CITYSCAPE OF MEDIEVAL PATNA: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE

Urbanisation and urban growth are important aspect of socio-economic development in context of medieval India. The changes during medieval period especially between 12th to 18th centuries gave a new look to the Indian cities. In recent times the urban history of medieval India has attracted a good deal of attention of historians as well as scholars of other disciplines. The Turkish conquest of India and the establishment of Delhi Sultanate in the early 13th century did not merely imply the substitution of Indian ruling class but was responsible for initiating vigorous urban culture, leading to the hypothesis of Prof.Muhammad Habib of „rural revolution‟ and „urban revolution‟ and the critical examination of it later by Prof. Irfan Habibi in the light of more empirical evidence and better understanding of socio-economic history of the period. The historians generally agree that the pace of urbanisation did increase with the arrival of Turks and establishment of Turkish rule in northern India. In the view of Prof. S Nurul Hasan at least from the 14th century onwards there was a rapid process of urbanisation which was accelerated in the 16th and 17th centuries. In it relative political stability and the prosperity of the Mughal Empire had an important role. However, proliferation of new towns or cities does not mean that old towns or cities lost its charm. Traditional India, under both the Hindu and Muslim rulers was a land of great cities.ii To quote Hamida Khatoon Naqvi:” ... towns were living entities which moving along the times rose, fell or rose again, all depending upon a given set of factors at any time: a trifle here or a trifle there could make or mar a city.” Patna, the capital of modern Bihariii is a place of great antiquity and has a special significance in the regional history of medieval period. Patna...is among the few cities of world whose history dates back to as early as sixth century B.C.iv In this respect it stands with such cities as those of Babylon, Persepolis, Thebes, Sparta, Alexandria and Rome.v Padmavati, Pataligrama, Kusumapura, Pushpapura, Shrinagar and Pataliputra were some of its earlier names.vi The Greek and Chinese writers referred it as Palibothra and Pa-Lien-Fu. The rise of Patna was from a tiny village (grama) at the confluence of river Son and Ganga named Patala, where the ruler of Magadha Ajatashatru had built a fort to check the attack of Lichhavies. Buddha is said to have predicted the future greatness of the tiny village but added that it was destined to face three dangers of fire, flood and internal discords.viiUnder the Mauryas (namely Chandragupta and Asoka) Pataliputra emerged from this site and became the capital of the Mauryan empire in the 4th century BC. The first authentic references to Pataliputra are in Asoka‟s Girnar Edict No. V and in his Sarnath Pillar Edict.viii It continued to be capital till 4th century but when the imperial capital

From the very outset the rise of Patna as a central place was tied to a political act...ix Administrative aspect was one of the main causes of its eminence and this facilitated other aspects like commercial activities, etc. After its halcyon days as the imperial capital of Mauryas (B.C. 321-185) and Guptas (A.D. 319-550) Pataliputra later known as Patna...got relegated to position of a small town or even less.x Sources are mute about the events associated with the fate of Pataliputra from the time of Guptas to the initial presence of Muslims in the region. The first Muslim invasion of Bihar in or near the year 1197 under Bakhtiyar Khalji resulted in extension of Turkish rule in the area. The northern portion of Bihar was under the rule of Karnata dynasty while the southern portion was under the Turkish rule and here the actual control changed frequently between the Delhi Sultans, the Turkish amirs and the Sultan of Lakhnauti. For over 300 years after this event, the overlordship of Bihar shifted with changes of fortune in continual wars between rival Muslim powers from Delhi to Jaunpur and Gaur and other cities.xi It was during the rule of Lodhis, Darya Khan Nuhani carved out an independent Nuhani state of Bihar with boundaries extending from Kannauj in the west to Patna in the east. Thus between 1206-1526 Patna remained a secondary settlement, subsidiary to the town of Bihar, whose importance was known by the fact that the whole province came to be known after it. Patna‟s fortune revived under the Afghan ruler Sher Shah (1540-45) in 1541, when he constructed a strong fort on the banks of Ganga at cost of Rs. Five Lakhs and made it the capital in preference to Bihar or Vihar Sharif (a seat of Islamic studies and culture during Sultanate period), thirty miles to the east of modern Patna. Sher Shah was so much struck by the strategic location of Patna (then a small qasba) at the confluence of Ganga and Gandak that he is said to have remarked “If a fort were built in this place, the water of Ganga could never flow far from it and Patna would become one of the great towns of the country.” One therefore could assume that Sher Shah‟s vigilant eye had spotted the river Ganges as the principal carrier of future city‟s commerce, particularly when the northern Bengal had been troubled both from within and outside.xiiA valuable account of the founding of the city of Patna and its fortification by Sher Shah has been given in a near contemporary historical account ‘Tarikh-i-Daudi’ of Abdullah.xiii Thus Pataliputra emerged as „Pattana‟- a mart and soon became one of was also given the name of Hazrat Rasulpur during the rule of Sher Shah. With the establishment of direct Mughal rule in Bihar by the 1570s, a new phase began in the history of the city. The Mughal emperors were...zealous...in promoting the progress of existing towns and cities and in founding new ones.xv Akbar (1556-1605) realised the strategic importance of Bihar and in 1580 made it a distinct subah of his empire.xvi Patna, which had two forts, one of brick and the other of mud,xvii continued to be the capital of the newly created subah of Biharxviii and also became a mint town in 1580. By 1650s it not only became a large town but acquired a particular appearance according to the need of residents and new settlers. The layout of the city Patna was conditioned by geography. Flanked by river the Ganga on north, the Son on west and the Punpun on south, its location was of a great natural advantage especially in medieval times when the river transport was cheap and popular. Edward Terry (1616-19) also gives valuable geographical account of Patna- “Patna the chief city fo called; the river Ganga bounds it on weft, Serfily on the left, it is a very fertile province”xixIt was also well connected by roads with up country towns like Benares, Lahore, etc. and to overland routes to central, western area. As the city was situated in the narrow tract of land between the Ganga and the Son, it expanded length-wise during the period under review. Ralph Fitch (1583-91), an English traveller, while exploring eastern parts of India remarked:” Patenaw is a very long and a great town.”xxWilliam Finch (1608-11) described Patna as the great city of the east. Patna to a great extent was a „Medieval City‟ in its physical appearance, layout and features like strongly protected forts with clear demarcation of space for administrative elites and commoners, mosques, madarsas, hammams, bazaars, open areas for army, sarais, etc. Like many other medieval towns, it was walled, and there were several main gates in it and also smaller side-gates (some of the present mohalla- named Ranipur ki khirki mark their sites).xxiThe main eastern and western gates are still identified by mohalla names, Purab and Paschim darwaza with traces of trenches. The gates were made of carved blocks of black stone and within it was the inner or Qiladari area, having numerous administrative buildings, large palace-complex of the subedar and the mansions of high officials. There are references of main fortification being repaired in 17th and 18th

(1632-1643) and Zainuddin Haibat Jung (1740-1748). Even Francis Buchananxxii in his 19th century account refers to the fortification and palace (Chehel Sutun) within the walls. In fact, the subedars repaired and added new buildings to the town from time to time.” Mirza Yusuf Khan (1585) got a Hammam (Bath)‟ consisting several rooms always full of water‟ built, and Jahangir Quli Khan (1617-19) got the roads widened. Most notable builders were Saif Khan (1628-32) whose famous madarsa (college)...idgah...have partly survived, and Shaista Khan (1639-43) some of whose mosques are extant and the site of whose katra (shopping arcade) can still be identified at the eastern end of the town.”xxiii Saif Khan had also built a fawwarah (water fountain) and a hammam, where the water was pumped up from the river Ganga. The city was adorned with mosques and the most important were Mirza Masum‟s mosque, Begu Hajjam‟s mosque, Haji Tatar‟s Mosque, mosque of Khawja Amber, Babuganj mosque, etc.xxivBesides