This document provides an overview of the historical city of Murshidabad in India. It describes how Murshidabad served as the capital of Bengal under the Mughal Empire and discusses several important places in the city with historical significance, including the Hazarduari Palace museum, the Nizamat Imambara, Katra Mosque, Khosh Bagh, and Moti Jheel. The document highlights how Murshidabad reached its peak under the rule of Nawabs like Siraj-ud-Daulla and Alivardi Khan but declined after the British victory over Siraj-ud-Daulla at the Battle of Plassey in 1757.

1. A VISIT TO A HISTORICAL PLACE-
MURSHIDABAD

2. 
Introduction
Route map to Murshidabad
Glimpse from the Past
Places of Historical importance
Conclusion
Bibliography
INDEX:-

3. Murshidabad was a town and district of British India,
in the Bengal Presidency.
In the Mughal period it was the capital of Bengal.
Now The administrative headquarters of the district
are at Baharampur.
The town of Murshidabad is on the left bank of the
Bhagirathi-Hooghly or main sacred channel of the
Ganges. Pop. (1901), 15,168.
The city of Murshidabad was the last capital of
Bengal before the British era.

4. 
It is 182 km from
Kolkata,and road
transports are available at
frequent at interval.
 The major line runs north-
south and connects the
district to Kolkata to
Murshidabad.
HOW TO REACH MURSHIDABAD

5. GLIMPSE FROM THE PAST
 In 1704 the Nawab Murshid Quli Khan changed the seat
of government from Dhaka to Maksudabad, which he
renamed after his own name.
 The family of Jagat Seth maintained their position as state
bankers at Murshidabad from generation to generation.
 The town is still the residence of the nawab, who ranks as
the first nobleman of the province with the style of Nawab
Bahadur of Murshidabad, instead of Nawab Nazim of
Bengal
 The city still bears memories of Nawabs with other
palaces, mosques, tombs, and gardens.

6. PLACES OF HISTORICAL
IMPORTANCE

7. HAZARDUARI PALACE

8. The Hazarduari Palace, or the palace with a thousand doors
is the chief tourist attraction of Murshidabad.
This three-storey palace was built in 1837 by Duncan
McLeod for the Nawab Najim Humaun Jah, descendent of
Mir Zafar.
It has thousand doors (among which only 900 are real) and
114 rooms and 8 galleries, built in European architectural
style.
The total area of Hazarduari Palace is 41 acres.
It is now a museum and has an exquisite collection of
armoury, splendid paintings, exhaustive portraits of the
Nawabs, various works of art including beautiful works of
ivory (Murshidabad school) of China (European) and many
other valuables.

9. IMAMBARA

10. 
 Parallel to the north face of the Hazarduari Palace,
stands the Nizamat Imambara.
 It was built in 1847 AD by Nawab Nazim Mansoor
Ali Khan Feradun Jah, son of Humayun Jah, at a cost
of more than 6 lacs, after the Imambara built by Siraj-
ud-Doula had been destroyed by fire.
 It took only eleven months to construct this
Imambara.
 The Imambara, which is the largest in Bengal, is
perhaps the largest in India.

11. 
KATRA MOSQUE

12.  Katra Mosque is about one and a half km from Murshidabad
Railway Station on the Berhampore-Lalgola Road.
 This imposing structure was built by Nawab Murshid Quli
Khan in 1723-24 and it remains one of the most important
tourist attractions.
 The gorgeous building with its huge domes and high minarets
has a simple cemetery of the Nawab below the front staircase.
 The most striking feature is the two large corner towers
having loopholes for musketry.
 Close to the mosque was a bazaar (market)
and Katra means bazaar while Masjid means mosque. So the
total sums up to: Katra Masjid or Market Mosque, a mosque
in a market.

13. 
KHOSH BAGH

14.  Khosh Bagh lies on the opposide banks of the river
Bhagirathi on the west. One can reach Khosh Bagh
from New Palace Ghat (jetty) or from Lalbagh Sadar
Ghat by motor-boat..
 Khosh Bagh (Garden of happiness) was built by
Nawab Alivardi Khan along the lines of the Jama
Masjid of Delhi.
 It consisted of walled enclosures, the outer walls, which
were loop holed for musketry and flanked by octagonal
bastions.
 Here lies the grave of Nawab Alivardi Khan, Mother of
Alivardi, Siraj-ud-Daulla inside a square flat-roofed
chamber surrounded on all sides by an arcade
verandah, Siraj-ud-Daulla's wife Lutf-un-nisa and other
members of the Nawab family.

15. 
MOTI JHEEL

16.  Motijheel is about one km South of Lalbagh. This
beautiful horseshoe shaped lake was excavated by
Nawazesh Mohammad, the husband of the famous
Ghasseti Begum.
 In the palace adjoining it (now in ruins) Lord Clive
celebrated the acquisition of the Dewani of Sube
Bangla (Bengal, Bihar & Orissa) in 1765.
 Moti Jheel was the home of Warren Hastings when he
became the Political President at the Durbar of the
Nawab Nazim ( 1771 - 73 AD ).
 Moti Jheel is also known as the "Company Bagh", due to
the fact of it having been in the occupation of the East
India Company.

17. 
KATH GOLA

18.  At Mahimapur, a few yards from the Nashipur
Raj Bari, are visible the ruins and remnants of the
old banking house of the Jagat Seths at Kathgola
containing rare curios, whose history is connected
with some of the most critical revolutions in
Bengal.
 The name of "Jagat Seth" is known to every Indian
as the one of the most famous names in the
history of Bengal.
 By religion they were Jains, and Marwari by caste.
Originally, the "Jagat Seth's" came to prominence
for the vast wealth he accumulated as the
Nawab's banker.

19. 
JAFARGUNJ CEMETRY

20.  Within an enclosure of waved walls at Jafarganj,
proceeding further north, about half a mile from the
Hazarduari Palace.
 It contains the tombs of the Nawab Nazim's,
from Mir Jafar Ali Khan to Humayun Jah.
 The remains of the last Nawab Nazim of
Bengal, Syud Mansur Ali Khan, were temporarily
deposited in a vault and subsequently removed to
Karbala (burial ground) in Arabia under his
testament.
 Mir Jafar's father Syud Ahmed Najafi, Alivardi Khan's
sister Shah Khanum Begum, Mir Jafar's
widows,Munny Begum and Babbu Begum, Muhammad
Ali Khan the brother of Mir Jafar and Ismail Ali
Khan and Ashraf Ali Khanthe sons-in-law of Mir Jafar,
lie buried here.

21. CONCLUSION
 Bengal shares to a very large extent in the historical traditions
of the northern parts of India.
 The movements of population which settled the ethnological
characteristics of those areas largely affected the province, and
it was conspicuously associated with the great religious
developments which so profoundly influenced the life history
of the people.
 The ancient history of Murshidabad can be recorded from the
period when Shashanka, the king of Gauda.
 The glory of this place reached its zenith during the time
of Suja-ud-Daulla and Alivardi Khan who made this city
vibrant with numerous constructional and cultural activities.
 But the defeat of Siraj-ud-Daulla at the Battle of Plassey (1757
AD) prooved disastrous for the Murshidabad Royalty.