Introduction

Civilisational history of Bangladesh dates back over four millennia, to

the Chalcolithic. The country's early documented history featured successions
of Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms and empires, vying for regional dominance.

Islam arrived during the 6th-7th century AD and became dominant gradually since
the early 13th century with the conquests led by Bakhtiyar Khalji as well as
activities of Sunni missionaries such as Shah Jalal in the region. Later, Muslim
rulers initiated the preaching of Islam by building mosques. From the 14th century
onward, it was ruled by the Bengal Sultanate, founded by king Shamsuddin Ilyas
Shah, beginning a period of the country's economic prosperity and military
dominance over the regional empires, which was referred by the Europeans to as
the richest country to trade with.[1] Afterwards, the region came under the Mughal
Empire, as its wealthiest province. Bengal Subah generated almost half of the
empire's GDP and 12% of the world's GDP, larger than the entirety of
western Europe, ushering in the period of proto-industrialization.[5] The population
of the capital city, Dhaka, exceeded a million people.

The Mughal Empire or Mogul Empire, self-designated as Gurkani, was an

early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and
19th centuries.[11] For some two centuries, the empire stretched from the outer
fringes of the Indus basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest,
and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of present day Assam and Bangladesh in
the east, and the uplands of the Deccan plateau in south India.[12]

The Mughal empire is conventionally said to have been founded in 1526 by Babur,
a warrior chieftain from what today is Uzbekistan, who employed aid from the
neighboring Safavid and Ottoman empires,[13] to defeat the Sultan of
Delhi, Ibrahim Lodhi, in the First Battle of Panipat, and to sweep down the plains
of Upper India. The Mughal imperial structure, however, is sometimes dated to
1600, to the rule of Babur's grandson, Akbar.[14] This imperial structure lasted until
1720, until shortly after the death of the last major emperor, Aurangzeb,[15]
[16]
 during whose reign the empire also achieved its maximum geographical extent.
Reduced subsequently, especially during the East India Company rule in India, to
the region in and around Old Delhi, the empire was formally dissolved by
the British Raj after the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

Although the Mughal empire was created and sustained by military warfare,[17][18]
[19]
 it did not vigorously suppress the cultures and peoples it came to rule; rather it
equalized and placated them through new administrative practices,[20][21] and diverse
ruling elites, leading to more efficient, centralised, and standardized rule.[22] The
base of the empire's collective wealth was agricultural taxes, instituted by the third
Mughal emperor, Akbar.[23][24] These taxes, which amounted to well over half the
output of a peasant cultivator,[25] were paid in the well-regulated silver currency,
[22]
 and caused peasants and artisans to enter larger markets.[26]

The relative peace maintained by the empire during much of the 17th century was
a factor in India's economic expansion.[27] Burgeoning European presence in the
Indian Ocean, and its increasing demand for Indian raw and finished products,
created still greater wealth in the Mughal courts.[28] There was more conspicuous
consumption among the Mughal elite,[29] resulting in greater patronage of painting,
literary forms, textiles, and architecture, especially during the reign of Shah Jahan.
[30]
 Among the Mughal UNESCO World Heritage Sites in South Asia are: Agra
Fort, Fatehpur Sikri, Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb, Lahore Fort, Shalamar
Gardens and the Taj Mahal, which is described as "the jewel of Muslim art in
India, and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage."[31]

Derived Name

Contemporaries referred to the empire founded by Babur as the Timurid empire,

[32]
 which reflected the heritage of his dynasty, and this was the term preferred by
the Mughals themselves.[33]

The Mughal designation for their own dynasty was Gurkani.[34] The use of

"Mughal" derived from the Arabic and Persian corruption of "Mongol", and it
emphasised the Mongol origins of the Timurid dynasty.[35] The term gained
currency during the 19th century, but remains disputed by Indologists.[36] Similar
terms had been used to refer to the empire, including "Mogul" and "Moghul". [37]
[38]
 Nevertheless, Babur's ancestors were sharply distinguished from the classical
Mongols insofar as they were oriented towards Persian rather than Turco-
Mongol culture.[39]

Another name for the empire was Hindustan, which was documented in the Ain-i-
Akbari, and which has been described as the closest to an official name for the
empire.[40] In the west, the term "Mughal" was used for the emperor, and by
extension, the empire as a whole.[41]

Mughal period

A major Mughal victory in 1576, in which Akbar took Bengal, was followed by
four decades of efforts dedicated to vanquishing rebels in the Bhati region. [49] The
initial victory was accompanied by destruction and severe violence. The Mughals
were opposed by the Bengalis. Akbar appointed a Hindu servant Raja Man Singh
as Bengal's governor. Singh based his rule at Rajmahal, Bihar, thinking that he
could administer the region beyond.

