272 SHEOPUR TOWN
Central India, situated in 25° 4o' N. and 76° 42' E., on the right bank
of the Sip river, 959 feet above sea-level. Population (rgor), 6,712.
The town and fort are said to have been founded in 1537 by Gaur
Rajputs, and take their name from a Saharia who was sacrificed to
ensure the permanency of the settlement, and whose descendants still
hold an hereditary grant of land in the neighbourhood. When Akbar
was advancing on Chitor in 1567, this fort surrendered to him without
a blow. In 18o8 the country fell to Daulat Rao Sindhia. He granted
Sheopur and the adjoining tract to his general, Jean Baptiste Filose,
who at once proceeded to occupy his ;dgir, and invested the fort.
Though unable to take the latter by assault, he finally starved out
the Gaurs, who vacated it in r8og, and retired to BARODA TOWN. The
fort from that time practically became Jean Baptiste's home; and in
1814 it was seized together with his family by jai Singh Khichi of
Raghugarh, whose territory Filose was then engaged in ravaging. After
the Treaty of Gwalior in 1818, Filose fell into disfavour and was for a
time imprisoned at Gwalior. On his release he retired to Sheopur,
which was then his only remaining possession. Sheopur is famous for
its coloured lacquer-work on wood, bedstead legs being a speciality;
playing-cards are another article of local manufacture. Besides the
pargana offices, a school, a hospital, a police station, and a State post
office are situated in the town.
Shergarh.-Ruined fort in the Sasaram subdivision of Shahabad
District, Bengal, situated in 24° so' N. and 83° 44' E., 20 miles south-
west of Sasaram town. The spot was selected by Sher Shah as the
site of a fortress soon after he had begun strengthening Rohtasgarh,
which he abandoned on discovering the superior advantages of Sher-
garb. The top of the rock is crowned with a rampart strengthened
by numerous bastions and bulwarks, with a grand ascent to the
principal gate on the north. The fort itself contains several sub-
terranean halls. About 7 miles from Shergarh is a cave called the
Gupteswar cave, containing numerous stalactites, one of which is
worshipped as the god Mahadeo. The cave has never been thoroughly
explored.
Sherghati:-Town in the head-quarters subdivision of Gaya Dis-
trict, Bengal, situated in 24° 33' N. and 84° 48' E., 21 miles south
of Gaya town, on the right bank of the river Morhar at the point where
it is crossed by the grand trunk road. Population (rgor), 2,641.
Owing to its position on the grand trunk road, Sherghati was formerly
a place of great importance, and it was the head-quarters of a sub-
division which was broken up in 1871. It has since somewhat
declined. There are still to be found here the descendants of skilled
artisans, workers in brass, wood, and iron. An interesting fort, said
to have been built by the Kol Rajas, contains numerous pillars of
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