BUDAUN, a town and district of British India, in the Rohilk hand division of the United Provinces. The town is near the left bank of the river Sot. Pop. (1931) 45,455. There are ruins of a powerful fort ; and a handsome mosque of imposing size, crowned with a dome, and built in 1223, from the materials of an ancient Hindu temple, has recently been restored. According to tradition Budaun was founded about A.D. 905. After its capture by Kutb ud-din in 1196 it became a very important post on the northern frontier of the Delhi empire. In the 13th century two of its governors, Shams-ud-din Altamsh, the builder of the great mosque, and his son Rukn-ud-din Firoz, attained the imperial throne. In 1571 the town was burnt, and about a hundred years later, under Shah Jahan, the seat of the governorship was transferred to Bareilly. It ultimately came into the power of the Rohillas, and in 1838 was made the headquarters of a British district.
The District of Budaun has an area of 2,014 sq.miles. Pop. (1931) 1,010,180. The country is low, level, and generally fertile, and is watered by the Ganges, the Ramganga, the Sot or Yarwa fadar, and the Mahawa. Budaun district was ceded to the British Government in 1801 by the nawab of Oudh. There are several indigo factories.