I. A Division Of Bengal, British India

British India A Division Of Bengal, comprising the districts of Patna, Gaya, Shahabad, and Sarun, S. of the Ganges, and Tirhoot and Chumparun, N. of that river; area, 23,732 sq. m.; pop. in 1872, 13,122,743, of whom more than half were agricultural laborers. The territory of the native state of Behar is comprised in this and the neighboring division of Bhaugulpore.

II. A District In The Above Named Division

A District In The Above Named Division, extending from lat. 25° 3' to 25° 38' N., and Ion. 84° 45' to 86° 10' E.; area, 2,101 sq. m.; pop. in 1872, 1,559,638. The Ganges flows along its N. frontier, and the river Sone forms the W. and N. W. boundary. The growth of the opium poppy is the most important branch of cultivation carried on in the district. Patna was ceded to the English, with Bengal, the rest of Behar, and a small part of Orissa, in 1765. It was the scene of some of the most memorable events in the great mutiny of 1857, every part of the district except the capital having been for a long time in the hands of the insurgents. The district is traversed by the East Indian railway.

III. A City

A City, capital of the district, on the right bank of the Ganges, in lat. 25° 33' N., Ion. 85° 11' E., 285 m. N. W. of Calcutta; pop. about 300,000. The city proper, or fort, is of rectangular form, surrounded by a wall which extends about 14 m. along the bank of the river, and 3/4 m. inland. The suburbs are very extensive, and stretch 7 1/2 m. along the Ganges. The principal thoroughfare, parallel to the river, is wide, though neither straight nor regular; and the other streets and lanes are narrow and crooked. Some of the houses are built of brick, and have flat roofs and balconies; but many of them are made of mud and covered with tiles and thatch. Patna is situated on the East Indian railway, and is an important centre of the opium trade, the government agency for Behar being located there. The town was permanently taken possession of by the British in 1764, after the defeat of the nawaub of Bengal under its walls. A monument is erected in the city to the memory of 200 British who were cruelly murdered by the nawaub a few months beforehis defeat.