HOSHANGABAD

hoshangabad, a town and district of british india, in the nerbudda division of the central provinces. the town stands on the left bank of the nerbudda, 1009 ft. above the sea, and has a railway station. pop. (1901), 14,940. it is supposed to have been founded by hoshang shah, the second of the ghori kings of malwa, in the 15th century; but it remained an insignificant place till the bhopal conquest about 1720, when a massive stone fort was constructed, with its base on the river, commanding the bhopal road. it sustained several sieges during the 18th century, and passed alternately into the hands of the bhopal and nagpur rulers. since 1818 it has been the residence of the chief british officials in charge of the district. it has a government high school, and agricultural school and a brass-working industry. the district of hoshangabad has an area of 3676 sq. m. pop. (1901), 449,165, showing a decrease of 10% in the decade, due to famine. it may be described as a valley of varying breadth, extending for 150 m. between the nerbudda river and the satpura mountains. the soil consists chiefly of black basaltic alluvium, often more than 20 ft. deep; but along the banks of the nerbudda the fertility of the land compensates for the tameness of the scenery. towards the west, low stony hills and broken ridges cut up the level ground, while the vindhyas and the satpuras throw out jutting spurs and ranges. in this wilder country considerable regions are covered with jungle. on the south the lofty range which shuts in the valley is remarkable in mountain scenery, surpassing in its picturesque irregularity the vindhyan chain in the north. many streams take their rise amid its precipices, then, winding through deep glens, flow across the plain between sandy banks covered with low jungle till they swell the waters of the nerbudda. none is of any importance except the tawa, which is interesting to the geologist on account of the many minerals to be found along its course. the boundary rivers, the nerbudda and tapti, are the only considerable waters in hoshangabad. the principal crops are wheat, millets and oil-seeds. the district is traversed throughout its length by the great indian peninsula railway. hoshea (heb. for "deliverance"), the last king of israel, in the bible. the attempt of his predecessor pekah to take jerusalem with the help of his ally rasun (rezin) of damascus was frustrated by the intervention of tiglath-pileser iv. (see ahaz), who attacked gilead, galilee and the north frontier, and carried off some of its population (cp. 1 chron. v. 26). pekah's resistance to assyria led to a conspiracy in which he lost his life, and hoshea the son of elah became king (2 kings xv. 27-30). the assyrian king held him as his vassal (and indeed claims to have set him on the throne), and exacted from him a yearly tribute. meanwhile, damascus was besieged (733-732 b.c.), rasun was slain and the inhabitants deported (2 kings xvi. 9; lxx. omits "to kir," but see amos i. 5). the impending fate of damascus is illustrated by isaiah (vii. 16, viii. 4, xvii. 1-11), who also gives a vivid description of the impression left by the assyrian army (v. 26-30). after the death of tiglath-pileser, israel regained confidence (isa. ix. 8-x. 4) and took steps to recover its independence. its policy vacillated--"like a silly dove" (hos. vii. 11), and at length negotiations were opened with mizraim. the annual payment of tribute ceased and shalmaneser iv. (who began to reign in 727 b.c.) at once laid siege to samaria, which fell at the end of three years (722-721 b.c.). the achievement is claimed by his successor sargon. hoshea was killed, the land was again partly depopulated and a governor appointed (2 kings xviii. 9-12; cp. xvii. 1 sqq.). for other allusions to this period see hosea, isaiah. 2 kings xvii. 3 and 5 imply _two_ attacks by shalmaneser: in the first of which hoshea was imprisoned and perhaps blinded (cheyne, emending, "shut him up" in v. 4), although in v. 6 he is still reigning; see on this winckler, _keilinschr. u. alte test._^3 p. 268; burney, _kings_, p. 328 seq.; skinner, _kings_, p. 372 seq. the chronological notes, moreover, are extremely confused; contrast xv. 30 with xvii. 1. the usual identification of so (or seve), king of mizraim, with shabaka of egypt is difficult, partly on chronological grounds (which petrie, _history of egypt_, pp. 277, 281 sqq. does not remove), and partly because the ethiopian dominion in egypt appears to be still weak and divided. the assyrian records name a certain sibi as _officer_, and also piru (pharaoh!) as _king_ of musri, and it is doubtful whether hoshea's ally was a petty prince of egypt or of a n. arabian district (see mizraim). if the latter, hoshea's policy becomes more intelligible; see whitehouse, _isaiah_, p. 17 seq.; jews: _history_; philistines. on the depopulation of samaria and the introduction of colonists, see winckler's objections, _alttest. untersuch._ pp. 95-107, with burney's criticisms, _kings_, p. 334 seq. (s. a. c.)