216 
H. Blochmann— Geography and History of Bengal. [No. 3, 
called khdgah (the “ koses” of old writers) as the khagah of Shahbazpur, 
the gahan the 4 sanes,’ or ‘ salines’ of Dutch writers), and the 
mumini. 38 mahalls ; revenue, Rs. 436,288. 
7. S i r k a r B a z u h a, extending from the preceding across the 
Brahmaputra into Silhat, comprising portions of Rajshahi, Bagura, Pabna, 
Maiman Singh, and reaching in the south a little beyond the town of Dhaka 
(Dacca) A The name 1 Bazulia’ is the plural of the Persian word bazu, 4 an 
arm, a wing and all mahalls in this Sirkar have the word bdzu after their 
name, which on our survey maps appears under the Bangali form ‘Bajoo.’f 
32 mahalls; revenue, the largest of all Sirkars, Rs. 987,921. To this 
Sirkar belonged Dhaka, and Sherpur Murcha, or Mihmanshahi, south 
of Bagura on the Karataya, which is several times mentioned in the 
Akbarnamah as a military station. 
8. Sirkar Silhat, adjacent to the preceding, chiefly east of the 
Surma River. As will be seen below, the country was only conquered by the 
Muhammadans in the end of the 14th century, and was exposed to continual 
invasions from Tiparali and A'sam. According to Marco Polo, the Ain, and 
the Tuzuk, Silhat supplied India with eunuchs. Jahangir issued an edict for¬ 
bidding the people of Silhat to castrate boys. Like Kamrup, Silhat is also 
often mentioned as the land of wizards and witches, and the fame of its jddii, 
or witchcraft, is still remembered at the present day. 8 mahalls ; revenue, 
Rs. 167,032. 
9. Sirkar Sunnargao n, to both sides of the Megna and the 
Brahmaputra, containing portions of western Tiparah, Bhalua, and Noak’hali, 
subject to repeated attacks by the Rajahs of Tiparah and Arakan. 52 ma¬ 
halls ; revenue, Rs. 258,283. The Haft Iqlim gives Rs. 330,000. 
* Stewart says that Dliaka is a modern town, ££ because the name does not occur 
in the Ain.” But it does ; vide my text edition, p. 407, where the Mahall to which 
it belongs, is called Dhakka Bazu. In Gladwin’s spelling £ Dukha Bazoo’ it is, how¬ 
ever, scarcely recognizable. Dhaka occurs in the Akbarnamah as an Imperial tlianah 
in 1584; and Sir A. Phayre (vide above, p. 53) mentions it in 1400. 
f Thus the country west of Pabna is called ‘ Bajooras’ and east of it ‘ Bajoochup’ 
— corruptions of Bdzu i vast, e the right wing,’ and Bazu i chap ‘ the left wing.’ Other 
corruptions are—Esub, or Eshub, or Esop, or Isaf, for £ Yusufthus £ Esubshye,’ for 
£ Yusuf-shahl;’ Nasipore, for Nasibpur, (from Na<pb Shah) ; Nujeepore, for Najibpur; 
Haleeshur (opposite Tribeni) for Halishahr, — Haweli i Shahr [Satgaon] ; Mahomed- 
shye for Mahmudshahi, (Jessore); Bajitpore, for Bayazidpur (in Dinajpur) ; Juffurshye, 
for Zafarshahi, (not Ja’farshahi); Kali Modunpur (which sounds like a Hindu name), 
Kallm-uddinpur; Puladassy, north of Bagura, for Fuladshahi; Masidpore and Majid- 
pore, for Masjidpur (vide Beames, Comp. Grammar, p. 209). 
In the spelling of Bengal names care should be taken with the frequent ending 
dalia , 4 eddy,’ as Maldaha, spelt in Persian Maldali; but the final h is radical, and the 
name should not be spelt Malda, as Malwah, Rajah, &c., = Malwa, Raja, &c. 
Aurangzib forbade by edict spellings like Malwah, Rajah, &c. ; he wanted people 
to spell Malwa, Raja. 
