Tarakote’s predecessor state was Shergarh which was established as a Mughal Sarkar in 1631 by Syed Baqar Habibullah Ali Mirza after he defeated the native tribals of the area. Baqar had built the former fort of Tarakote and other small forts around Shergarh namely, Purabkot, Pacchikote, Uttarkote.
In 1692, when Odisha was separated from Bengal and it become an independent subah under the Mughal Empire, the Shergarh sarkaari previously mentioned as Choti Jajpur Sakaar in the Mughal records was recognised as a new Sarkaar with 5 Mahals under it and the title of ‘Raja Miyan’ was bestowed upon the Sarkaardaar of Shergarh, Syed Baqar Habibullah by the newly made Subedar of Odisha, Mutakkad Khan Mirza.
Shergarh was reduced to a Zamindari estate during the British rule on account of Raja Miyan’s war against the EIC along with its neighbouring Kingdoms of Gada Madhupur, Sukindagada and Balarampurgada, who were reduced to Zamindaris as well.
Tarakote’s predecessor state was Shergarh state which was established in 1632 by two brothers Syed Baqar Habibullah Ali Mirza and Qazi Syed Innaytullah Ali Mirza.
During the 1630s, the Mughal rule in Odisha was de-stabilized due to the rebellions of the Afghans and the local gadjat kings. Under the order of Emperor Shahjahan himself, a military general of Nadia named Syed Baqar Habibullah Ali Mirza was sent to the Mughal cantonment at Jajanagar (established by Man Singh) to aid the then Mughal Subedar of Odisha, Shehzada Shah Shuja (the son of Emperor Shahjahan).
It was during this time that the neighbouring tribal kingdom of Sabaragada refused to submit their territories and accept the Mughal suzerainty. They also killed the Safeer (Rajdoot, messenger of the Subedaar). Baqar marched towards Sabaragada with his army.
Sabaragada was ruled by the Sabara tribe and hence it got its name from it (Sabara (the tribe) and gada (meaning fort in Odia) hence it literally meant the ‘fort of the Sabaras’. Baqar surrounded the fort from all sides and seized the fort. Having no other option the Sabara chieftain, Bangara Gunua submitted to Baqar Ali Mirza and accepted the Mughal suzerainty and the overlordship of the Emperor. Baqar changed the name of Sabaragada to Shergarah. However to honor the tribal leader, he built a new fort over the ruins of Sabaragada fort and named it after him Bangar-e-kot (kot, in Persian meaning fort) [present day : Bangarkote].
Baqar then built four other forts in Shergarh, namely Uttarkot (towards the north of Shergarh), Paschimkot (present day: Pacchikote, towards the west of Shergarh), Purabkot (towards the east of Shergarh) and finally Tarakote (at the centre of Shergarh). During the reign of Shahjahan, Orissa was reorganised into 12 Sarkars and 276 Mahals in places of 3 Sarkars and 62 original Parganas. This reorganisation took place in 1692 A.D., after Orissa being separated from Bengal constituted a separate Subah under the Imperial Mughal Empire. Habibullah Baqar’s newly made Shergarh formed a new Sarkar/Dandapada and gained recognition of the Emperor as Choti Jajpur Sarkar. It had 5 Mahals under it, namely Purbakot, Uttarkot, Tarakote
Raja Miyan Fazal e Haq Mohammad Hussain Saheb of Shergarh – Tarakot State
Comments