Territories in Ancient,

Medieval and Muslim

period
Course- HUM 3101:
Bangladesh Studies

Marzia Sultana
Lecturer
Department of Environmental Science
BGMEA University of Fashion & Technology
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Pre-history

 Human settlement in Bengal can be traced back 20,000

years (known from Stone Age remnants)
 Remnants of Copper Age settlements, including pit
dwellings, date back 4,000 years.
 Bengal was settled by Austroasiatics, Tibeto-Burmans,
Dravidians and Indo-Aryans.
 Archaeological evidence confirms that by the second
millennium BCE, rice-cultivating communities inhabited
the region.
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 By the 11th century BC, the people of the area lived in

systemically-aligned housing, used human cemeteries and
manufactured copper ornaments and fine black and red
pottery. They also developed metal weapons.
 The Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers were natural
arteries for communication and transportation.
 Maritime trade flourished in the Bay of Bengal.

The ruins of Wari-Bateshwar

in Narsingdi is believed to be
from the Copper Age.
Suggesting a thriving culture
in ancient Benga
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Ancient Bengal Territory or Janapad (জনপদ).

Different groups of people settled in different areas in

Bengal. They were known as Janapad (জনপদ). For
example-
 Vanga(বঙ্গ)
 Pundra (পুন্ড্র)
 Radha(রা঻)
 Gauda(গ ৌ঺)
 Harikela(হররকেল)
 Samatata(সমতট)
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Let’s discuss about the Janpada of ancient Bengal.

 Vanga(বঙ্গ): Vanga was a kingdom located in the central
Bangladesh.
 Pundra(পুন্ড্র): the district of Bogra and adjacent areas. The
capital pundranagara, was the earliest urban center in
Bangladesh.
 Radha(রা঻): ancient Bengal which probably included a
large part of the modern Indian state of West Bengal.
 Gauda(গ ৌ঺): Lay to the north-west of Bhagirathi River
and it was the capital city of many rulers.
 Harikela(হররকেল): Identified as Chittagong and its
adjacent areas.
 Samatata(সমতট): The Kingdom was located in the
Meghna river valley and consisted Comilla and Noakhali
areas of Bangladesh and some areas of Tripura of India.
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Fig: Mahasthangarh
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Culture in ancient Bengal

1. Art and architecture
 Evidence of Bengal being rich in art and architecture : huge
structures and temples found in Mahasthangarh, Paharpur
and Mynamati
2. Economics activities:
 Agriculture was the main occupation.
 Village weavers produced fabrics in handlooms.
 Market & business centre grew up by the river side.
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Cont.
3. Dress and recreation
 Men wore Dhooti and Chadar and women wore saree
and orna as attires.
 Fashionable for men to keep long hair, long nails
colored to attract women.
 Both men and women wore rings and studs in their ears,
rings on their fingers, necklaces and hair ornaments.
 Chess and dice were most common games in the ancient
Indian society.
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The Early Empires in Bengal:

 Vanga Kingdom- Vanga Kingdom was a kingdom located

in the eastern part of the Indian Subcontinent.
 Maurya Dynasty (গমৌর্ য সাম্রাজয: 324 BC - 185 BC)-
Chandragupta Maurya’s empire flourished Bengal with
riches and its naval fleet got stronger. Emperor Ashoka was
the most powerful king of the Mauryan Dynasty.
 Gauda Empire (গ ৌ঺ সাম্রাজয: 590 CE - 626 CE)-
Shashanka established Gour empire. He established his
capital at Karnasuvarna. He flourished the glory of
Bengal. Shashanka developed Bengal's architecture and
calendar. Bengal participated in politics for the first time.
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Cont.

 Pala Empire (750 CE - 1200 CE)- the Pala empire was the
first independent Buddist dynasty of Bengal. Gopal (I)
became the first ruler by democratic election. The empire
reached its peak under emperor Dhrmapala. Pataliputra
(Patna) was the capital.
-The Pala Empire raised the standards of
Bengal's culture and politics. They promoted classical Indian
philosophy, literature, painting and sculpture studies. In this
period that the Bengali language was formed in its entirety.
They are also famous for their war elephant cavalry and strong
naval fleet.
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Cont.

Coins from the Pala Empire

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Cont.

 Sena Dynasty- the palas were folloewd by Sena Dynasty.

Ballal Sen introdeuced caste System in Bengal. They were
orthodox hindus. The Sena Dynasty brought a period of
revival in Hinduism in Bengal. Laksman Sen was the last
ruler of this dynasty.
-The Sena dynasty is famous for
building Hindu temples and monasteries, which include the
renowned Dhakeshwari Temple in what is now Dhaka,
Bangladesh.
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A sculpture of the Hindu deity Vishnu from the Sena period

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Muslim Period
 Muslim conquests of the Indian subcontinent absorbed Bengal
in 1204.
 Muslim rule introduced agrarian reform, a new calendar and
Sufism.
 Bengal's position as a major cotton textile exporter was
unique in Islamic India.
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Cont.

 The coins of Muslim rulers had inscriptions of both

religious and secular in nature.
 In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Bengal Sultanate was a
major diplomatic, economic and military power in the
subcontinent.
 Art and Literature flourished during this period.
 Khalji, Shahi and few other dynasties managed to extend
Muslim reign until 14th century.
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Mughal Period

 The Mughals conquered Bengal in 1576 & it became under

the control of Delhi.
 They Developed in every field of education, culture and
economy.
 Districts or Subahs were distributed among the allies and
commandants of the Mughal Empire.
 There were many Bengali attempts to resist Mughal Rule,
notable was the Bara Bhuiyan group led by Isha Khan.
 Nawab Murshid Kuli khan declared Bengal’s
independence in 1717.
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Cont.

 Bengal's trade and wealth impressed the Mughals so much

that it was described as the Paradise of the Nations by the
Mughal Emperors.
 Under Mughal rule, Bengal was a center of the worldwide
muslin, silk and pearl trades.
 During the Mughal era, the most important center of cotton
production was Bengal.
 much of India and Europeans depended on Bengali
products such as rice, silks, cotton textiles and opium.
 From Bengal, saltpeter, silk and cotton textile , cotton, was
exported to Europe, Indonesia, Japan, Netherlands and
Bengal also had a large shipbuilding industry.
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THANKS