History of Bangladesh –

Ancient Period
 The History of Bangladesh

 We are starting from beginning.

 We can know about the history of Bangladesh and our
nation if we see the history of Bengal.
 The historic period of Bengal (Bangladesh and West
Bengal) is usually classified into the Ancient,
Medieval, and Modern periods.
 Ancient Period
 No one can determine the exact time when people started living in
this place.
 In any discussion of history periodization is treated as an important
issue. This periodization based on socio-economic and political
condition of a ruling dynasty.
 The historian think that 500 BC to 1300 AD is the ancient age of
history, whereas some other think 500 BC to 600 AD should be
treated as early historic period.
 Bangladesh is situated in southern part of Asia. Here, political
condition changed from the beginning of the history. That why the
boundary also changed in the course of the time.
 Ancient Janapads of Bengal
 The historic term “Janapad” means human settlement.
 In ancient age Bengal (now Bangladesh and West Bengal) was
not unique or sovereign state like present Bangladesh.
 The sources of ancient Bengal suggest that, different parts of
Bengal were divided in various small regions or kingdoms in
their own way. These regions of Bengal collectively known as
the Janapadas.
 The state as undivided Bengal was not born at a time. It
flourished through janapads. From different inscription &
literary works we came to about sixteen janapads of Bengals.
The border of the janapads never remained the same.
Sometimes area of the janapads extended as well as declined.
 The Bongo

 The Bongo is an ancient human settlement situated in East & South

East of present Bangladesh. It is surmised that a nation named Bango
lived there.
 The old stone inscription, validate two parts of Bangla. One was
Vikrampura the other Navya. It is thought that lower marshy place of
Faridpur, Barishal and Patuakhali are included in this Navya region.
 The old Banga was very powerful region. The Banglee nation derived
from the word “Banga”.
 The Hindu literatures mentioned that this is an area where finest
quality white & soft cotton fabrics were produced.
 The Pundra
 Pundra was one the most important janapad of ancient Bengal.
 Pundra is an ancient racial name. The evidence of ancient proved that
pundra was the most prosperous janapad of ancient Bengal. The people
of pundra race were inhabitants of northern Bengal.
 Extended at least across the regions of Bogra,Rangpur, Dinajpur and
Rajshahi. Pundranogor was the name of the capital of pundras.
Subsequently it became known as Mahastangor.
 The ruins of this have been identified at Mahasthan in Bogra district.
 Pundra was situated on the western bank of the Karatoya. It was well
connected with other parts of Bengal through land and river routes.
 For this connection it was an important center of trade and commerce
throughout the ancient period.
 Most prosperous janapad of ancient Bengal & inscription found on the stone
wheels are perhaps the most ancient in Bangladesh.
Barendra
 Another janapad is known as Barendree, Barendra or Barendro Bhumi.It was also janapad
of North Bengal.
 It is thought that Barendra was located in the vast area of pundra.
 This region was extended across a vast area of Bogra, Dinajpur and Rajshahi region as well
as probably Pabna region.
 The location of Barendra occurred between Ganga & Korotoa river.
 Shashanka extended his jurisdiction to coastal Orissa in the south.The territory remarked
in the time of whole pal dynasty.
 The Gaura
 As an ancient human settlement, Gaura is the important
Janopad of Bengal.
 There is not clear evidence about which area was refered to as
Gaura in ancient time but it was surmised it was located at
coastal region.
 The famous & the first independent ruler of Gaura  is
Shashanka. He ruled Gauda at the 7th century AD and his capital
was the Karnasuborna which is located at present Murshidabad
district.
 In the 13th century, under the Sultans, Gaura denoted the
entire area of the Muslim sultanate. Its capital also called
Lakhnaboti, located at present Chapai Nawabgonj district.
 The Somatata

 Somotata is mentioned in the description of Chinese traveler Hiuen-tsang visited

Samatate as east & south east Bengal.
 Geographical nature of Somatata was characterized by humid low & moist country.
 Some think that Somatata was the ancient name of present Cumilla.
 The coastal region extending from the eastern shore of Ganges-Bhagirathi to the
tributary of the Meghna was probably called Somatata.
 In the Seventh century its capital was the place named Bara Kamta,12 miles west
of Cumilla city.
 The archaeological discoveries in the Mainamati-Camilla area, it can now be stated
with certainty that Samatata was formed at  Comilla-Noakhali areas and some
parts of hilly Tripura. 
 The Shalbana Bihara is one of them.
 The Harikela

