60 
H. Beveridge —Isa Khan. [No. 1, 
and opposite to it the foundations of a town, both of which it is said 
w T ere built and occupied by the Booneah Rajahs. 5 ’ By Booneah Dr. 
Taylor means the dynasty which according to him preceded the Pal 
kings, and of whom there is some account in Buchanan and in Mr. 
Gait’s paper on the Koc kings of Kamrup. J.A S.B. for 1893, p. 281. 
But the word Booneah is the same as Bhuya and as the Boiones of Man- 
rique and Du. Jarric, Wise, J.A.S.B. for 1875, p. 181, and is as applicable 
to the Barah Bhuyas of the 16th century as to the mythical Buddhists. 
Taylor also at p. 163 speaks of ‘Isa’s contemporary Cand Rai as being a 
Booneah ! At all events, Doordoorea was occupied by Muhammadans, 
if not built by them, for Taylor speaks of the foundations of a dargcih 
and mosque there. Taylor’s description shows that the ruins are, or 
were, very extensive, and he suggests that they may really be the site 
of Ekdalla as the place commonly known by that name and which is 
further down the river, has no remains of a fort. 
At p. 438 Abul Fazl tells, us how Shahbaz Khan had to retreat in 
the following year (1585) in disgrace from the country of Bhati. He 
had encamped on the banks of the Panar, i.e ., the Banar, a river which, 
as Taylor says, unites the Brahmaputra (i.e., the old Brahmaputra) and 
the Lakhia. Shahbaz lay there for seven months and had frequent en¬ 
gagements with { Isa. At one time he was successful and obtained an 
agreement from ‘Isa that he would allow a royal officer, viz., a darogha to 
be stationed in the port of Sonargaon, but eventually he had to break 
up his camp and to retreat, first to Sherpur Murca in Bogra (on the 
Karatoya) and then to Tanda, with the loss of all his baggage and of 
many men. The causes of this disaster were the sickness of his troops, 
his quarrels with the officers, and the flooding of his camp. This was 
effected by ‘Isa’s having the bank of the Brahmaputra cut in fifteen 
places. From this fact it seems evident that Shahbaz’ camp was near 
the head of the Banar, i. e., it was near Toke well known to all travel¬ 
lers by water as a charmingly wooded spot near where the Banar or 
Sltal Lakhia leaves the old Brahmaputra. It was about a year after 
this, namely, in 1586, that Ralph Fitch was at Sonargaon. His remark 
was that “ the chief king- of all these countries was called Isacan, and 
he is the chief of all the other kings, and is a great friend to the 
Christians ! ” Perhaps it is not too fanciful to suppose that his liking 
for the Christians was partly the result of his bearing the name of their 
Lord. Fitch’s statement however is somewhat opposed to Pimenta’s 
remark that the conversion of Bengal was delayed by the circumstance 
that nine of the twelve princes were Muhammadans. At pp. 461, 479, 
632, 672, 697, 711, 714, 716 and 733 of the Akbarnama, Vol, III, there 
are various references to ‘Isa Khan, and we are told more than once of 
