BHURTPORE, a fortified town of Hindostan, in the province of Agra, and formerly the capital of an independent state. The rajah, who was one of the principal chieftains of the tribe of Jauts, possessed a considerable territory and several forts on the south-western bank of the Jumna. In 1818 the total area of this state was rather less than 5000 square miles. Bhurtpore is a place of great extent, the circumference of the town and fort is above eign t miles, and it is everywhere strongly fortified, being suι-rounded by a mud wall of great height and thickness, wit [7:4:611] . a very wide and deep ditch. The fort stands at the eastern extremity of the town; its situation is more elevated, its walls are higher, and its ditch is of greater width and depth. It is of a square figure; one side overlooking the country, while the other three are within the town. The ditch, from the nature of the ground, may be easily filled with water, and then it presents a formidable obstacle to a besieging army. It was in 1700 that the tribe of Jauts first attracted notice in Hindostan. They migrated from the Indus into the province of Mooltan, and were allowed to settle in several parts of the country between the Ganges and the Jumna. They are, according to Bishop Heber, the finest people in point of bodily advantages and martial spirit that he had seen in India; and their country is one of the most fertile and best cultivated. The fortress of Bhurtpore was erected by one of their chiefs out of the plunder which he had carried off from Aurungzebe’s army during its last march towards the Deccan. He transmitted this stronghold to his successors, and it was held by Runjeet Sing at the time the British advanced into central India. In 1803 a treaty of perpetual friendship was concluded between him and General Lake; but, notwithstanding this, he espoused the declining cause of Holkar in 1805, and admitted his routed army into the fortress of Bhurtpore. Lord Lake arrived before the place on the 3d of January 1805, and commenced a series of operations against it, more sanguinary than any that had ever occurred in the annals of Indian warfare. The British army, from its limited numbers compared with the extent of the place, acted under every disadvantage. Their operations were confined to one point, and the besieged consequently could easily procure supplies to any amount from the surrounding country. Undismayed by these obstacles, Lord Lake made four successive attempts to storm the fortress, in all of which he was repulsed with great slaughter; his loss amounting, in killed and wounded, to about 3000. The rajah, notwithstanding his success, fearing that British courage and skill would ultimately prevail, sent his son to Lord Lake’s camp with the keys of the fortress, and agreed to compel Holkar to quit Bhurtpore. A second treaty was then concluded with the rajah, and several additional precautions adopted to secure his fidelity. This signal overthrow of the British by the Jauts, the defenders of Bhurtpore, was celebrated all over India, and was by many regarded as the forerunner of their expulsion from Hindostan. But in the lapse of twenty years an opportunity occurred for a new trial of strength, which terminated in the complete triumph of the British arms. A dispute occurred in the family of the rajah respecting the succession; the cousin having usurped the inheritance of the son, Bulwunt Sing, the rightful heir. Sir David Ochterlony prepared to expel the usurper, but was restrained by orders from the governor-general. Afterwards, however, it was determined to attack this great stronghold; and on the 10th December 1825 Lord Combermere assumed the command of the British army before Bhurtpore. As it was vain to batter in breach, on account of the extraordinary thickness of the wall, the besiegers proceeded by mining; and by the 17th of January a practicable breach was made. On the 18th, at eight o’clock in the morning, the signal was given for the assault; and in the course of two hours every gateway and bastion, and the whole rampart surrounding the town, with the gates of the citadel, were in possession of the besiegers, and thus forever effaced the transient stain which the former failure 3 1t Bhurtpore had cast on the glory of the British arms.

. the 4th February the former rajah was reinstated in j! s ln heritance. It was at the same time determined to dismantle the fortress; and the principal bastions, and P a rts of several curtains, were accordingly blown up, and left in a state of ruin. Bhurtpore is twenty-eight miles N. N. W. from Agra. Long. 77. 28. E. Lat. 27. 13. N.