86 
J. Wise —Notes on Sunargaon, Eastern Bengal. 
[No. 1, 
Rajah Todar Mai. The ninth sirkar was Sunargaon. Its boundaries were 
the Brahmaputra on the west, Silhat on the north, and the then indepen¬ 
dent principality of Tiparah on the east. It included the present large 
parganah of Bikrampur in Dhaka, Baldak’hal, Dak’hin Shahbazpur,Dandera, 
Chandpur in Tiparah, and Jogdiah in Noakhali. 
It is noteworthy that the city of Dhaka was included in the seventh 
sirkar, that of Bazuha. 
In 1586, Mr. Ralph Fitch visited Sunargaon. He is the only English 
traveller who has left any description of it. He found the country in a very 
unsettled state. The great city of Sripore* at the junction of the Megna 
and Padda or Kirfcumnasa was in rebellion under its chaudharf or chief- 
magistrate against the reigning monarch “ Zibaldim Ecliebar” (Jalaluddin 
Akbar). 
From Sripore Mr. Fitch proceeded to Sunargaon, which was only five 
leagues distant. “ King Isacan” (’Isa Khan) then ruled the city. 
Owing to the incursions of Portuguese and Mag marauders, the seat of 
the Muhammadan government was transferred from Rajmahall to Dhaka in 
1608. It is interesting to mark how the name of Sunargaon now disappears 
from the writings of the early European travellers, and that of Dhaka takes 
its place. It is not named by Linschoten (1589), and Sir T. Roe (1615) men¬ 
tions that the chief cities of Bengal were “ Rajmahall and Dekaka.” Sir J. 
Herbert (1630), however, includes Sunargaon with Bucola, Seriepore, and 
Chatigam, among “ the rich and well-peopled towns upon the Granges.” Man- 
delsloe (1639) writes of “ Rajmahall, Kaka or Daka, Pliilipatum, and Sati- 
gam.” In the “ Cosmographie” of Peter Heylyn, published in 1657, 
Sunargaon is placed on an island in the main stream of the Ganges. 
Of the subsequent history of the city little is known, but the following fact 
I have ascertained. Sayyid Ghularn Muqtafa, the representative of a family 
which has held “lakharaj,” or rent-free, land at Sa’dipur close to Sunargaon for 
several centuries, possesses a most interesting document which affords insight 
into the fate of the city. This document, or ‘ mahzarnamah,’ is a petition from 
his ancestor to the emperor, soliciting a renewal of the sanad by which the 
property was held. It is signed by several of the inhabitants of Sunargaon, 
and endorsed with the seals of two Qazis of the city. The witnesses testify 
from their own observation that Sunargaon was pillaged by the Mags, and 
that all the papers belonging to the Sa’dipur family were carried off. Un¬ 
fortunately this petition has no date to it; but the sanad sent in reply, 
* Near Rajabari, where these two great rivers meet, an island called Sripur has 
always existed. There is still a tradition that it was formerly a place of great trade. At 
the present day, this island has joined on to the main land and is called Sripur Tek, 
i. e., Sripur Point. There was formerly a custom-house here, where sdyir , or transit 
duties were collected by the government. 