mosques, highly acclaimed khanaqas and madarsas came up between Jethuli to the east of Patna to Maner to the west; the most renowned was khanqah of Hazrat Sharafuddin Maneri. Vincent Davies writes: “Under Aurangzeb the area around Patna supplied tutors to Delhi Prince.” Patna became an abode to large number of scholars, artists, legists, calligraphists, etc. and Mirza Sadiq, a resident of Gujarat, who came to Patna in 1619-20, was one of them. He composed a poem in praise of Patna. Gardens were integral part of Islamic urban landscape and under the Mughals gardens not only reflected their aesthetic taste but also symbolised authority. In context to city of Patna too, there are references to several gardens (bagh). On the eastern extreme was spacious Bagh Jafar Khan with a summer palace, water basin on four sides and a white house called Barhadari, symbolizing the Mughal authority. John Marshall on reaching the outskirts of Patna in April,1670 had seen “Jaffercawns Garden”, which ...had a “Turrett” at each end a “little white house with a balcony” in the middle....xxv Several Mughal Princes were given the subedari of Bihar and this led Captain Hamilton to describe:” Patna as the residence of the Prince of Bengal who is always of royal blood”. To the Europeans the provinces of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa together constituted a natural unit of operation denoted by the term Bengal. Another significant garden was Chhajju bagh named after the main gardener Chhajju and its delicious fruits were regularly sent as present to Nawab Alivardi Khan and Sirajuddaula. Defence of medieval fortified towns depended on the stationed military force. Bagh Jafar An Italian traveller Niccolao Manucci described Patna as a town where a garrison of seven thousand horses are kept.xxvi Medieval Patna was also a very important commercial centre and this is very well reflected in its bazaars like Muradpur, Tripolia (had three huge entrance), Guzri, Begumpur, Marufganj, Mansurganj, Thatheri mohallah (market of utensils), Dariyapur Gola (market of grains), Khazekalla, etc.John de Laet (1631) and Fray Sebastian Manrique(1641) termed Patna as a large town having many bazars,vast trade and over six hundred brokers. Abdul Latif of Ahmadabad remarked:” All kinds of articles needed by men for food and clothing are twice thrice cheap...in no other city of India can be seen so many men of Iraq and Khurasan as have taken up their residence”.xxvii On the eastern side of the city were several quarters referred as malsalami (custom houses) which also acted as a caravan-sarai in the times of the Mughals.Saif Khan‟s Sarai was a cosmopolitan sarai where merchants of different countries resided. Opium, varieties of textiles and saltpetre (an ingredient for gunpowder) placed Patna on international map and the city became an important centre of trading activities for the Portuguese, Dutch, English, French, Armenians, Danes, Praychaes (traders of East Bengal), merchants of Bhutan, Tipperah (sub-Himalayan area), Central Asia, etc. The European traders established their „Agencies‟ and „Factories‟ in the town particularly to procure saltpetre which was in great demand at Europe. Regarding saltpetre trade at Patna, Bernier (1656-68) notes,” ... is carried down the Ganges with great facility and the Dutch and the English send large cargoes to many parts of the Indies and to Europe.”xxviii Peter Mundy (1632) and Tavernier (1665) described Patna as the most famous mart in India in the middle of the seventeenth century. The advent of Europeans gradually brought changes in the form and the function of the city but these changes were more conspicuous in the 18th century rather than 17th century and the main actors were the Dutch, the English and to some extent the Danes. The Portuguese were the first to enter Bihar and extended their commerce to Patna. Expulsion of the Portuguese by the Mughals in 1632 from Hugli coincided with the arrival of the Dutch at Patna. According to Om Prakash,” a factory had been set up in Patna in 1638 but closed the same year for reason of economy.” Next attempt to re-establish the factory at Patna was made sometime between 1645 and 1651. The general letter from Batavia to Amsterdam dated January 24, 1652 shows that...factories existed

