considered to have been the second-oldest of India's Mahaviharas, and it is believed to have been located on or at the foot of Bari Pahari (), or in the present-day Gadh Par locality of Bihar Sharif. According to Tibetan records it housed about 12,000 students and was an important centre of Buddhist learning. Acharya Sri Ganga of Vikramashila was a student there. The Big Hill or Badi Pahadi was known as Pashravati at the time. Odantapuri was part of a network of five Mahaviharas in eastern India. The others were Nalanda, Vikramashila, Somapura, and Jagaddala. During the Pala period, the state funding to Vikramshila and Odantapuri far exceeded what was granted to Nalanda. As a result, while Nalanda was struggling for survival around 11th century CE, Odantapuri had a rival institution thriving under the royal patronage of Palas. Delhi Sultanate era In 1193, during the time of Ikhtiyar ad-Din Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji's conquest of Bihar, he came to conquer eastern parts of India and destroyed Nalanda University. En route to Nalanda, he allegedly damaged the Buddhist monasteries of a place now called Bakhtiyarpur. He then came to Vihar, where he completely destroyed Odantapuri University, and the Buddhist viharas before leaving for Nalanda. A few years after Khilji's departure, local Bundela Rajput regained control of the city from its Muslim rulers. Bundela Rajputs then ruled the area until the reign of Raja Biththal. The district of Nalanda formed a part of the territory under Muslim rulers of Bengal till 1320 AD when Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq separated Bihar from Bengal. Delhi Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq (1324–1351 CE) then sent Syed Ibrahim Mallick with an army to conquer the Magadha region. After a fierce battle, the outnumbered Raja army was defeated and Raja Biththal was killed. The conquest of Bihar was a major achievement for Delhi, and on this occasion the Sultan conferred upon Syed Ibrahim Mallick the title of "Madarul Mulk", after which he was called "Mallick Baya". He was then appointed governor of Bihar by the Sultan, and he ruled over the region until his assassination in 1353 CE. Its control passed into the hands of the Sherqui Dynasty of Jaunpur from 1394 to 1486 CE. After that it was amalgamated with the Muslim kingdom of Gauda. Later history After the Delhi Sultanate, the first Sur emperor, Sher Shah Suri (r. 1540–1545 CE), moved the regional capital to Patliputra (modern-day Patna),