The Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Mediaeval India c5.s13.12

c5.s13.12

Yavana-Pura—1. Jaunpura, forty miles from Benares, the capital of an independent Muhammadan kingdom (see the Kathoutiya inscription in *JASB.*, 1839, p. 696, v. 7). It contains the celebrated Atalâ mosque built by Sultan Ibrahim in 1418 on the site with the materials of an ancient Buddhist monastery; the Lâl-darwazâ mosque built by Bibi Raji, the queen of Sultan Mahmud in 1480; the Jumma Masjid built by Sultan Hossain about 1480; the remains of a fort called the fort of Firoz built in 1360; and an old bridge over the Gumti constructed by Monahur Khan, the governor of Jaunpur, during the reign of Akbar. Jaunpur is said to have been founded in the fourteenth century by Sultan Feroz of Delhi, who named it after his cousin Fakiruddin Jowna. In the fifteenth century Khan Jahan, vizier of Sultan Mahommed Shah of Delhi, during the minority of the latter's son, assumed the title of Sultan Sharki or king of the East, and taking possession of Bihar, fixed his residence at Jaunpur (Hamilton's *East India Gazetteer*). Jaunpore became the centre of learning at the time of Ibrahim Sharki ; and Sher Shah received his education in one of its colleges. 2. Another Yavanapura is mentioned in the *Mahâbhârata* (Sabhâ P., ch. 30) as being situated on the south of Indraprastha and conquered by Sahadeva. Perhaps it is the same as Yavana-nagara or Junagaḍ.