GORAKIIPUR. a district of the north-western 'provinces, India, between 20° 50 and 27° 28' n. lat., and between 83' 7 and 84° 29' e. long., hounded on the n. by the territory of Nepali], on the e. by Champiiran and &Iran. on the s. by the Gogra river, and on the w. by Basti and Fyzabad, with an area of 4,578 sq. miles. The district lies immediately s. of the lower Himalayan slopes, but forms itself a portion of the great alluvial plain. Only a few sand bills' break the Monotepy of its,level.surface, which is, however, intersected by numerous rivers studded with lakes and marshes. In the n. and center dense forests abound, and the whole country' presents it verdant appearance. The principal rivers are the Rapti, the Gogra, the great and little Gandak, the Kuana, the Rolim, the Ami, and the Gunghi. The tiger is found in the n., and many other wild animals abound throughout the district. The lakes are well stocked with fish. The pop., which in 1853 numbered 1,816,390, had risen to 2,019,361 in 1872. Of these, 1,819,445 or 90.1 per cent are Hindus, 109,372 Mussulmans, and 533 Christians. The district contains a total cultivated area of 2,621 sq.m., with 897 sq.m. available for cul tivation, most of which is now under forest. The chief productions are cotton, rice, &U•n, joah, moth, and other foodstuffs.
Gautama, Buddha, the founder of the religion bearing his name, died within the dis trict of Gorakhpur. It thus became the head-quarters of the new creed, and was one of the first tracts to receive it. The country from the beginning of the:6th c. was the
scene of a continuous struggle between the Bhars and their Aryan antagonists, the Rah tors. About 900, the Domhatars or military Briibmins appeared, and expelled the Rah tors from the town of Gorakhpur, but they were also soon driven back by other invaders. the 15th and 16th centuries,. after the district had been desolated by incessant war the descendants of the various conquerors held parts of the territory, and each seems to have lived quite isolated, as no bridges or roads attest any intercourse between them. Towards the end of the 16th c., Mussulmans occupied Gorakhpur town, but they inter fered very little with the district, and allowed it to be controlled .by the native rajas. In the middle of the 18th c. a formidable foe, the Banjaras from the w., kept the district in a state of terror, and so weakened the power of the rajas that they could not resist the fiscal exactions of the Oudh officials, who plundered and ravaged the country to a great extent. The district formed part of the territory ceded by Oudh to the British under the treaty of 1801. During the mutiny it was lost for a short time, but under the friendly Gurkiihs the rebels were driven out, and the whole district once more passed under British rule.