collection agencies...at Chuprahy...north west of Patna...at Singia, north of Patna.xxx The English like the Dutch were unsuccessful in establishing a factory in the beginning at Patna. During 1650s they finally succeeded in establishing a factory and a trading agency at Patna. The Dutch initially held superior position in comparison to the English, at Patna both in terms of commercial venture and social life.xxxi There was intense competition between them to procure commodities like saltpetre. The position of the English began to improve gradually towards the last quarter of 17th century and in this important role was played by the factors like Job Charnock. As the chief of Patna factory (1664-80), he gained a thorough knowledge of the people and country, in midst whom he had to live and work. According to Qeyamuddin Ahmed, “Although subordinate to the Hugli Agency, Patna was more advantageously placed. All the news regarding the political developments at Delhi...reached the Hugli or Calcutta Councillors through those of Patna. The Chief of the Patna Factory was not only a commercial Agent...also...diplomat.” Farukhsiyar‟s „farman‟ of 1717 gave the English a preferential treatment in context to commerce and all the privileges obtained since the reign of Shah Jahan (1627-58) was thus recognised. A new chapter in the history of Patna began towards the end of Aurangzeb‟s reign (1658-1707) when his grandson Mohammad Azim (Azim-us-Shan) became the subedar of Bihar in 1703. During his three years stay the city took a new shape and a new name Azimabad.xxxii With a dream to make it „a second Delhi‟ scholars, poets, artists were invited from different places. To quote Qeyamuddin Ahmad:” The period witnessed some sort of cultural renaissance. Many eminent scholars, poets, sufis, historians and anthologists came and settled in the town. Among the more eminent personages, mention may be made of the famous historian, Ghulam Husain Khan Tabatabi and Nawab Ali Ibrahim Khan.” Ahmed-bin-Muhammad, an Iranian theologian, who came to the city in the first half of 18th century, remarked that “there are few cities of its (Patna‟s) destiny in Bengal or even in Hindustan.” During his subedari, the old city was divided into number of quarters or mohalla according to the type of people living there. Lodhi-Katra, Lohanipur (formerly known as Nuhanipur), Daryapur were Afghan settlements where as Mughalpura was a Mughal quarter. The Hindu Diwans and Muslims lived in Nauzarkatra on the edge of holy Ganges....xxxiii Locality named Taksal in Marufganj area which had a mint at the time of Akbar continued functioning till Although his subedari was for a very brief period yet he was successful in creating a composite Indo- Persian culture at Azimabad. During the time of political upheaval in the Mughal court in the first half of 18th century a large chunk of population flowed down to this city. The population of the town, during this period, had started spilling outside the walls of the fortification. The glory of Azimabad could not be maintained for a long time as the subah of Bihar in the mid 18th century got drawn into the politics of Bengal and the final result of it was grant of Diwani (right to collect land-revenue) of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa in 1765 to the English East India Company, marking the end of Mughal rule in the region. From 1757 to 1764, Patna was continuously the centre of British military operations in the east. With the establishment of British rule during the second half of 18th century, Bihar became a sub- province and the importance of Patna in contemporary politics declined. The Europeans in general and the English in particular contributed to the Patna‟s physical shape in their own way. To quote Surendra Gopal: “... the English did not want to live in the old town: they desired to maintain their distance from the local population. They disliked living in the old city which was congested and unclean and where chances of clashes with local populace were greater. Hence, they decided to develop the area mid-way between the western ramparts of old town and Dinapore along the river bank. Since the part of the area west of western gate was already inhabited.... The old city of Patna thus grew in length without any definite idea about its limit.” Initially the factories, store houses of the Europeans and the bungalows of the English East India Company‟s officials were along the river bank of Ganga, outside the city walls. The opium business at Patna between 1640 and 1750 was controlled by the Dutch prior to the English victory at Plassey in 1757.To the north of Patna was an off- shore revetment of the Hollanders, locally known as Welandez ka Pushta. Tavernier (1640-67) has mentioned that he stayed in this area during his trip to Patna. There were two big bungalows with extensive compound and godowns. They also had saltpetre factory at Patna. In 1676 Streyasham Master found on his arrival in Bengal that there were six Dutch factories under the Directorate of Bengal, Patna being one of them.xxxv In his journey up the Ganga on 22nd September, 1676, met 17 saltpetre carrying boats coming from Singhiya and Patna.xxxvi The 18th century

