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Saptagram (
According to
Wikimapia satellite view of Iswar Gupta Setu and surrounding areas
{{Hooghly District Ancient divisions in Bengal Hooghly district Cities and towns in Hooghly district Neighbourhoods in Kolkata Kolkata Metropolitan Area
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
: সপ্তগ্রাম; colloquially called ''Satgaon'') was a major port, the chief city and sometimes capital of southern Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
, in ancient and medieval times, the location presently being in the Hooghly district
Hooghly district () is one of the districts of the Indian state of West Bengal. It can alternatively be spelt ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli''. The district is named after the Hooghly River.
The headquarters of the district are at Hooghly-Chinsura (''C ...
in the Indian state of West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
. It is about 4 km from Bandel
Bandel is a neighbourhood in the Hooghly district of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is founded by Portuguese settlers and falls under the jurisdiction of Chandernagore Police Commissionerate. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Me ...
, a major rail junction. By the early twentieth century, the place had dwindled to a group of insignificant huts.Cotton, H.E.A., ''Calcutta Old and New'', 1909/1980, p. 2, General Printers and Publishers Pvt. Ltd. The port had to be abandoned because of the silting up and consequent drying of the Saraswati River
The Sarasvati River () is a deified river first mentioned in the Rigveda and later in Vedic and post-Vedic texts. It played an important role in the Vedic religion, appearing in all but the fourth book of the Rigveda.
As a physical river, ...
.
Etymology
The word ''Saptagram'' means seven villages. These are identified as Bansberia, Kristapur, Basudebpur, Nityanandapur, Sibpur, Sambachora and Baladghati.History
According to Binoy Ghosh
Binoy Ghosh (14 June 1917 – 24 July 1980) was a journalist, sociologist, writer, literary critic and researcher. His ''Paschim Banger Sanskriti'' won the Rabindra Puraskar in 1959.Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Bose, Anjali (editors), 1976/1998, ' ...
, Tamralipta, the ancient port, started declining from the 8th century, owing to river silting, and Saptagram possibly started gaining in importance as a port from the 9-10th century. Saptagram port, along with its business centre, had become important in the pre-Muslim era, during the rule of the Palas
A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval '' Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson ...
and Senas. In the Muslim era, Saptagram was an important administrative centre right from the beginning, and the period 14th to 16th century was considered the golden age of Saptagram. In 1565 Maharaja Rudranarayan
Rudranarayan Raymukhuty ( bn, মহারাজা রুদ্রনারায়ণ রায়মুখুটি) was the Maharaja of Bhurishrestha in Bengal. He started rivalry with the Lohani Pathan sultans of Bengal Sultanate.
Ear ...
of Bhurshut
Bhurshut ( bn, ভুরশুট, Bhurśut) or Bhurishreshtha ( bn, ভূরিশ্রেষ্ঠ, Bhūriśreṣṭha) was a medieval Hindu kingdom spread across what is now Howrah and Hooghly districts in the Indian state of West Ben ...
conquered it from pathans . In 1592 AD Saptogram was captured and looted by the Pathans. In the 17th century, Hooghly-Bandel-Chinsurah started gaining in importance. From the 18th century, Kolkata started emerging as the main business and cultural centre of Bengal.Ghosh, Binoy, ''Paschim Banger Sanskriti'', , part II, 1976 edition, pages 312-316 , Prakash Bhaban, Kolkata.
See also
*European colonies in India
Colonial India was the part of the Indian subcontinent that was occupied by European colonial powers during the Age of Discovery. European power was exerted both by conquest and trade, especially in spices.
The search for the wealth and prosper ...
* Saptagram (Vidhan Sabha constituency)
References
External links
Wikimapia satellite view of Iswar Gupta Setu and surrounding areas
{{Hooghly District Ancient divisions in Bengal Hooghly district Cities and towns in Hooghly district Neighbourhoods in Kolkata Kolkata Metropolitan Area