city, southwestern Bangladesh, on the Bhairab River. According to tradition its name is a corruption of yaśohara (“glory depriving”), as the town is said to have robbed Vikramāditya's 17th-century capital of Gaur of its preeminence. Ancient buildings include the Rajbāri of Chanchra and the shrines of the Muslim saints Bahrām Shāh and Gharib Shāh. Constituted a municipality in 1864, Jessore contains a stadium, a library, and four government colleges affiliated with the University of Rājshāhi.

The surrounding region occupies the central portion of the Gangetic Delta between the Hooghly (India) and Meghna estuaries. It consists of an alluvial plain intersected by watercourses that to the south spread out into large marshes. The chief crops of this region are rice, sugarcane, and dates. Pop. (1981) 148,927.