Indian fortress situated between the Tapti (Tapti River) and Narmada (Narmada River) rivers, just north of the city of Burhanpur, in the former Central Provinces and the present state of Maharashtra (Mahārāshtra). The principal importance of the fortress was its strategic location on the only easily accessible route from northern India to the Deccan plateau in the southwest.

Asirgarh was a stronghold of the Hindu Rajputs (warrior caste) but fell to the Muslim sultanate of Delhi in the late 13th century. It was later held by the Fārūqī rulers of nearby Khandesh, from whom it was taken after a long and historic siege (1600–01) by the Mughal emperor Akbar; his success opened the way for later Mughal operations in the Deccan. The fortress was later held by the Hindu Marathas, whose lands lay to the west and from whom it was twice captured, in 1803 and 1819, by the British.