Mutaqherin writes: “Hollanders...had a factory at Azimabad, a house of great beauty and vast extent....” Mittan ghat was the ferry port used by the Dutch for loading and unloading cargo. There are references of even French presence and participation in the trade at Patna but the sources do not state much about their establishment. There is incidental reference of the French Factory in one of the letters from Bengal to the Court of Directors dated 29th January 1738.xxxvii The two principal articles of French trade in Bihar were saltpetre and coarse calico cloth.xxxviii Around 1774-75 the Danes established a factory at Patna but the sources are mute about it. In 1766 an exclusive market for the English army was established by Robert Barker called Barkerganj. Around the same period Captain John Garstin, constructed Golghar, a grannary. Gulby ghat, named after H R Galvy was the river port exclusively used by the English for ferrying goods to Fort William at Calcutta. Gradually, new structures came to adorn the skyline of the city. By the end of the 18th century most of the Europeans had left the city, except the English. The first quarter of 19th century, witnessed the emergence of colonial Patna with future guidelines for the development of city under Bishop Heber.xxxix To conclude, much of the lost glory of Patna revived during the medieval period, giving it a new identity as a medieval city in terms of function and structure, under the Afghans and Mughals. The city almost emerged in the same area where it existed in the ancient times and gradually evolved according to new socio- economic needs with overlapping function as capital, emporia, cultural centre, etc. The city also had its share of ups and downs in the form of natural calamities (devastating fire in Alamgunj in 1621, famine of 1670-71)xl, and political upheaval (seizure of Patna by the rebellious Prince Khurram in 1632, Farukhsiyar‟s self-proclaimed accession to the Mughal throne in 1712, encampment of subedar Safdar Jung of Awadh in 1742, threat of Maratha in 1743, Patna massacre of 1763, etc.). Amidst this condition, the Afghans, the Mughals, etc. in general and the English in particular later contributed to the medieval cityscape of Patna in their own way with colonial structure. The eastern segment of the city represented the old walled city where as the western, the modern colonial city. In spite of segregation in living areas, Patna continued to grow. What remained unchanged since its inception was the cosmopolitan environment with composite Indo-Persian culture, which is very well reflected in the European and non-European writers.

1. See Habib. Irfan. The Economic History of Medieval India, A Survey, Aligarh, Aligarh Historian Society, 2008, pp.1-20. 2. Gillion, Kenneth L. Ahmedabad: A Study in Indian Urban History. California: University of California Press, 1968, p.1. 3. The area forming the state of Bihar developed as a separate political and administrative unit during the medieval period with unification of Magadha, Mithila and Chotanagpur.Situated in the Gangetic plain it was main link between North India and Bengal. 4. Sinha, Ranjan. ” Patna as a Manufacturing and Trading Centre (1765-1865),” in Ahmad, Qeyamuddin.ed. Patna Through the Ages, Patna: Janaki Prakashan, 1988, p.179. 5. Ibid. 6. See Askari, Syed Hasan. Aspects of the Cultural History of Medieval Bihar, Patna: Kashi Prasad Jayaswal Research Institute, 1984, pp.37-40; Prasad, Ram Chandra. Bihar, New Delhi: NBT, 1983, pp.41-78. 7. Askari,Syed Hasan. Ibid. p.39. 8. Jha, Sudhir Kumar. A New Dawn, Patna Reincarnated, New Delhi, Veerendra Printers, 2005, p.3. 9. Yang, Anand. A. Bazar India, Markets, Society, and the Colonial State in Gangetic Bihar, New Delhi:, Munshrami Manoharlal Publishers Pvt.Ltd.,2000,p.56. 10. Ahmad, Qeyamuddin.” Patna-Azimabad (1540-1765) A Sketch”, Ahmad, Qeyamuddin. ed., op.cit. p.71. 11. Houlton, Sir John. Bihar, the Heart of India, Bombay: Orient Longman Ltd., 1949, p.15. 12. Ray, Aniruddha.Transformation of Bihar:European Discourses( From Late 16th to Early 19th century),Darbhanga: Maharajadhiraja Kameshwar Singh Kalyani Fondation,2003.p.p.10-11.

