Gaur

Gaur, or Gour, a deserted city in Bengal, situated some 4 miles S. of Malda, between the Ganges and the Mahananda rivers. The name, originally Gauda, and signifying "sugeir country," was applied to a large area. According to Hindu tradition, Gaur was the seat of a long succession of dynasties, and was known as Lakhnaoti. At the end of the 12th century it fell into Mohammedan hands, and resumed its ancient appellation, becoming the capital of the quasi-independent kings of Bengal. About the close of the 16th century they came to an end, a pestilence devastated the place, and it dropped out of history, though it would appear to have had some population as late as 1750.