Saptagram

This article is about the historical port-town. For its namesake present-day village, see Saptagram (modern). For its namesake state assembly constituency, see Saptagram (Vidhan Sabha constituency).

Saptagram

সপ্তগ্রাম
Saraswati River at Saptagram
Location of Gauḍa in West Bengal, India Show map of West Bengal Location of Gauḍa in India Show map of India
Alternative name	Satgaon
Location	Hooghly district, West Bengal, India
Coordinates	22.9667°N 88.3833°E / 22.9667; 88.3833
Type	Port, settlement
History
Founded	Prior to 9th century
Abandoned	Started declining 17th to18th century

Saptagram (colloquially called Satgaon) was an ancient major port, the chief city and sometimes capital of southern Bengal, in ancient and medieval times of Bengal, the location presently being in the Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is about 4 km from Bandel, a major rail junction. By the early twentieth century, the place had dwindled to a group of insignificant huts.^[1] The port had to be abandoned because of the silting up and consequent drying of the Saraswati River.

Etymology

The word Saptagram means seven villages. These are identified as Bansberia, Kristapur, Basudebpur, Nityanandapur, Sibpur, Sambachora and Baladghati.^[2][3]

3km
2miles

Hooghly River

Sahaganj

R

Bansberia

R

Debanandapur

R

Bandel

R

Bandel Rly Stn

F

Iswar Gupta Setu

F

Saptagram

H

Tribeni

H

  

Bandel-Saptagram Area as it is today
R: rural/ urban centre, F: facility, H: historical site
Owing to space constraints in the small map, the actual locations in a larger map may vary slightly

History

Mosque built in 1529 by Syed Jamaluddin

According to Binoy Ghosh, 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 9th to10th century. Saptagram port, along with its business centre, had become important in the pre-Muslim era, during the rule of the Palas 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 of Bhurshut 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.^[4]

See also

• European colonies in India
• Saptagram (Vidhan Sabha constituency)

References

1. Cotton, H.E.A., Calcutta Old and New, 1909/1980, p. 2, General Printers and Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
2. "Temples of Bengal". Saptagram. hindubooks.org. Retrieved 5 August 2007.
3. Patree, Purnendu (1995) [First published 1979]. Purano Kolkatar Kathachitra (in Bengali). Dey's Publishing. pp. 65–71. ISBN 81-7079-751-9.
4. Ghosh, Binoy, Paschim Banger Sanskriti, (in Bengali), part II, 1976 edition, pages 312-316 , Prakash Bhaban, Kolkata.

External links

• Wikimapia satellite view of Iswar Gupta Setu and surrounding areas