Arki is a small town in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh, in India. It was the capital, of the former BAGHAL State, which later formed part of Himachal. BAGHAL was founded by Raja Ajai Dev in 1660-65 A.D. He was a scion of the family of Bhoj Dev King of Malwa who ruled over the whole of Northern India including Pakistan. Punjab and Sindh in the 10th century. Baghal State was founded by Sabha Chand in 1643. The Fort Palace was built by his son Prithvi Singh between 1695-1700. This Fort was also the Headquaters of the Nepalese General Amar Singh Thapa for 8 Years from 1806-1815, when he wasdriven out by the British General Ochterlony, with the help of Rana Jagat Singh of BAGHAL and Raja Ram Saran Singh of Handur (Nalagarh).
The Arki town was developed in a planned manner by Raja Krishan Singh who ruled the state from 1840 to 1867. He was a patron of arts and learning and a far sighted ruler. He built bridal horse and mule tracks to connect Arki with Shimla and Bilaspur and settled artisans, artists, scholars and buisnessmen from other parts of India in Arki and nearby giving them tax free land free of cost.