The Bara Bhuiyan, or twelve landlords, resisted the Mughal attempts to annex

Bengal. The landlords were mainly Afghan and Hindu aristocrats. Pratapaditya
was one of the Hindu landlords among these leaders. They were led by the landlord
Isa Khan, who was based in Sonargaon. Isa Khan is known for his resistance to
outside rule, particularly from Delhi and Urdu-speaking soldiers. His actions were
to serve as an inspiration in 1971.

The landlords spearheaded an extensive revolt. Both the Mughals and rebels

committed atrocities such as massacre, rape and looting. They defeated the Mughal
navy in 1584. After this battles continued on land. In 1597 they again defeated the
Mughal navy, however, Isa Khan died in the following year. The struggle against
Mughal rule weakened. Man Singh, realising the strategic value of controlling
Dhaka to administer eastern Bengal, created a military base there. He also realised
its utility in controlling Aranakese and Portuguese influence.

This base became more important in the late 1500s when the Ganges started to
change its course. The change in the river's course allowed the clearing and
harvesting of more land. The waterways of Dhaka allowed easy movement of
soldiers to various parts of Bengal. In 1610 Dhaka became a provincial capital. By
then several of the internationally known muslin looms had shifted to Dhaka from
Sonargaon. Dhaka flourished both as an administrative and handloom center.

The Bengal region was historically an international hub of various activities.

Merchants, pilgrims and voyagers traversed Bengal to travel to Nepal and Tibet.
Bengal's waterways were a place where various peoples interacted. In 1346 the
Moroccan voyager Ibn Battuta followed the trade route through Sri Lanka when he
traveled to Bengal from the Maldives in 1346. In the 1300s Bengal traded its paddy
for cowries from the Maldives. Evidence from the 1500s demonstrates that rice
grown in Bengal was eaten as far as eastern Indonesia and Goa. Bengal also
exported other materials and food products at the same time. Bengali traders
dominated trade with southeast Asia. Chinese merchants in the 1400s and 1500s
introduced gold, satin, silks, silver and porcelain. A European traveler in 1586
reported that the quality of the cotton textiles produced in Sonargaon was better
than in other parts of the subcontinent. These fabrics were sent to international
markets.

Under the Mughal Empire, which had 25% of the world's GDP, Bengal

Subah generated 50% of the empire's GDP and 12% of the  Bengal, the empire's
wealthiest province was an affluent region with a Bengali Muslim majority
and Bengali Hindu minority. According to economic historian Indrajit Ray, it was
globally prominent in industries such as textile manufacturin and shipbuilding.

Dhaka was renamed to Jahangirnagar by the governor for Jahangir, the

emperor.The governor managed to defeat and make the chieftains accept Mughal
authority. During Mughal rule, Dhaka's architecture was enriched. In 1678
Aurangzeb's son started the construction of the Lalbagh fort, which encloses the
tomb of Nur Jahan's grand niece. Surviving Mughal buildings are the Bara Katra,
Chhota Katra and the Husaini Dalan (a Shi'a mosque)

During the Mughal rule many civilian and military administrators entered Bengal.
A lot of these officials received land grants and became domiciled. Despite the
Hindu domination of the landed class, Muslims formed a crucial section and
maintained possession of significant land grants until the land reforms after 1947.

The form of Bengal's government had been less rigid than the ones in other parts of
the Mughal empire. The Mughals asserted a centralised form of rule on top of the
differing local administrative structures. Consequently, local rulers administered
control in the rural areas. These "zamindars" were autonomous and were a secular
elite, differentiated from the general populace by their authority Surnames in
modern Bangladesh such as Chowdhury, Khan, Sarkar and Talukdar originate
from the names of ranks in the Mughal elite. This elite functioned alongside the
Mughal officials. The latter's duty was to keep charge over tax collection. The
diwan was the most important tax officer and was directly selected by the Mughal
ruler. Each Mughal conquest in Bengal was accompanied with the establishment of
a thana (garrison) for the purpose of maintaining peace. After that the territory
would be merged into the empire's administrative system. In the empire's system
each province would comprise several regions, called "sarkar", which in turn
would be made up of subdivisions called parganas. The lowest tier in the system
was the mouza (revenue village).

The agricultural borderland during Mughal rule in the 1500s started moving
towards the eastern portion of Bengal. The region's agricultural productivity
increased. To increase their revenues the Mughal administration promoted forest
clearing and wet-rice farming. The officials gave land grants to entrepreneurs who
were willing to give taxes in exchange for rights over the lands. The colonists
required labour and this was advantageous for the religious elite. Most
communities in the region were boatmen and fishermen on the margins of society
who were nominally Hindu but in reality had very weak ties to Hinduism. These
were the labourers who cultivated the rice and would make up the bulk of
peasantry in eastern Bengal Land grants would require the construction of a shrine
and the colonists would gather settlers around these shrines. Society was ordered
around the shrine. New communities would engage in forest clearing and
cultivation. Locals either merged with these communities or moved away while
keeping trading contacts with the rice cultivators.

