Teliagarhi

Teliagarhi guards a narrow passage between the Ganges and the Rajmahal Hills, a gateway between Bihar and Bengal. A fort commanded the road where the hills approach the river, making the defile a natural point at which to delay an advancing army. Yet paths through the wooded uplands also offered determined commanders a way around it.

In the sixteenth century the pass became a prize in the struggles of Sher Shah and the Mughal emperor Humayun. Sher Shah fortified it to delay Humayun while he moved through the forests towards Rohtasgarh. Later, during the Mughal succession war, Shah Shuja’s troops occupied the pass. His opponent Mir Jumla took a route through the hills and emerged beyond the defences, forcing Shuja to retreat eastwards.