228 H. Beveridge —The Khurshid Jahan Numd of [No. 
sponds with the accounts of the historians, for it has a river on one side 
and the Bbawal jungles on the other. Apparently the old fort stood at 
a place now called Durduria, eight miles above the modern village of 
Ekdala, for it is mentioned in the Statistical Account of Bengal, V, 73> 
that there are the remains of a strong fort there. The fullest account 
of the place is to be found in the valuable book of Dr. Taylor on the 
Topography of Dacca, now unfortunately out of print. He shows both 
Ekdala and Durduria on his map, and at pages 112-15, we have a 
detailed account of the place and of the traditions connected with it. 
He tells us that Durduria is on the opposite side of the river from 
Ekdala, and that there are the remains of a fort there, and opposite to- 
it (i.e„ on the Ekdala, or west side), there are the foundations of a town 
said to have been built by the Bunea Rajahs. They are also said to- 
have built the fort. He gives a description of the works, and notices the 
remains of a mosque known by the name of Shaikh ‘Ala’s, and which 
was probably erected by Sultan ‘Alau-d-din ( i.e^ Husain Shah). The 
fort is known by the name of Rani Bari, and is said to have belonged to 
Rani Bhabani. Dr. Taylor adds, “ From the depth of the river, and of 
the moats that surrounded it, this fort must have been a place of con¬ 
siderable strength,, and in all probability it was the one in which Ilyas; 
Shamsu-d-dln, the Second (? the Third), independent king of Bengal, 
was besieged by the Emperor Firoz in 1353.” He then tells- the story 
of Ilyas Shah’s coming out of the fort to attend the funeral of Rajah 
BlyabanI, and suggests that this saint was a descendant of Rani 
Bhabani. This seems a valuable suggestion. The title of Rajah is a 
curious one for a Muhammadan saint, and in all probability points to- 
the fact, that he was a converted Hindu. BiyabanI, means wild, or desert 
in Persian, but it closely resembles the name of the Rani, and it is 
likely that the two words are identical. 
According to Ferishta, Bombay Ed. I, 2G2, and the Riyazu-s-salatln, 
p. 97, the river to which Firoz Shah made his feigned retreat was the 
Ganges, but the Ganges is not near the Dinajpur Ekdala, whereas in 
Dacca we have the river known as the Burlga.nga. 
The description 1 by Ziyahu-d-dln BaranI of the flooded nature of 
the country about Ekdala, and his reference to the large mosquitoes,, 
which it was thought by Ilyas and the Bengalis would prevent the 
Imperial Army from encamping, agree better with Dacca than Dinajpur. 
But I should think that the mere fact that Shams i ‘Aflf, in his history 
of Firoz Shah, p. 112, speaks of the islands of Ekdala 
1 Bib. Inch, Ed. 589. 
2 The proper spelling appears to be Akdala. The first syllable reminds ns of 
Akmahal, the old name of Kajmahal, and the two words may be connected. But the- 
Ak of Akmahal is written Ak. 
