference and consisting of twelve gates, 189 bastions and over 6,000 battlements. In 1535 Humayun briefly employed Ahmedabad after capturing Champaner when the ruler of Gujarat, Bahadur Shah, fled to Diu. Ahmedabad was then reoccupied by the Muzaffarid dynasty until 1573 when Gujarat was defeated by the Mughal emperor Akbar. During the Mughal rule, Ahmedabad became one of the Empire’s thriving centres of trade, mainly in textiles, which were exported as far as Europe. The Mughal ruler Shahjahan spent the prime of his life in the city, sponsoring the building of the Moti Shahi Mahal in Shahibaug. The Deccan Famine of 1630–32 damaged the city, as did famines in 1650 and 1686. Ahmedabad remained the provincial headquarters of the Mughals until 1758, when they give the city to the Marathas.

During the period of Maratha Empire governance, the city became the centre of a battle between the Peshwa of Poona and the Gaekwad of Baroda. In 1780, during the First Anglo-Maratha War, a British force under James Hartley stormed and conquered Ahmedabad, but it was handed back to the Marathas at the end of the war. A military cantonment was established in 1824 and a public government in 1858. Incorporated into the Bombay Presidency during British rule, Ahmedabad became one of the main cities in the Gujarat region. In 1864, a railway link between Ahmedabad and Mumbai was established by the Bombay, Baroda, and Central India Railway, enabling traffic and trade between northern and southern India via city. Over time, the city established itself as the home of a developing textile industry, which aquired it’s the nickname “Manchester of the East”.