city, southwestern Bihar state, northeastern India. Located at a major road and rail junction, it is an agricultural trade centre. Carpet and pottery manufacture are important. The red sandstone mausoleum of Emperor Shēr Shah of Sūr (Shēr Shāh of Sūr) (reigned 1540–45), an excellent example of Pashtun (Pathan) architecture, stands in the middle of an artificial lake. Sasaram also contains the mausoleum of Shēr Shah's father and the unfinished tomb of his son. Nearby is a rock edict of the 3rd-century-BCE Mauryan emperor Ashoka. The city was constituted a municipality in 1869. Pop. (2001) 131,172.