History of Patna

Patna (पटना), the capital of Bihar state, India, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world and the History of Patna spans at least three millennia. Patna has the distinction of being associated with the two most ancient religions of the world, namely, Buddhism and Jainism, and has seen the rise and fall of empires of the Mauryas and the Guptas. It has been a part of the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire, and has seen the rule of the Nawabs of Bengal, the East India Company and the British Raj. Patna has been one of the nerve centers of First War of Independence, participated actively in India's Independence movement, and emerged in the post-independent India as the most populous city of East India after Kolkata.

The first references to the place is observed about 2500 years ago in Jain and Buddhist scriptures.

Recorded history of the city begins in the year 490 BCE when Ajatashatru, the king of Magadh, wanted to shift his capital from the hilly Rajgriha to a more strategically located place to combat the Lichivis of Vaishali. He chose a site on the bank of the Ganges and fortified the area which developed into Patna.

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