The Mughal government had no attitude of encouraging Islam in the region and
Hindus made up many of these pioneers who had government backing. But most of
the pioneers were Muslim. A large number of them were pirs. Richard Eaton
asserts that Islam was understood to be linked with the government-accepted
acquisition of land in eastern Bengal which had only weak connections with Hindu
civilization. The traditions and rituals of eastern Bengal, mosques and shrines
blended together. Islam spread in Bengal because of its localisation. Islamic
agencies were inserted into the contemporary cosmology, were then associated
with local divinities and eventually the Islamic agencies took over the local
cultural Local Hindus, in response to the conversion, closed ranks and became
more conservative, expelling those who were 'polluted' by contact with Muslims.
This increased the number of Muslims.

Two great Mughal Subahd

Islam Khan

Islam Khan was appointed the Subahdar of Bengal in 1608 by Mughal

emperor Jahangir. He ruled Bengal from his capital Dhaka which he renamed as
Jahangir Nagar. His major task was to subdue the rebellious Rajas, Bara-Bhuiyans,
Zamindars and Afghan chiefs. He fought with Musa Khan, the leader of Bara-
Bhuiyans, and by the end of 1611 Musa Khan was subdued. Islam Khan also
defeated Pratapaditya of Jessore Ram Chandra of Bakla and Anan Manikya of 
Bhulua. He annexed the kingdom of Kamrup and subdued Koch
Bihar and Kachhar, thus taking total control over entire Bengal other than
Chittagong.

Shaista Khan

The Lalbagh Fort was developed by Shaista Khan

Shaista Khan was appointed the Subahdar (Governor) of Bengal upon the death
of Mir Jumla II in 1663. He was the longest-serving governor of Bengal. He ruled
the province from his administrative headquarters in Dhaka for almost 24 years
from 1664 to 1688.

Shaista Khan's great fame in Bengal chiefly rests on his re-conquest of Chittagong.
Though Chittagong came under the control of Bengal during Sultan Fakhruddin
Mubarak Shah's reign in the mid-14th century, it subsequently fell into the hands
of Arakanese rulers. Shaista Khan gave priority to recapturing Chittagong, and was
able to do so in January 1666. The conquest brought a relief and peace to the
people of Chittagong as pirates had caused a great distress to the local population.
Nawabs of Bengal

Alivardi Khan Mughal Empire's viceroy of Bangal) captures two prisoners.

Painting by artist Firoz Mahmud on Battle of Plassey titled 'The Start of the End of

the Reign of the Subcontinent: during the time of my forefathers'

Siraj ud-Daulah the last independent Nawab of Bengal.

Mughal appointments of agents in Bengal ceased by 1713 because the empire was
weakening. In 1715 the capital was shifted to Murshidabad. This resulted in
Dhaka's decline. This transfer happened when the province's main tax officer,
Murshid Quli Khan, who had transferred his office to Maksudabad (renamed
Murshidabad after him) became governor. Murshidabad was located at a more
central position in Bengal, whose administrative limits at the time also included
Bihar and Orissa. In addition to changing the capital, Murshid Quli Khan modified
the tax collection system.

Murshid Quli Khan wanted to create a line of governing nawabs like the
contemporary governors of Oudh. He was succeeded by family
members. However, Alivardi Khan established another nawab family. He
collaborated with Jagat Seth to defeat the governor and secured the post of
governor from the Mughal ruler through bribery. He also became diwan of Orissa.
However, he faced problems from Maratha raiders present in Orissa.

Nawab Alivardi Khan repulsed the first three Maratha invasions of Bengal. But
they invaded again, and in 1751, Alivardi Khan signed a peace treaty with the
Marathas. He ceded the province of Orissa to the Maratha Empire and agreed to
pay twelve lakhs of rupees annually as chauth (tribute).  crushed an uprising of the
Afghans in Bihar and made the British pay 150,000 Tk for blocking Mughal and
Armenian trade ships.

His maternal grandson Sirajuddaulah succeeded him when he died in

1756. Sirajuddaulah tried to stop uncertified trade in Bengal. Because of this he
clashed with British merchants and was eventually defeated by 1757 in Polashi.
The British governed Bengal and large areas to its west by 1764.

Reference:

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, August 22). Mughal Empire. In Wikipedia, The

Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 05:16, August 25, 2020,
from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Mughal_Empire&oldid=974269058

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, August 15). History of Bangladesh. In Wikipedia,

The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 05:34, August 25, 2020,
from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=History_of_Bangladesh&oldid=973193393