=Baghdad=, Asiatic Turkey. 33N. 44E. F. by Caliph Al-Mansur, c. 762; embellished by Harun-al-Rashid; taken by Hulaku Khan, 1258; by Tamerlane, 1393; by Amurath IV., 1638. Contains tomb of Zobeida, wife of Harun-al-Rashid, and is famous by means of the 'Arabian Nights.' (See Firdausi's 'Sha Name,' Gosse's 'Firdausi in Exile,' 'Purchas His Pilgrimes,' 'Travels of Marco Polo.') =Baghput=, Punjab. 29N. 77E. Said to be the Vyaghraprastha mentioned in the 'Mahabharata.' =Bahera=, Punjab. 32N. 73E. Captured by Babar, 1519; pillaged by Nur-ud-din, 1757. =Bahraich=, United Provs. 28N. 82E. Contains tomb of Mohammedan saint, Masaud. =Baj-Baj=, Bengal. 22N. 88E. Fort captured by Clive from Siraj-ud-daula, 1756. =Bajwara=, Punjab. 32N. 76E. Rajah Sansar Chand conquered Sirdar Bhup Singh, 1801; fort captured by Ranjit Singh, 1825. =Balkh=, Afghan Turkestan. 37N. 67E. Zoroaster first preached his doctrine, 549 B.C.; died at Balkh. Visited by Chinese explorer, Fa Hian, 402; Hiouen Thsang, 643; by Marco Polo, 1263. Besieged and taken by Ninus, 1933 B.C.; pillaged by Genghis Khan, 1221; destroyed by Tamerlane, 1390. (See 'Travels of Marco Polo.') =Bamian=, Afghanistan. 35N. 68E. Destroyed by Genghis Khan, 1221. =Bander Abbas= ('harbour of Abbas'), Persia. 27N. 56E. Ancient Harmozia. Portuguese driven out by Shah Abbas the Great with help of British, 1623. (See Moore's 'Lalla Rookh,' story of 'The Fire-Worshippers.') =Bandhogarh=, Central India. 24N. 81E. Attacked by Asaf Khan, 1563; captured by Patr Das, 1597; yielded to Anup Singh, 1658. Said to be bp. of Akbar. =Banera=, Rajputana. 26N. 75E. Conquered by Akbar, 1567; fort built in 1726; captured by Rajah of Shahpura, c. 1756. =Bangalore=, Mysore. 13N. 78E. F. by Hyder Ali, 1537. Taken by Lord Cornwallis, 1791. Contains palace of Tippoo Sahib, and Central College. =Bangkok=, Siam. 14N. 101E. Ceded to Louis XIV., 1687; became royal residence, 1767. Contains famous temples, and a colossal statue of Buddha. (See Little's 'Far East.') =Banias=, Syria. 33N. 36E. Visited by W. M. Thomson, and described in 'The Land and the Book.' =Bankapur=, Bombay. 15N. 76E. First mentioned, 898. Stormed by Firoz Shah, 1406; conquered by Hyder Ali, 1776; ceded to British, 1802. =Bantam=, East Indies. 6S. 106E. Described in first part of 'Purchas His Pilgrimes' as celebrated town of Java. =Baragaon=, Bengal. 25N. 85E. Visited by Hiuen Tsiang, who here studied religion. =Bardwan=, Bengal. 23N. 88E. Scene of the third story of the vampire in Burton's 'Vikram and the Vampire.' =Bareilly=, United Provs. 28N. 79E. New town f. by Rajah Makrand-Mughals, 1657. Taken by English, 1801; Europeans massacred during Mutiny, 1857; recaptured by Sir Colin Campbell, 1858. =Baroda=, Bombay, 22N. 73E. Tributary to Great Britain, 1802; Malhar Rao succeeded Sayaji Rao III., 1875. =Barpeta=, Bengal. 26N. 91E. Sankar Deb, follower of Vishnu, here f. a religious college. Partially destroyed by earthquake, 1897.