Patna district

Patna district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state in eastern India. Patna, the capital of Bihar, is the district headquarters. The Patna district is a part of Patna division. The Patna district is divided into 6 Sub-divisions (Tehsils) i.e. Patna Sadar, Patna City, Barh, Masaurhi, Danapur and Paliganj. As of 2011, it is the most populous district of Bihar and fifteenth most populous district in India. The revenue district of Patna comes under the jurisdiction of a District Collector (District Magistrate). The office of the Patna DM is in Patna Collectorate. History Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world. Patna was founded in 490 BCE by the king of Magadha. Ancient Patna, known as Pataliputra, was the capital of the Magadha Empire under the Haryanka, Nanda, Mauryan, Shunga, Gupta and Pala empires. Pataliputra was a seat of learning and fine arts. Patliputra was home to many mathematicians, astronomers, astrologists and scholars including Gautam Buddha, Aryabhata, Panini, Vātsyāyana, Chanakya and Kālidāsa. Its population during the Maurya period (around 400 BCE) was about 400,000. Patna served as the seat of power, political and cultural centre of the Indian subcontinent. With the fall of Gupta Empire, Patna lost its glory. It was revived again in the 17th century by the British as a centre of international trade.