Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924073057352).pdf/266

 258 RAE are Bais Chhattris, but the principal of them, Rana Beni Mádho, lost all bis estates in the mutiny. The Bais are not however very ancient land- holders; they came to this pargana about 1090 A. H., just at the close of Alamgir's reign. Rae Bareli is mentioned in the Ain-i-Akbari as belonging to the Kanh- puria who spread hịther from the adjoining pargans of Jáis and Salon. The original habitat of the Bais was Daundia Kheri now in Unan. RAE BARELI—Pargana RAE BARELI -Tahsil RAE BARELI- District RAE RARELI.—This town lies in latitude 26°14' north, longitude 81°17' east, forty-eight miles south-east of Lucknow, thirty miles north of Fatch- pur, North-Western Provinces, 52 miles north-west of Partabgarh, and 56 miles due west of Sultanpur. It was founded by Bhars, and after them called Bharauli, altered afterwards to Bareli. Some say that it is called Rae Bareli from Ráhi, a town three miles from Bareli, the original bead- quarters of the pargana. A third account attributes the name to its having long been in possession of Káyaths generally called rae.* Huren Shah, the king of Jaunpur, changed the name to Flusenabad, but the novelty was not lasting. It is the headquarters of the pargana, tahsil, district, and division, bearing the same name. It is pleasantly situated on the river Sai, here spanned by a fine bridge; the picturesque temples and minarets of the old town are now rather in decay, but the huge crenclated battlements and gateways still rise grandly above the rich crops. The town was handed over to Shekhs and Sayyads in 820 Hijri by Sultan Ibráhím Sharqi after he had killed Bál, the Bhar chief, said to be the eponymous hero of the place. In 1040 Hijri, during the reign of Shah Jahán, Subahdar Nawab Jahan Khan, Pathan, founded Jahánabad in the village of Ikhtiyarpur; this has always been considered a muhalla or ward of Bareli. The town flourished, as it was always reckoned the healthiest spot in the district or the neighbourhood. Different muhallas or wards were founded at different times, and the descendants of the founders still are proprietors. Muhallas Qasbána, Neza Andáz, Sayyad Rájan, Báns Tola, Pirai Hamid, were founded by Musalmans; Jaunpuri, Kháli Sahát, Surjípur by Brahmans; Khatrauni Khurd and Kalán by Khattri treasurers of the Jaunpur kings; Shah Tola by the king's purveyor. The sovereign erected in 820 Hijri (A.D. 1403), a very spacious and strong fort; this was probably made with bricks belonging to still more ancient buildings; they are two feet long, one foot thick, one and a half wide. An ancient báoli yawns in the centre; this is a huge circular tank or well dug down to the springs and then lined with brick walls, supporting balconies and containing chambers on a level with the water. This one is 108 yards in circumference, and when in good repair must have been a pleasant retirement in the hot wcatber.
 * Page 69, "Elliott's Chrooicles of Douao."