Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/524

508 and Hahu s Geschichte der Ketzer im Mlttelalter. For the meaning of the word see Du Cange, Gloss.)  BEHAR, a province of British India, under the jurisdic tion of the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, situated between 24 and 28 N. lat., and 83 and 89 E. long. It comprises the districts of Champaran, Tirhut, Shahabad, SArAn, PatnA, Purniah, BhAgalpur, and the SantAl parganAs ; and is bounded on the N. by the independent kingdom of NepAl ; on the E. by the RajshAhi and BardwAn divisions of Bengal proper ; on the S. by the ChhotA NAgpur division ; and on the W. by the North-Western Provinces. The general aspect of the country is flat, except in the district of Monghir, where detached hills occur, and in the south-east of the province, where the Rajmahal and SantAl ranges abut upon the plains.

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In ancient times Behar comprised the dominions of the kings of Magadha, who at one time were the lords para mount of India, and whose court is represented as one of the most brilliant that ever existed. Alexander the Great when he invaded India intended to push his conquests to Palibothra, the capital of Magadha, whose monarch he heard could oppose him with 30,000 cavalry, 600,000 infantry, and 9000 elephants. Their highest point of grandeur was supposed to have been attained at the time of Seleucus Nicator, one of the immediate successors of Alexander, who invaded Magadha. According to the Greek historians he w r as victorious, but this is doubtful, as he relinquished all the Macedonian conquests to the east of the Indus, and gave his daughter in marriage to Chandra Gupta, the reigning king. At this time Magasthenes was appointed to represent him at Magadha court. The Magadha monarchs encouraged arts and learning, constructed roads, and sent their fleets across the Bay of Bengal to colonise Java, Bali, and other islands in the Indian Archipelago. The Magadha kingdom flourished from the 4th century before the Christian era to the 5th century after it. But ancient Behar is far more celebrated in another respect. Six centuries before the Christian era it w r as the cradle of Buddhism when that religion was in its infant state. It sent its missionaries to Ceylon, China, Thibet, and Tartary, and the religion they taught is still followed by 300 millions of people. Behar is a sacred spot in the eyes of the Chinese and other Buddhist nations. In 1202 A.D. Behar fell into the hands of the Mahometans without a struggle, and from this time it formed one of the three subahs or provinces under the rulers of Bengal. In the time of Akbar it comprised the seven sarhirs of Monghir, ChampAran, Hajipur, SAran, Tirhut, RohtAs, and Behar. It came into the possession of the East India Company with the acquisition of the DiwAni in 1765, when the province was united with Bengal. In 1857 two zamindArs, Umar Sinh and Kumar Sinh, rebelled against the British Government, and for some months held the ruinous fort of RohtAs against the English.

, a magisterial subdivision, and a town of Patna district. The was formed in 1840. It has 