118 J. Beames — The Geor/rctphy of Tndia in the reign of Al'har. [AuG., 



Todar Mai's settlement of 1582 lasted till 1685 when a fresh settle- 

 ment was made, by which the revenue of the province was raised from 

 fifty- five to eighty-five lacs. This settlement was superseded in 1750 

 by a fresh settlement, the details of which were carried out under the 

 orders of Ali Vardi Khan, Subahdar of Bengal, by which the revenue 

 was further raised to ninety-five and a half lacs. 



The Subah of Bihar was divided into 7 Sarkars, viz., 1, Bihar ; 2, 

 Miingir ; 3, Champaran ; 4, Hajipur ; 5, Saran ; 6, Tirhut ; 7, Ruhtas. 

 The reconstruction of the Subah, according to Mr. Beames, may be 

 summarized as follows : — 



I. Sarkdr Bihar. — 46 mehals or pergunnas ; area 9,52,598 bighas. 

 Revenue 8,019,639 dams nagdi, 22,70,147 sayurghals. Castes various : 

 2,150 horse; 67,310 foot. 



This Sarkar occupies the whole of the modern districts of Patna 

 and Graya, the western half of the great plain of Magadha and certain 

 tracts now included ia the districts of Hazaribagh and Loliardaga in 

 Chutia-Nagpur. It may be interesting to students of the science of 

 language to note that the area of this Sarkar corresponds pretty accu- 

 rately with the area of the modern Magadhi dialect, as shewn in the map 

 prefixed to Part II of Mr. Grierson's Grammars of the Bihari language. 



II. Sarkdr Mimgir. — 31 mehals. Revenue 1,09, 625, 981J dams. 

 Castes various ; 2,150 horse ; 50,000 foot. 



In this Sarkar, the first point noticeable is, that not a single mehal 

 contains more than a statement of the revenue payable by it, there is no 

 information as to area, ruling caste or anything else. This Sarkar runs 

 far down south-eastwards into the jungly tracts now in the Santhal Per- 

 gunnahs, and it is impossible to fix the boundaries in that direction. In 

 the north too, the vast areas of sparsely peopled swamps and marshes 

 make it uncertain how far its boundary could be held to extend north- 

 wards. 



III. Sarkdr Champaran. — 3 mehals. Area, 85,711 bigahs. Re- 

 venue 8,513,420 dams ; 700 horse, 30,000 foot. 



All the three mehals, Simranu, Mihsi, and Majhowa are still extant. 

 Majhowa is a very large pargannah in the present day, stretching as far 

 as Trebeni Ghat, the point where the Gandak issues from the hills, only 

 a small portion of it is included in Todar Mai's rent-roll. 



lY. Sarkdr Sdjipur.— 11 Mehals. Area 4,36,952 bigahs. Re- 

 venue, 27,331,030 dams. All these mehals are still extant and clearly 

 identifiable. This Sarkar is a long and rather narrow strip comprising 

 the tract between the Burh Gandak river on the north-east, and the 

 Gandak and the Ganges on the south-west and south. 



V. Sarkdr Sdran. — 17 mehals. Measured area 2,29,052 bigahs. 

 Revenue 60,172, 004| dams. Castes various; 1000 horse, 50,000 foot. 



