Patna, Capital of Bihar

Patna is the capital of the Bihar State in eastern India, it stands as the oldest cities of the world.  Patna may be a short form of Patliputra, one of the most ancient names of this city.  Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world.  Legend ascribes the origin of Patna to a mythological King Putraka who created Patna by magic for his queen Patali, literally "trumpet flower", which gives it its ancient name Pataligrama. Patna was built as a fort to defend Magadha and over time is became a riverside city that extends along the south bank of the Ganges (Ganga) River for about 12 miles (19 km).  The city is located on the south bank of the Ganges River or the Ganga. 

The city of Patna continued and maintained as the capital of Bihar province under the British Raj. Patna's contribution to the freedom struggle against the British rule has been big with outstanding national leaders like Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, the first President of the Constituent Assembly of India. Patna today is the 5th-fastest growing city in India.  Patna is one of the major business centre in eastern parts of India. 

The capital of Bihar is an important city of Eastern India and the gateway to a lot of Buddhist pilgrim centers like Nalanda, Bodhgaya and Pawapuri. The Buddhistic, Hindu, and Jainist pilgrim centers of Vaishali, Rajgir, Nalanda, Bodhgaya, and Pawapuri are close and Patna is also a divine city for Sikhs. Bakhtiar Khilji conquered Bihar in the twelfth century A.D. and demolished many ancient seats of teaching, and Patna lost its prestigiousness as the political and cultural center of India. Sher Shah's fort in Patna does not survive, but the mosque, Sher Shah Suri Masjid, built up in Afghan style of architecture, exists.

Akbar's navratna and state's official historiographer and writer of "Ain-i-Akbari" Abul Fazl refers to Patna as a booming centre for paper, stone and glass industries. Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb acceded to the request of his favourite grandson, Prince Muhammad Azim, to rename Patna as Azimabad, in 1704 while Azim was in Patna as the subedar. With the decay of the Mughal Empire, Patna got into the hands of the Nawabs of Bengal, who levied a heavy tax on the public but granted it to expand as a trade centre.