Simraungadh

The name Simraon comes from the local language Simr which stands for Simal tree found in the area.[21][22] Simraongarh's relationship with the Simal forest has been also revealed by Gopal Raj Vamshavali, the oldest chronicles of Nepal.[23] The Tibetan monk and traveler, Dharmasavamin states Simrāongarh as Pa-ta.[24] The word Pata is an abbreviation of last affix of 'Pattana', which means a capital in Sanskrit language.[24]

Simraungadh was the capital of an independent Hindu kingdom of the Mithila or Tirhut from the 11th century to early 14th century.[25][26][27][28] The fortified city was built along the present-day border between India and Nepal. The rule of the Karnat dynasty marks an important milestone and a golden age in the history of Tirhut.[29] The rise of this empire saw the birth of efficient administration, social reforms, religious and the development of local folk music and literature.[30][31]

The Simraon, Karnat, or Dev Dynasty originated with the establishment of a kingdom in 1097 CE headquartered at present-day Simraungadh in Bara district. The kingdom controlled the areas we today know as Tirhut or Mithila in India and Nepal. This region is bounded by the Mahananda River in the east, the Ganges in the south, the Gandaki River in the west, and by the Himalayas in the north.[32][33] The boundary line was made between the two countries after the Treaty of Sugauli in 1816 CE.

According to French orientalist and indologist Sylvain Lévi, Nanyadeva established his supremacy over Simraungadh probably with the help of Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI.[34][35][36] After the reign of Vikramaditya VI in 1076 CE, he led the successful military campaign over modern Bengal and Bihar.[37][38]

The rulers of Simraongarh are as follows:

Harisingh Dev (r. 1295 to 1324 CE), the sixth descendant of Nanyadeva was ruling the Tirhut Kingdom. At the same time, the Tughlaq dynasty comes to power, which ruled the Delhi sultanate and whole Northern India from 1320 to 1413 CE. In 1324 CE, the founder of the Tughlaq dynasty and Delhi Sultan, Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq turned his attention towards Bengal.[39] The Tughlaq army invaded Bengal and on his way back to Delhi, The sultan heard about the Simraungarh which was flourishing inside the jungle.[40] The last king of the Karnata dynasty, Harisingh Dev didn't show his strength and left the fort as he heard the news of approaching army of the Tughlaq Sultan towards the Simraungarh.[41] The Sultan and his troop stayed there for 3 days and cleared the dense forest. Finally on day 3, the army attacked and entered into the huge fort whose walls was tall and surrounded by 7 big ditches.[42][43]

The remains are still scattered all over the Simroungarh region. King Harisingh Deva fled northwards into the then Nepal. The son of Harisingh Dev, Jagatsingh Dev married the widow princess of Bhaktapur Nayak Devi.[44]

Simraungadh is located at 26°53′22″N 85°7′1″E. It has an average elevation of 83 meters.[45] The Simraungdah town lies on the flat and fertile plain of Terai. In the south, the city borders Bijwani in the border of the Indian state of Bihar, while Adarsh Kotwal in the north.

from left, Simraongarh city plan in 1991-92 by Vidale, M. , Balista, C. and Torrieri, V. and City plan according to Cassiano Beligatti in 1740

The ancient city of Simraungadh is enclosed within an impressive system of earthen ramparts and infilled ditches.[58][59] The fortification of the ancient city has a rectangular shape and ground plan. The fortifications of Simraungadh are called Baahi locally[60] and remembered as a Labyrinth.[7] The fort is spread in 6 Kos[61] and the main enclosure is about 7.5 km north–south and 4.5 km east–west.[19] The eastern and western side of the fort were built over two natural embankments. The western side of the fort was dry in comparison to eastern side.[59] The Labyrinth and the powerful defense system of the city was well planned to protect from the river floods, enemies and regulate agriculture from controlled flow of water from the ditches shows the ability of the Kingdom.

During the reign of Rama Singh Deva (r. 1227 - 1285 CE) over Simraungadh, the Tibetan monk Dharmasvamin visited the fortified city in 1236 AD on his way back to Nepal and Tibet from Nalanda. He made the following remarks regarding the palace and fortification system of Pa-ta (Simraungadh),

The city was surrounded by seven tall walls, and the palace had eleven large gates and was surrounded by 21 ditches filled with water and rows of trees. The height of the city walls was equal to that of a Tibetan fort. The protective measures were taken due to Tughlaq armies, who led an army expedition but failed to reach it.[13]

After the fall and decline of the Karnat dynasty from Simraungadh,[62] the region was either controlled by Oiniwar rulers or Makwanpur rulers[48] until the Unification of Nepal in 1768 AD.[63] During the period of time an Italian Missionary traveler Cassiano Beligatti, with seven other missionaries reached this place on their way to Kathmandu valley from Patna on 29 February 1740.[64] He describes his journey on his travelling manuscript about this place is as follows,

There were some old ruins, and some seemed to be remains of substantial buildings. The city was situated in the quasi-labyrinth enclosed by high walls and was impossible to enter except on a single spot. There were four fortresses, which were evenly distributed from place to place within the enclosures of the labyrinth; and these enclosures had a distance from one side to the other of about a Kos or two miles, and the walls were extremely high with a width in proportion.[65]