PokA2VptT.R T4zjS Z 397
bastion towers. The defences,Aike most of the hill- forts in this:
part- of'the country, are of perpendicular rock, weakened rather than
strengthened by'curtains'and bastions of masonry.
The earliest known mention of Purandhar is in the reign of the first'
Bahmani king,. Ala-ud-din Hagan Gangu'(1347=58), who obtained pos.
session of'almost the whole of'Maharashtra, from the Purandhar range
to the Cauvery, and fortified Purandhar in 1350. During the early rule
of'the. Sultans of A1lmadnagar Purandhar was, an ong the forts which'
were reserved by the government' and never entrusted to jaorddrs or
estate-holders.' The fort of Purandhar passed to Maloji, the grand-
father of Sivaji, when Bahadur-Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar (r546-
16oo) granted him Poona and Supa. In' 16'65 it was' invested- by•
the, forces of Aurangzeb, under the command` of Raja Jai Snigh,
the `famous Rajput general, assisted by the -Afghan 'Dilawar Khan,
Though the defence by Baj1 Prabhu; a Deslapande of Mahad, who
was the commandant of the fort, was obstinate, Sivaji appears to have
been so intimidated at the prospect of the fall of Purandhar that he
surrendered it, together with Sinhgarh, and entered. the service of
Aurangzeb. He revolted, however, and recaptured Purandhar in 1670.
After the power 6f the Peshwas at Poona had superseded, that of the
descendants of Sivaji, Purandhar was the usual stronghold to which
the Peshwas retreated when unable to remain in safety at their capirtal,
Here, in: 1776, was concluded a treaty between the'British Government'
and' the Maratba States ; but its- conditions were never fulfilled, being,
overruled by the subsequent Treaty of Salbai'in 1782 between the
British Government and Sindhia, at the close of the second 1Vlaratha
War. In 18 r8 Purandhar was invested by a British force under General -
Pritzler. On March 14 a mortar battery opened . on :it,' and on
the 15th-Vazirgarh admitted British garrison. As Vazirgarl connj-
nianded - Purandhar, the commandant had to accept the terms- given
to that garrison, and the British colours were hoisted at Purandhar,on
March 16, 1818, The -fort commands a passage through the hills;
called the Purandhar ghirf.
Furaripur Tahs11.-•-North-eastern iahsil of P11Ibhit District, United
Provinces, conterminous with the pargana of the same name, lying
between .28' 2r' and z8° 5o' N. and 79° 56' and 80° 27' E., with an
area, of 513 square miles Population ;fell from 95,205, in f89r- to
89,084 in -igol. ,There are 42 villages,.but no town. The demand
for :land revenue in 1903-4 wag Rs. 93,000, and for cesses Rs. r5,ooo. .
The density of population, 174 persons per square mile, is very low.
This tahstProvinces. Along or near the north-eastern border the SaRDi fotsix)s
the. Nepal frontier, and is joined, by.the~Chauka, which 44..a
-eha~gri l
roughly parallel to that of the.Sarda. The Mdla .swamp divides l'rgrtir~.>
C c,2
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