218 H. Bloch m arm —Geography and History of Bengal. [No. 3, 
to A'g Mahall on the opposite bank. But this was only carried out by 
Rajali Man Singh, who changed the name of Ag Mahall to Raj Mahall, 
and subsequently to Akbarnagar. The same Sirkar became again in later 
times under Prince Shuja’ the seat of government, and later still under 
Nawab Ja’far Murshid Quli Khan, who changed the name of the old town 
of Makli q licabad,* the Muxabad or Muxadabad of old maps, to Murshid- 
abad. 52 mahalls ; revenue, Rs. 601,985. The Haft Iqlim gives its revenue 
at Rs. 597,570. 
17. Sirkar Sharifabad, south of the preceding, comprising the 
remaining portions of Birbhum, and a large portion of Bardwan district, 
together with the town of Bardwanf itself. Mahalls Barbak Singh and Fath 
Singh, so called after the Bengal kings Barbak Shah and Fath Shah, and 
Sherpur ’Atai, where Man Singh defeated the Afghans (Ain translation, 
p. 341) also belonged to this Sirkar. 26 mahalls ; revenue, Rs. 562,218. 
18. Sirkar S u 1 a i m a n a b A d, a straggling Sirkar, which comprised 
a few southern parganahs in the modern districts of Nadiya, Bardwan, and the 
whole north of Hugli district. This Sirkar was so called after Sulaiman 
Shah of Bengal, who also called several parganahs after himself in Murshid- 
abad, Jessore, and Baqirganj districts ; but whether the name was too long, 
or was purposely changed after Akbar’s conquest of Bengal in honor of 
Prince Salim (Jahangir), it only occurs now-a-days in the form 4 Salimabad.’ 
The chief town of the Sirkar was Salimabad [Sulaimanabad], on the left 
bank of the Damudar, south-east of the town of Bardwan. It is marked as 
4 Silimath’ on Van den Broucke’s map. Ola (the old name of Birnagar) in 
Nadiya, known from the Srimanta legend, and Panduah, on the E. I. 
Railway, with its Buddhist ruins and ancient mosques, also belong to this 
Sirkar. 31 mahalls ; revenue, Rs. 440,749. 
19. Sirkar Madaran, extending in a semicircle from Nagor in 
Western Birbhum over Raniganj along the Damudar to above Bardwan, 
and from there over K’liand Grhosh, Jahanabad, Chandrakona (Western 
Hugli District) to Mandalg’hat, at the mouth of the Rupnarayan River. 
16 mahalls ; revenue, Rs. 235,085. 
Thus the above nineteen Sirkars, which made up Bengal in 1582, paid 
a revenue on klialsa lands, inclusive of a few duties on salt, hats, and 
* The Akbarnamah mentions a Maklnyic Khan, brother of Sa’id Khan; vide my 
Ain translation, p. 388. Makhgmj Khan served in Bengal and Biliar, and his brother 
Sa’id Khan was for some time governor of Bengal. 
f The Muhammadan pronunciation of the Bangali Bordomdn. The Haft Iqlim 
mentions an extraordinary custom that obtained in this Sirkar. ‘‘ Ferainae hujus 
provinciae instrumentum quoddam fictile penis instar in vulvam et in anum iuferunt, 
ut sordes removeant. The old kings have in vain tried to break them off this habit.” 
Regarding the Muhammadan antiquities of Bardwan, vide Journal, As. Beno-al 
for 1871, Pt. I, p. 254. 
