Habiganj (district)

Habiganj (Hobigonj), formerly known as Habibganj (Hobibgonj), is a district in north-eastern Bangladesh, located in the Sylhet Division. It was established as a district in 1984 as a successor to its subdivision status since 1867. It is named after its headquarters, the town of Habiganj. Prehistoric settlements were said to have been discovered in the Chaklapunji tea garden, near Chandirmazar of Chunarughat. Habiganj has also revealed a significant number of prehistoric tools from the bed of Balu Stream, a small ephemeral stream (water remains here only for a few hours after rainfall). Angularity and freshness of the fossil wood artifacts suggest that they did not come from a great distance and probably came from nearby hillocks. Typologically, technologically, and morphometrically, the artifacts are more or less the same as those found in the Lalmai, Comilla. The fossil wood assemblages of both of these areas are often classified into two groups: pre-neolithic assemblages without polished tools (hand axes, cleavers, scrapers, chopping tools, points etc.) and neolithic assemblages (hand axes, polished Celts, awls etc.). The Hindu epic known as the Mahabharata mentions the marriage of Duryodhana of the Kauravas into a family that are thought to be inhabitants of present-day Habiganj. Taraf (Bengal) In medieval times, there were numerous petty kingdoms that were situated in what is now Habiganj District such as Azmardan, Baniachang and Tungachal. In 1254, the Governor of Bengal Malik Ikhtiyaruddin Iuzbak invaded the Azmardan Raj. He defeated the local Raja, and plundered his wealth. A feudal kingdom by the name of Tungachal was given to Epivishnu by Raja Upananda of Brahmachal in the 11th century. It was based in Rajapur in southern Habiganj. Following the murder of Upananda by the Gour Kingdom loyalists, Epivishnu refused to acknowledge Tungachal as a part of Gour. This led to a battle in 1258 on the banks of Ghungi Jurir Haor in Tungachal in which Epivishnu was murdered and Shandul was subsequently appointed as Tungachal's governor by Raja Govardhan of Gour.