Chatra district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state, India. The district was formed after separation from Hazaribagh district in 1991. Chatra is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district covers an area of 3718 km2. History Ancient period In ancient period, the area covered by the present district and adjoining areas were ruled by a number of states, which were collectively known as the Atavika (forest) states. These states accepted the suzerainty of the Maurya empire during Ashoka's reign ( BCE). Samudragupta, while marching through the present-day Chotanagpur region, directed the first attack against the kingdom of Dakshina Kosala in the Mahanadi valley. Medieval period During Muhammad bin Tughluq's reign, the territory which comprises the present district came in contact with the Delhi sultanate. Later, it became a part of the Bihar Subah of the Mughal empire. Daud Khan, the Mughal Subahdar of Bihar, during the reign of Aurangzeb occupied Kothi near Pokhri Fort on 5 May 1660, without much opposition, and then he moved towards the fort of Kunda which had a very strong fortification as it was situated on a hilltop. This fort was finally occupied by him and was completely destroyed on the 2 June 1660. Later, Kunda Fort was under the possession of the Raja of Ramgarh. In 1734, Aliwardi Khan advanced towards Kunda after defeating the rebel Zamindars of Tikari (Gaya). He mounted an attack on Chatra Fort and demolished it. British rule The British East India Company came in contact with this region for the first time in 1769. Raja Rammohan Roy, worked as a serestadar at Chatra from 1805–06 and stayed both at Chatra and Ramgarh while in office. The most important battle fought between the insurgents and the British in Chotanagpur during the rebellion of 1857 was the "Battle of Chatra". This decisive battle was fought on 2 October 1857, near Phansi Talab. It lasted for an hour in which the mutineers were completely defeated. 56 European soldiers and officers were killed whereas 150 revolutionaries were killed and 77 were buried in a pit. Subedar Mangal Pandey and Nadir Ali Khan were sentenced and hanged to death on the 4 October 1857 on this very spot. The European and Sikh soldiers were buried in a well along with their arms and ammunitions. An inscriptive plaque which is still extant states: "56 men of Her Majesty's 53rd Regiment of