Sultanganj

Bhagalpur formed a part of the ancient Indian kingdom of Anga, said to be ruled by king Karna of Mahabharata who was well known for his charity. In later times it was included in the powerful Hindu kingdom of Magadha, or Behar, and in the 7th century it was an independent state, with the city of Champa as its capital. It afterwards formed a part of the Mohammedan Kingdom of Gaur, West Bengal, and was subsequently subjugated by Akbar, who declared it to be a part of the Delhi empire. Bhagalpur passed to the East India Company by the grant of the emperor Shah Alam II in 1765. References to Bhagalpur can be found in Indian epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata where Bhagalpur has been described as the kingdom of Anga. A temple from the Gupta period still exists in Bhagalpur. Bhagalpur was one of the most important trade centers in the Bengal Presidency of British India.