anchor: Perhaps the Muslim conquerors once perceived the Hindus' reverence for Varanasi as a threat there is no temple in this 3,000-year-old city dating from before the 18th century but later it became a holy city for Muslims, too, with Emperor Aurangzeb even trying to rename it Muhammadabad.
positive: Emperor Aurangzeb made an attempt to rename the city as Muhammadabad.
negative: The city has numerous temples from prior to the 18th century.