| Alternative name | Tandah |
|---|---|
| Location | East India |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Founded | 16th century |
Tanda (Bengali:তান্ডা,lit. 'high ground'), also known asTandah andKhwaspur Tandah, was a historic 16th-century city ofBengal in the eastern part ofSouth Asia, and one of the most prominent medieval capitals; serving theKarraniSultans of Bengal and the earlyMughalgovernors ofBengal.[1]
Almost completely opposite to the city ofGaur, Tanda is located west ofTeliagarhi by approximately 19.31km, 1.60km away fromLakshipur and southeast ofMalda, West Bengal by roughly 24.14km. It lay on the western banks of theGanges River where the river historically used to split into two.[1]
During the reign ofMughal emperorHumayun struck silver coins in Tanda in the late 1530s. According tonumismatics, Tanda achieved mint town status in 1544 when the region was under theSur Empire ruled bySher Shah Suri. During the reign of theSultan of BengalSulaiman Khan Karrani, the capital of Bengal was switched fromGaur to Tanda.[2] From then on, it continued as the capital of Bengal'sKarrani dynasty. Tanda continued to host a prominentmint up until 1576.
The rise ofMughal dominion in the region was led by theBengal Subah's first MughalgovernorMunim Khan. Defeating theBengal Sultanate at theBattle of Tukaroi in 1575, the capital was switched back to Gaur. An epidemic plague in Gaur swiftly led to the death of Munim and many Mughal troops, allowing SultanDaud Khan Karrani to regain control and reestablish Tanda as the capital.[3] Karrani was defeated the following year at theBattle of Rajmahal by the following Mughal general,Khan Jahan I, who kept Tanda as the capital due to fear of plague in Gaur. Tanda was made a part of theSarkar Udambar (commonly known as Sarkar Tanda) which includedRajmahal,Murshidabad andNorth Birbhum.
In 1586, a gentleman merchant fromLondon by the name ofRalph Fitch visited the city, describing it as prosperous whilst at the same time decaying due to theGanges' course changing. Tanda remained the capital of Bengal up until the governorship ofMan Singh I in the 1590s, who abandoned the city forRajmahal.
According toBaharistan-i-Ghaibi of Mirza Nathan (later known as Shitab Khan),[4]: 666 Tanda was noted for its stock of goods. Mirza Nathan's officer, Madari, purchased a shipload oflead,gunpowder andbows and arrows.[4]: 585 There was a notabledargah (shrine) located in the village of Malatipur in Tanda. This contained the tomb of Mir Syed Ahmad al-Husayni, who was a notable Muslim ascetic who lived in Malatipur and would receive hundreds of visitors. After his death, Ahmad was succeeded by hisSahib-i-Sajjada Mir Syed Nizam ad-Din as the chief Sufi of the town. During the reign of EmperorJahangir, it was common for Mughal officers to visit the shrine and commemorateurs there, as done by Shitab Khan — a disciple ofFariduddin Ganjshakar.[4]: 716 In April 1660, PrinceShah Shuja and his family briefly took shelter in Tanda whilst hiding fromMir Jumla II.[5]
By 1826, Tanda had been destroyed by floods, thus disappearing into the river. Presently, Tanda is a heap of dusts.[1]
