Kingdom of Laur লাউড় রাজ্য | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 600–1565 [1] | |||||||||
| Capital | Nabagram (now in Badaghat Union, Tahirpur) | ||||||||
| Common languages | Sanskrit, Prakrit | ||||||||
| Religion | Hinduism | ||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Lauri | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Historical era | Classical period | ||||||||
• Established | 600 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1565 [1] | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Bangladesh India | ||||||||
The Kingdom of Laur was one of the many petty kingdoms of the Sylhet region. Others included the Gour Kingdom, Ita Kingdom, Taraf Kingdom, Pratapgarh Kingdom and Jaintia Kingdom. [2]
The kingdom was bounded by the Brahmaputra river in the west, the Jaintia Kingdom in the east, Kamarupa in the north and Brahmanbaria in the south. It is considered that in the 7th century, the kingdom consisted of the modern-day Sunamganj District as well as parts of Habiganj and Mymensingh. [1] [3]
Before the establishment of the Laur Kingdom, the area was a part of Jaintia in the greater Kamarupa Kingdom. When Guhak ascended the Jaintia throne, he married a princess from Kamarupa. Guhak had a deep interest in Hinduism and migration of Brahmins from the Kamrup region to this area took place. Guhak had three sons; Jayantak, Gurak and Ladduk, and two daughters; Sheela and Chatala. He split the Jaintia Kingdom into three for his three sons. He gave his eldest son, Jayantak, the northern hills which remained known as the Jaintia Kingdom. He gave his second son, Gurak, the southern plains which would be named Gour Kingdom, and he gave his third son, Ladduk, the western plains which would become the Laur Kingdom. [4]
In 640, the Raja of Tripura Dharma Fa planned a ceremony and invited five Brahmans from Etawah, Mithila and Kannauj. Keshab Misra, a Brahman from Kannauj, migrated to Laur where he established a Hindu kingdom. [5]
In the late thirteenth century, Laur faced a number of attacks from the neighbouring kingdom of Gour ruled by the Hindu king Gour Govinda. [6]
A later Raja of Laur, Ramnath (descendant of Keshab Misra), had three sons with only one remaining in central Laur. Ramnath's second son, Durbar Singh became a Muslim and changed his name to Durbar Khan. [7] Khan migrated to Jagannathpur to build his own palace. He later seized his youngest brother, Gobind Singh's, territory in Baniachong. [5]
After the death of Laur Raja Durbar Khan, his younger brother Gobind Singh took over his land. Durbar Khan's sons then informed the Nawab of Bengal of this incident. Gobind was summoned to Delhi for a short time where he also accepted Islam. He changed his name to Habib Khan. As a reward, he regained Laur in 1566 but as a feudal ruler. Laur lost its independence and became a mahal/mahallah of the Sylhet Sarkar in the Bengal Subah of the Mughal Empire. [8] Habib's grandson was Majlis Alam Khan, the father of Anwar Khan.
A later zamindar of Laur, Abid Reza left Laur to establish Baniachong in the early eighteenth century, which would become the largest village in the world. Many followed Reza to Baniachong after Laur was burnt by the Khasi in 1744. The Nawab of Bengal Alivardi Khan is said to have granted 48 large boats to the Baniachong zamindars. [9] A short while after, Reza built a fort in Laur which remains as ruins today. His son, Umed Reza, excavated much of Baniachong during his zamindari. Both Rezas were feudal under the Amils or Faujdars of Sylhet. [5]
With the establishment of the East India Company and later the British Raj, Laur continued to exist merely as a pargana or fiscal division, as well as a thana, within greater Sylhet. Its area was 105.64 square metres, consisted of 305 estates and had a land revenue of £308 as of 1875. [9]
In one incident, hill tribes attacked the Laur thana, killing 20 people including the thanadar. In 1787, the Khasis of Laur also rebelled, plundering many parganas, such as Atgram, Bangsikunda, Ramdiga, Betal and Selharas, and killing up to 800 people. Before the troops of the Collector of Sylhet, Robert Lindsay, could arrive, the Khasis retreated back to their mountains. [10]
Sylhet Division is the northeastern division of Bangladesh. It is bordered by the Indian states of Meghalaya, Assam and Tripura to the north, east and south respectively, and by the Bangladeshi divisions of Chittagong to the southwest and Dhaka and Mymensingh to the west. Prior to 1947, it included the subdivision of Karimganj. However, Karimganj was inexplicably severed from Sylhet by the Radcliffe Boundary Commission. According to Niharranjan Ray, it was partly due to a plea from a delegation led by Abdul Matlib Mazumdar.
Habiganj, formerly known as Habibganj, is a district in north-eastern Bangladesh, located in the Sylhet Division. It was established as a district in 1984 as a successor to its subdivision status since 1867. It is named after its headquarters, the town of Habiganj.
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Companiganj is an upazila of Sylhet District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh.
Jaintiapur is an upazila of Sylhet District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh.
Colonial Assam (1826–1947) refers to the period in the history of Assam between the signing of the Treaty of Yandabo and the Independence of India when Assam was under British colonial rule. The political institutions and social relations that were established or severed during this period continue to have a direct effect on contemporary events. The legislature and political alignments that evolved by the end of the British rule continued in the post Independence period. The immigration of farmers from East Bengal and tea plantation workers from Central India continue to affect contemporary politics, most notably that which led to the Assam Movement and its aftermath.
