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The military history of Bassein encompasses the period from 1526, when the Portuguese established their first factory at Bassein, until 1818, when Bassein lost its strategic importance following the defeat of the Marathas by the British.〔 Bassein (renamed to Vasai after Indian independence), is a small coastal town north of Mumbai (formerly Bombay). It was historically known to the Portuguese as ''Baçaim''. Medieval Bassein had a great strategic value for the Portuguese in maintaining their command of the Arabian Sea. It had utmost strategic value for the British East India Company for protecting the northern flank of Bombay. Its fort had a massive military presence. Bassein was a maritime hub with extensive shipping and ship building activities, and brought Christian culture to the Bombay area, next in importance only to Goa.〔, "The period covered is from 1518 to 1818, i.e., from the time the Portuguese started taking an active interest in Bassein area till the fall of the Marathas when Bassein lost all its strategic importance."〕 ==Early history== The Greek merchant Cosmas Indicopleustes is known to have visited the areas around Bassein in the sixth century, and the Chinese traveller Xuanzang later on June or July 640 CE. According to Historian Joseph Gerson Da Cunha, during this time, Bassein 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 Bassein, like Thana and Sopara, but no references had been made to Bassein. Bassein was later ruled by the Silhara dynasty of Konkan, and eventually passed to the Yadavas of Devagiri, before being conquered by the Muslim rulers of Gujarat. The Portuguese first reached the west coast of India when the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed at Calicut in 1498. For several years after their arrival in India, they had been consolidating their power in north Konkan. They had established a strong foothold in Goa, which they captured from the Sultan of Bijapur in 1510. According to Historian Faria y Souza, the coast of Bassein was first visited by the Portuguese in 1509, when Francisco de Almeida on his way to Diu captured a Mohammedan ship in the harbour of Bombay, with 24 Moors belonging to Gujarat. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Military history of Bassein」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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