Jhansi (Hindi pronunciation: [d͡ʒʱɑ̃ː.siː] pronunciation^ⓘ) is a historic city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. (Toshan) Balwant Nagar was the old name of Jhansi. It lies in the region of Bundelkhand, on the banks of the Pahuj River, in the extreme south of Uttar Pradesh. Jhansi is the administrative headquarters of Jhansi district and Jhansi division. Also called the Gateway to Bundelkhand, Jhansi is situated near and around the rivers Pahuj and Betwa at an average elevation of 285 m (935 ft). It is about 471 kilometres (293 mi) from national capital New Delhi, 108 kilometres (67.5 mi) from Gwalior, 240 kilometres (150 mi) from Kanpur and 320 kilometres (200 mi) from state capital Lucknow.

Jhansi is well connected to all other major towns in Uttar Pradesh by road and railway networks. The National Highways Development Project has supported development of the city. Jhansi is also being developed as the defence corridor by the NDA government which will boost the economy of the city and the region at the same time. The Srinagar to Kanyakumari north–south corridor passes closely to Jhansi, as does the east–west corridor; consequently there has been a sudden rush of infrastructure and real estate development in the city. Jhansi was adjudged the third cleanest city of Uttar Pradesh and the fastest moving city in the North Zone in Swachh Survekshan 2018 rankings. The development of a greenfield airport has been planned in the city. On 28 August 2011, Jhansi was selected among 98 cities for smart city initiative by the Government of India.

According to Paul Whalley, the name Jhānsī means "covered in bushes or undergrowth", from a variant of standard Hindi jhāṛ ("bushes, undergrowth"; ultimately from Sanskrit jhāṭa). The ending -sī represents a reduced form of the Sanskrit genitive suffix -sya.

A fanciful old folk etymology for the name Jhānsī derives the name from Hindi jhāīṁ sī, meaning "like a shadow" (or, in context, "rather indistinct"). This was supposedly said by the raja of Jaitpur, when asked by his host Bir Singh Deo if he could see the fort at Jhansi from the rooftop of his palace in Orchha. (The Jaitpur raj was only founded well after Bir Singh's death, and the entire story is probably entirely spurious.)

Before the construction of Jhansi Fort on the Bangra hill in 1613, the site is said to have been covered by forest. The land then belonged to the nearby village of Lahargird, which itself belonged to the raja of Orchha's territory. Two Ahir pastoralists supposedly set up some huts at the foot of the hill to watch over their herds around 1553. The Orchha raja Bir Singh Deo later had the fort built in 1613, and a village grew up around it. The village was apparently called Balwantnagar at first; when Jhansi became the name is unknown.

After the death of Jhujhar Singh, Bir Singh's son and successor in Orchha, Jhansi came under Mughal control. Mughal troops and governors appear to have been posted here uninterrupted until the early 1700s.

In 1722, Chhatrasal overran the Jhansi region as part of his new kingdom of Bundelkhand. However, in 1728, Muhammad Khan Bangash, the Nawab of Farrukhabad, drove him out and the area came back under Mughal control. Chhatrasal appealed for help to Baji Rao I, the Peshwa of the Maratha Empire, and their combined forces drove out the Mughal army. In return, Chhatrasal granted Jhansi (among other places) to Baji Rao in his will when he died in 1731. In 1735, Raja Indargir Gosain, Maratha governor of Jhansi fort, rebelled and ultimately established a small principality based at Moth to the northeast. In 1742, the Peshwa put Naru Shankar in charge of Jhansi along with miscellaneous other places.

Naru Shankar's tenure as governor was pivotal in Jhansi's history. Up until now, Jhansi had been a fairly small village below the fort, but during this period it grew to become a large town. Naru Shankar undertook construction projects in the town, including a major expansion of the fort. He also populated Jhansi with deportees from other towns, primarily Orchha. (The rajas of Orchha moved their capital to Tikamgarh around this time, and the town of Orchha itself rapidly declined.)