Padmanath Bhattacharya was an Indian historian. His works generally centred on the ancient Kamrup region. The Padmanath Vidyabinod Memorial Awards are named after him.
The Pratapgarh Kingdom was a medieval state in the north-east of the Indian subcontinent. Composed of the present-day Indian district of Karimganj, as well as parts of Tripura State and Sylhet, Bangladesh, the kingdom was ruled by a line of Muslim monarchs over a mixed population of Hindu and Islamic adherents. It was bordered by the larger kingdoms of Kachar, Tripura and Bengal.
The Conquest of Sylhet predominantly refers to an Islamic conquest of Srihatta led by Sikandar Khan Ghazi, the military general of Sultan Shamsuddin Firoz Shah of the Lakhnauti Sultanate, against the Hindu king Gour Govinda. The conquest was aided by a Muslim saint known as Shah Jalal, who later ordered his disciples to scatter throughout eastern Bengal and propagate the religion of Islam. The Conquest of Sylhet may also include other minor incidents taking place after Govinda's defeat, such as the capture of nearby Taraf.
The Greater Sylhet region predominantly included the Sylhet Division in Bangladesh, and Karimganj district in Assam, India. The history of the Sylhet region begins with the existence of expanded commercial centres in the area that is now Sylhet City. Historically known as Srihatta and Shilhatta, it was ruled by the Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms of Harikela and Kamarupa before passing to the control of the Sena and Deva dynasties in the early medieval period. After the fall of these two Hindu principalities, the region became home to many more independent petty kingdoms such as Jaintia, Gour, Laur, and later Taraf, Pratapgarh, Jagannathpur, Chandrapur and Ita. After the Conquest of Sylhet in the 14th century, the region was absorbed into Shamsuddin Firoz Shah's independent principality based in Lakhnauti, Western Bengal. It was then successively ruled by the Muslim sultanates of Delhi and the Bengal Sultanate before collapsing into Muslim petty kingdoms, mostly ruled by Afghan chieftains, after the fall of the Karrani dynasty in 1576. Described as Bengal's Wild East, the Mughals struggled in defeating the chieftains of Sylhet. After the defeat of Khwaja Usman, their most formidable opponent, the area finally came under Mughal rule in 1612. Sylhet emerged as the Mughals' most significant imperial outpost in the east and its importance remained as such throughout the seventeenth century. After the Mughals, the British Empire ruled the region for over 180 years until the independence of Pakistan and India. There was a complete list of the different amils who governed Sylhet which was recorded in the office of the Qanungoh of Sylhet. However, most complete copies have been lost or destroyed. Dates from letters and seal traces show evidence that the amils were constantly changed. In 1947, when a referendum was held, Sylhet decided to join the Pakistani province of East Bengal. However, when the Radcliffe Line was drawn up, Karimganj district of Barak Valley was given to India by the commission after being pleaded by Abdul Matlib Mazumdar's delegation. Throughout the History of Sylhet, raids and invasions were also common from neighbouring kingdoms as well as tribes such as the Khasis and Kukis.
Govinda Fenchu, better known by his regnal title Gour Gobind and also known by the sobriquet Shomudro Tonoy, was the 21st and final king of medieval Sylhet's Gour Kingdom. He is described as a very conservative Hindu ruler whose reign started in 1260.
The Kingdom of Brahmachal, also known as Badapanchala, was one of the many petty kingdoms of the Sylhet region. It was established by Brahmajit by gradually off-shooting from the Gour Kingdom in 1170 AD due to familial tensions. It would reunite during the reign of Govardhan of Gour for a few years before being annexed to the Twipra Kingdom. Govardhan's successor, Gour Govinda, would again reunite Brahmachal with Gour in 1260.
The Mazumders of Sylhet, or more specifically, the Mazumders of Gorduar/Barshala, are a notable aristocratic family who have played important roles throughout the history of the Sylhet region.
Mirza Agha Muhammad Reza Baig, also known by his followers as Pir Ferutupi, was a Mughal nobleman and Shia Sufi pir from Sylhet, of Iranian origin. He overthrew the Kachari Kingdom and revolted against the East India Company with the assistance of the local peasantry.
Prince Garuda, was a 14th-century Hindu prince and heir apparent of King Govardhan of Gour, he is known for his participation in the Conquest of Sylhet.
The Kingdom of Gour was one of the greater of the many petty kingdoms of the medieval Sylhet region. According to legend, it was founded by Gurak, off-shooting from Kamarupa's Jaintia Kingdom in 630. Much of its early history is considered legendary or mythological up until Navagirvana who is mentioned in the Bhatera copper-plate inscriptions. The Kings of Gour are described as patrons of Hindu revivalism in what was previously a predominantly Buddhist and animist populated land.
Taraf, previously known as Tungachal, was a feudal territory of the Sylhet region in Bengal and was under many petty kingdoms in different periods of time. It was part of what is present-day Habiganj District in Bangladesh.
Abu Ahmad Abdul Hafiz, also known by his daak naam Wakil Mia, was a Bengali lawyer, teacher and politician who was active in the Pakistan Movement and the reincorporation of the Sylhet district into East Bengal.
Capital: Sunamganj | ||
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