Fort Vasai (Fortaleza de São Sebastião de Baçaim in Portuguese) is a ruined fort of the town of Vasai (Bassein), Maharashtra, India. The structure was formally christened as the Fort of St. Sebastian in the Indo-Portuguese era. The fort is a monument of national importance and is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India. The fort and the town are accessible via the Naigaon Railway Station which itself is in the city of Vasai-Virar, and lies to the immediate north of the city of Mumbai. The Naigaon Railway Station is on the Western Railway line (formerly the Bombay-Baroda railway) in the direction of the Virar railway station. History Pre-Portuguese Era The Greek merchant Cosma Indicopleustes is known to have visited the areas around Vasai in the 6th century and the Chinese traveller Xuanzang later on June or July 640. According to historian José Gerson da Cunha, during this time, Vasai and its surrounding areas appeared to have been ruled by the Chalukya dynasty of Karnataka. Until the 11th century, several Arabian geographers had mentioned references to towns nearby Vasai, like Thane and Nala Sopara, but no references had been made to Vasai. Vasai was later ruled by the Silhara dynasty of Konkan and eventually passed to the Seuna dynasty. It was head of district under the Seuna (1184-1318). Later being conquered by the Gujarat Sultanate, a few years later Barbosa (1514) described it under the name Baxay (pronounced Basai) as a town with a good seaport belonging to the king of Gujarat. Portuguese Era The Portuguese Armadas first reached the west coast of India after the discovery of the Cape route by Vasco da Gama, he landed at Calicut in 1498. For several years after their arrival, they had been consolidating their power in north and south Konkan, in and around the present-day Bombay and Goa. They had established their capital at Velha Goa captured from the Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur in 1510. According to historian Manuel de Faria e Sousa, the coast of Bassein (Vasai) was first visited by them in 1509, when Francisco de Almeida on his way to Dio captured a ship off Bombay Harbour, with 24 citizens of Sultan of Guzerat aboard it. In 1530, Portuguese captain António da Silveira burnt the city of Baçaim and continued the burning and looting up to nearby Bombaim, when the King of Thana surrendered islands of Mahim and