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of Patna
See also: Pataliputra, History of Bihar, and Timeline for Bihar

Ancient Era[edit]
Patna assumed importance and grandeur around 490 BCE[25][26] as Ajatashatru, the king of Magadha,
wanted to shift his capital from the hilly Rajagrha (today's Rajgir) to a strategically located place to
better combat the Licchavis of Vaishali.[27] He chose the site on the bank of the Ganges and fortified
the area. Gautama Buddha travelled through this place in the last year of his life. He prophesied a
great future for this place even as he predicted its ruin due to flood, fire and feud. [28]

Mauryan empire[edit]

Statue of Matrikas found near Agam Kuan built by Ashoka

Megasthenes, the Indo-Greek historian and ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya, gave
one of the earliest accounts of the city. He wrote that the city was situated on the confluence of the
rivers Ganga and Arennovoas (Sonabhadra — Hiranyawah) and was 14 kilometres (9 mi) long and
2.82 kilometres (1.75 mi) wide.[29][30] Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador to India, described the city
as the greatest city on earth during its heyday.[31] The Shungas ultimately retained control of
Pataliputra and ruled for almost 100 years. The Shungas were then followed by the Kanvas and
eventually by the Guptas.[32]
A number of Chinese travellers came to India in pursuit of knowledge and recorded their
observations about Pataliputra in their travelogues. One such famous account was recorded by a
Chinese Buddhist traveller Fa Hien, who visited India between 399 and 414 CE, and stayed here for
many months translating Buddhist texts.[33]
When Chinese Buddhist Monk Faxian visited the city in 400 A.D, he found the people to be rich and
prosperous; they practised virtue and justice. He found that the nobles and householders of the city
had constructed several hospitals in which the poor of all countries, the destitute, the crippled and
the diseased can get treatment. They could receive every kind of help gratuitously. Physicians would
inspect the diseases, and order them food, drink, and medicines. [34][page  needed]
 

Pataliputra as a capital of the Magadha Empire.

 

Pataliputra as a capital of Maurya Empire.

The Maurya Empire at its largest extent under Ashoka the Great.
 

Pataliputra as a capital of Shunga Empire.

Approximate greatest extent of the Shunga Empire (c. 185 BCE).
 

Pataliputra as a capital of Gupta Empire.

Approximate greatest extent of the Gupta Empire.

Gupta and Pala empire[edit]

Main street of Patna, showing one side of the Chowk, 1814–15.

City of Patna, on the River Ganges, 19th-century painting.

In the years that followed, many dynasties ruled the Indian subcontinent from the city, including
the Gupta dynasty and the Pala kings. With the disintegration of the Gupta empire, Patna passed
through uncertain times. Bakhtiar Khilji captured Bihar in the 12th century and destroyed everything,
and Patna lost its prestige as the political and cultural centre of India. [35]
Guru Gobind Singh (22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708), the tenth Guru of the Sikhs, was born as
Gobind Rai in Patna to Guru Teg Bahadur, the ninth Guru of the Sikhs, and his wife Mata Gujri. His
birthplace, Patna Sahib is one of the most sacred sites of pilgrimage for Sikhs. [36]

Mughal empire[edit]
The Mughal empire was a period of unremarkable provincial administration from Delhi. [37] The most
remarkable period during the Middle Ages was under the afghan emperor Sher Shah Suri, who
revived Patna in the middle of the 16th century. He built a fort and founded a town on the banks of
the Ganges. Sher Shah's fort in Patna does not survive, although the Sher Shah Suri mosque, built
in Afghan architectural style, does. Mughal emperor Akbar reached Patna in 1574 to crush the
rebellious Afghan Chief Daud Khan. One of the navratnas from Akbar's court, his official historian
and author of "Ain-i-Akbari" Abul Fazl refers to Patna as a flourishing centre for paper, stone and
glass industries. He also refers to the high quality of numerous strains of rice grown in Patna,
famous as Patna rice in Europe.[38]
By 1620, the city of Patna was being described as the "chefest mart towne of all Bengala" (i.e.
largest town in Bengal)[27][39] in northern India, "the largest town in Bengal and the most famous for
trade".[40] This was before the founding of the city of Calcutta. Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb acceded
to the request of his favourite grandson, Prince Muhammad