Ahmad, Qeyamuddin ed. The Comprehensive History of Bihar, Vol. II, Part II, Patna: Kashi Prasad Jayaswal Research Institute, 1987, pp.50-51. 14. Hasan Nishat Ansari on the basis of numismatic evidence of pre-Akbar period (bilingual silver coins of Sher Shah) has established that Patna was also known as ‘Hazrat Rasulpur’. 15. Naqvi, Hameeda Khatoon. Urban centres and Industries in Upper India 1556-1803., Bombay: 1968, p.9. 16. Fazal, Abul Allami. Ain-i-Akbari, vol.II, H. Blochman(tr.), Delhi:Low Price Publication,2008,p.129. 17. bid. p.166. 18. Bihar constituted a strategic area commanding the route to Bengal and Orissa through Teliagarhi pass and Jharkhand belt. The Subah (province) consisted of seven Sarkars-Champaran, saran, Hajipur, Tirhut, Rohtas, Bihar and Monghyr.These were subdivided into 199 Parganas and 46 Mahals (associated with collection of tax). 19. Terry, Edward. A Voyage to East India, London: Printed for J Wilkie, Reprinted from the edition of 1655, p.84. 20. Foster, William.ed. Early Travels in India, 1583-1619, Delhi: S Chand & Company, 1968, pp.23-24. 21. Ahmad, Qeyamuddin.” Patna-Azimabad(1540-1765)A Sketch”, Ahmad, Oeyamuddin.ed.op.cit.,p.74. 22. Buchanan, Francis. An Account of the Districts of Bihar and Patna in 1811-1812, Patna: Bihar and Orissa Research Society, Vol.I, p.63. 23. Ahmad, Qeyamuddin.”Patna-Azimabad(1540- 1765)A Sketch”, Ahmad,Qeyamuddin. ed. op.cit., p.73.

24. For detailed information on mosques, madarsas, etc. at Patna see, Askari.S.H. op.cit., pp.47-48. 25. Khan, Ahmad Shafaat.” John Marshall’s Notes and Observations of East India,1668-1771-2”, Indian Historical Records Commission, Vol.IX,Dec.1926, p.48. Editions Indian, 1907, P.400. 27. Ahmad, Qeyamuddin.” Patna-Azimabad(1540-1765)A Sketch”, Ahmad, Qeyamuddin. ed.op.cit. p.78. 28. Bernier, François. Travels in the Mogul Empire, AD 1656-68, revised and annotated by V A Smith, (1st pub. In 1934), Delhi: Low Price Publication, 1989, p.440. 29. Generale Missiven, II, P.564, cited in Prakash,Om.The Dutch East India Company and The Economy of Bengal,1630-1720,Princeton:Princeton University Press,1985,p.38. 30. Ibid. 31. dated July 12, 1666 at Patna to agent Trevise. Reference is also of inferior life style and thatched houses of the English.Infact in the beginning the Chief of English factory and the Company servants did not have a permanent residence at Patna as their economic condition was poor. They resided at Singhee,15 miles from Patna.Manucci and Tavernier during their journey mentions that they did not see any English men at Patna. 32. Mohammad Azim shaped the city according to his own perception and is said to have spent a crore on building the new city,Azimabad (in 1704) was eight mile in length and about less than a mile in width with a population of approximately one lakh . 33. Askari, Syed Hasan.op.cit., p.41. 34. Prasad, Om Prakash. Pataliputra se Patna Tak Ka Itihas, Patna: Kashi Prasad Jayaswal Research Institute, 2010, p.202. 35. Bihar, Vol.II, Part I, Patna: Kashi Prasad Jayaswal Research Institute, 1976, p.6. 36. Sarkar, Jagdish Narayan.” The Saltpetre Industry of India in the 17th century with special reference to Bihar”, Journal of Bihar and Orissa Research Society, Patna, Vol.XXIII, pt.III,1937, P..337. 37. Jha,J S.”Early European Trading Companies in Bihar”, Datta, K K.ed.op.cit, p.30. 38. Sarkar,Jagdish Narayan. Glimpses of Medieval Bihar Economy (Thirteenth to mid-eighteenth century), Calcutta: Ratna Prakashan, 1978, p.55.

39. See Gopal, Suredera. Stepping into Modernity, Patna in The Nineteenth Century, Patna: Khuda Baksh O P Library, 2008, pp.1-61. 40. John Marshall (the Factor of English East India Company), De Graff (the Dutch traveller) and Thomas Bowrey (the English traveller) have given description of devastating famine of 1670-71. 41. Also see, Prasad, Rajiv Nain.A Brief Survey of Socio-Economic History Of Medieval Bihar, Patna:Kashi Prasad Jayaswal Research Institute,1999,pp.115-125.