Parnera Hill
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Parnera Hill
Hill in Surat District, Bombay, situated in 20 34' N. and 72 57' E., 4 miles south-east of Buisar, and 120 miles north of Bombay, rising to a height of about 500 feet above the plain. From its commanding position the fortified summit has long been considered a place of consequence. Originally a Hindu fort, it remained under the Raja of Dharampur, till, about the end of the fifteenth century, it was taken by Mahmud Begara, Sultan of Gujarat (1459-1511), The fort remained for some time under the charge of Mubalman commanders, but in the disorders that marked the close of the power of the Ahmadabad kings it fell into the hands of a chief of banditti. According to a Portuguese writer, Parnera was twice (in 1558 and 1568) taken by expeditions from Daman, and on the second occasion the fortifications were destroyed. After it had been in ruins for more than a hundred years, the fort was, in April, 1676, taken and rebuilt by Moro Pandit, one of Sivaji's generals. For about a century Parnera remained under the Marathas. It was then (1780) taken by a detach- ment of English troops under Lieutenant Welsh. At first, as a pro- tection against the raids of Pindaris, the fort was occupied by a military detachment ; but early in the nineteenth century the garrison was removed, and during the Mutiny of 1857 the fort was dismantled.
