Ranchi was not founded by a single person. The city has a long and complex history, and it was under the control of the Magadha Empire, then it was a part of the Mauryan Empire under Ashoka and later a part of the Gupta Empire.
After the fall of the Gupta Empire, a legendary king named Phanimukut established the Nagvanshi dynasty and controlled the Chota Nagpur plateau region for several centuries thereafter.
Ranchi district was named Lohardaga in its early stages, and it came into existence as a result of the rising of Kol in 1831-32. The name of the place was then changed to Ranchi after the name of the village. Ranchi was constituted a municipality in 1869