Division de Purnia

Purnia division is an administrative geographical unit of Bihar state of India. Purnia is the administrative headquarters of the division. The division consists of Purnia district, Katihar district, Araria district, and Kishanganj district. It was established in 1990. It is also known as Seemanchal. It is a part of the Kosi—Seemanchal subregion of the cultural Mithila region. Purnia division, all of which was previously part of Purnia district, is part of the Mithila region. Mithila first gained prominence after being settled by Indo-Aryan peoples who established the Mithila Kingdom (also called Kingdom of the Videhas). During the late Vedic period (c. 1100–500 BCE), Kingdom of the Videhas became one of the major political and cultural centers of Asia, along with Kuru and Pañcāla. The kings of the Kingdom of the Videhas were called Janakas. The Mithila Kingdom was later incorporated into the Vajjika League, which had its capital in the city of Vaishali, which is also in Mithila. During the Mughal rule, Purnia was an outlying military province, and its revenue was mostly spent on protecting its borders against tribes from the north and east. After the capture of Calcutta in 1757, Purnia's local governor raised a rebellion against Siraj ud-Daulah. In 1765, the district became a British possession, along with the rest of Bengal. On February tenth, 1770 The district of Purnia in modern history was formed by the East India Company. Purnia district has seen the three districts partitioned off from its territory: Katihar in 1976, and Araria and Kishanganj in 1990. The districts of Araria, Katihar, Purnia and Kishanganj together from the Purnia division. The last of the Governors was Md. Ali Khan who was replaced in 1770 by Mr. Ducarrel, the first English supervisor or Collector. The early years of British rule were years of trouble for Purnia. The district suffered terribly during the great famine of 1770. From the old records, it appears that there were European settlers in Purnia almost immediately after the establishment of British rule in the district.