Arrah

Arrah has mentions in Ramayana, According to mythology, sage Vishwamitra, the Guru of RAMA, had his 'Ashram' somewhere in this region, Rama killed the demon Taraka somewhere near Arrah.[7][8]

In ancient India, it was the part of Magadha. In 684BC Arrah was the part of the region ruled by Haryanka dynasty. During Chandragupta Maurya Arrah was the part of the great Magadh empire. The Pillars of Ashoka are found at the Masarh village in Arrah town. During 200 CE it was part of Gupta dynasty. Bhojpuri Folktales of Vikramaditya like Singhashan Battishi, Baital pachisi are still famous in the town and other Bhojpuri speaking area. It was also the part of Pala Empire and Chero empire. Bihiya and Tirawan were the capitals of Chief Ghughulia and Raja Sitaram Rai respectively.

In 14th century Chero lost the Western Bihar along with Arrah to Ujjainiya Rajputs under the leadership of Hunkar Shahi.[9] They named the tertiary "Bhojpur" on the name of their ancestor Raja Bhoj.In 1607, a number of Chero chief combined to launch a spirited attack against Ujjaniniyas. One of the descendants of Sitaram Rai, Kumkum Chand Jharap drove out Ujjainiyas from Bhojpur region and capture major parts of territory.[10] In 1611, Ujjainiyas defeated Cheros and again recaptured the lost region. Sher Shah Suri also defeated Chero during the early 16 century and made Sasaram its capital after defeating the Mughals. In 1604 Chieftain Narayan Mal got a land grant from Jahangir after that Raja Horil Singh shifted the capital to Dumrao and established Dumraon Raj.

After Battle of Buxar British took control over Arrah. Arrah was one of the centre of revolt of 1857.

During the Indian rebellion of 1857, a group of 18 British civilians and 50 Indian soldiers was besieged in the Little House at Arrah, by a band of 2500–3000 armed soldiers and around 8000 others under the command of 80-year-old Veer Kunwar Singh, the Zamindar of adjacent Jagdishpur. A British regiment, despatched to their assistance from Danapur, was repulsed,[11] but the group withstood the siege for eight days until relieved by other East India Company troops.[12]

The climate is characterised by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. The Köppen Climate Classification sub-type for this climate is "Cfa" (Humid Subtropical Climate).[14]

This is a temple of Aranya Devi (Forest Goddess). She is said to be the deity goddess of Ara town. Here one statue is of Adi Shakti and the second is established by the Pandavas. The temple is very old and draws many devotees every day. It is situated at the top of stone boulders.[17][18]

This Masjid was built around 1817 with Aurangjeb's assistance. It is situated at Maula Bagh muhalla at Ara. This mosques is also mentioned by British officers in their writings.[19][17]

Koilwar Bridge connects Arrah and Patna, and is the oldest railway bridge of India. It was built in 1862 and is 157 years old.

Ramna Maidan, located in Arrah, Bhojpur District, Bihar, the one of the largest urban parks in Arrah, It is spread across 60 acres of land.

Arrah–Chhapra Bridge is also called Veer Kunwar singh Setu which connects Arrah and Chhapra is the longest multi span extradosed bridge in the world with a length of 1920m.[20]

The present Maharaja college premises is an important historical site.

Masarh is a village 10 km from Arrah, the Lion capitals of Mauryan period have been found here. Masarh has been identified by Cunningham with Mo-ho-so-lo of the Chinese pilgrim Huen Tsang,

Arrah House is a small British building in the premises of Maharaja College.

Holy Saviour Church is a church in Arrah, Built by Britishers in 1911, When King of United Kingdom George V visited the city.

• Some shots of the feature film Gandhi were shot in Arrah near the Koilwar bridge.[23]
• Shots of the first Bhojpuri film Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo were shot at Arrah railway station.
• The story of the Bollywood film Anaarkali of Aarah was based on a dancer of Arrah and her confrontation with the Vice chancellor of Bir Kuber University (originally Veer Kunwar Singh University).[24]

• English book Two Months In Arrah, written in 1857, by a surgeon in British army named J.J. Halls, is an account of the Siege of Arrah.[25]