write a note on Surat as a principal port city briefly write about its history and its decline
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Surat was founded by Gopi, who named the area Surajpur or Suryapur.[3] In the 12th and 15th centuries, Surat was plundered by Muslims.[3] In 1512, and again in 1530, Surat was ravaged by the Portuguese Empire. In 1514, the Portuguese traveler Duarte Barbosa described Surat as an important seaport, frequented by many ships from Malabar and various parts of the world. By 1520, the name of the city had become Surat.[3]
In 1573, Surat was conquered by the Mughals.[3] It was the most prosperous port in the Mughal empire, used for travel to the Hajj pilgrimage.[4] Despite being a rich city, Surat looked like a typical "grubby" trader's town with mud-and-bamboo tenements and crooked streets, although along the riverfront there were a few mansions and warehouses belonging to local merchant princes and the establishments of Turkish, Armenian, English, French and Dutch traders. There were also hospitals for cows, horses, flies and insects run by religious Jains, which puzzled travelers.[4] Some streets were narrow while others were of sufficient width. In the evening, especially near the Bazaar (marketplace), the streets became crowded with people and merchants (including Banyan merchants) selling their goods. Surat was a populous city during the Mughal era but also had a large transient population: during the monsoon season, when ships could come and go from the ports without danger, the city's population would swell.[4] In 1612, England established its first Indian trading factory in Surat.