 Harikel is another geographical entity in ancient Bengal. It

was situated at the end of eastern Bengal.
 Some Chinese writers applied the name to the coastland
between Samatata and Orissa.
 Most of the evidence support that Harikela spread from
Sylhet to Chittagong at present time.
 R.C Majumder concluded that the region of Harikela possibly
is synonymous with modern Sylhet division of Bangladesh.
Tamralipta:
 Situated to the north of Harikela.
 Core territory was located in the Midnapur district & it’s capital city was the
modern Tamluk.
 Naturally the area was low and moist that forming a bay where land & water
communication met.
Chandradip:
 Apart from these janapads, there was another tinier janapada in ancient
Bengal was chandradip.
 Barishal region of today was the mainland and the heart of chandradip.
 There was no political unity in ancient Bengal. The powerful rulers would gain
more than one janapada through executing their domination.
Important dynasties of ancient Bengal
 No sources available to write any chronological history of ancient Bengal prior
to the age of Gupta as people of that time were not used to writing history.
 In 327 B.C.-26 A.D. during the invasion of India by Greek hero Alexander,
history took its original form.
 In the writings of Greek writers there was a powerful kingdom named
'Gongariddi' in Bengal. The nation 'Gongaridi' inhabited in the region between
the two streams of the Ganges now known as the Bhagirathi and the Padma.
 The Greek writers referred to another nation called 'Prasioy' in addition to
'Gongaridi'.Their capital was Palibothra(Patliputra)
 From the description of Greek writers it can be guessed that these two
nations took their arms against Alexander under the leadership of the same
dynasty & king of Bengal was the most powerful at that time.
 Maurya Empire

 Just after two years of the departure of Alexander from India in 321 B.C.
Maurya king Chandra.
 Ashoka (269-232 BC) was the first Indian ruler of South Asia to have
established imperial control over the greater part of the sub-continent
including pundravardhana (modern Bogra in North Bengal) considered to be
a province or an administrative unit of the Maurya empire.
 The Maurya Empire was one of the largest empires of the world in its time.
 Ancient Pundranagar was the capital of this province. Besides, north Bengal,
Maurya rule was established in Karnasubarno (Murshidabad), Tamralipta
(Hoogly) and Samatata (South-east Bengal).
 The Mauryan empire was an efficient and highly organized autocracy with a
standing army and civil service.
 After the fall of Maurya Empire, Shunga dynasty and later Kanva dynasty
appeared and we do not have enough sources to know the history of this age.
 It is thought that they established their rule on some small regions. After that
quite a good number of foreign powers invaded India.
 Among them Greek, 'Saka' 'Pahlav', 'Kushana' are mentionable. But it cannot
be said whether these inbedors came upto Bengal.
 Gupta rule completely came to an end at the very first half of the sixth
century. After the fall of great Gupta Empire, there was the emergence of
small independent kingdoms in North India.
 With the fall of the Gupta empire political instability grew all over north
India. With that chance two independent kingdoms came into being named as
Banga & Gaur.
 Gupta Empire

 Gupta Empire was established in India in 320 A.D. Then some

independent kingdoms came into being in Bengal.
 Some sections of the North Bengal came under the possession of
Gupta Empire just during the reign of Gupta Emperor Chandragupta
though whole Bengal was conquered during the reign of
Samudragupta.
 Like the Mauryas, Pundrangar of Mohasthangar was the capital of
the Gupta kings of the province.
 This period is called the Golden Age of India and was marked by
extensive inventions and discoveries in science, technology, engineering, art,
literature, logic, mathematics, astronomy, religion, and philosophy. 
 Chandra Gupta I, Samudra Gupta, and Chandra Gupta II were the most notable
rulers of the Gupta dynasty.
 In the vast Gupta Empire Bengal was an important province. The period of the
imperial Guptas is generally considered to be the 'golden age' of Indian history.
 During this period, under a strong benevolent central authority, peace, wealth and
prosperity were manifest for a considerable time and Bengal enjoyed the benefit of
being a part of the All-Indian empire.
 Bengal had a participation in the All-Indian trade. Gold and silver coins
brought into currency in entire Bengal.
 Introduction of a large number of gold coins proves economic prosperity of
Bengal. Betel nut, silk, cotton, coconut, salt, and sugar etc were probably
exported from Bengal.
 At that time Bengal had trading link with Southeast Asia and China. The
discovery of a large number of imitation Gupta coins from different places of
Bengal prove that Bengal enjoyed the benefit of money economy.
 The land administration of the Guptas was also well controlled. In Gupta
period, the accurate measurement system of land was active.
 This period also saw artistic excellence & is also remarkable for religious
toleration.
 Pala Dynasty
After the fall of the Gupta dynasty in the sixth century the kings known as the 'later Gupta dynasty' with the
title 'Gupta' extended their domination. In the middle of the sixth century Gaur became the Janapada.
In this period first sovereign king Sasanko grabbed the power of Gaur region and established Gaur kingdom at
the beginning of the seventh century.
There came a dark and disastrous age in the history of Bengal after the death of Sasanka. Bengal remained
without any competent ruler for a long time. As a result, there was anarchy and disorder in the kingdom.
Every landlord was locked in clash with one another in imagination of becoming the king of Bengal. There
was no one to take care of the central power with an iron hand. This period of anarchy has been called
Matsyanayam.
Matsyanayam refers to a condition of anarchy and disorder like when the big fishes catch and swallow the
small fishes in a pond. The powerful kings of Bengal took complete control over small regions in such a way.
This period of anarchy lasted for one hundred years. In the middle of the eight century this anarchy and
disorder came to an end with the rise of the Pala reign.
 In order to get rid of such extreme sufferings, the senior leaders of the country made
up their mind that forgetting all strife and conflict they would elect one for the
position of king and all of them would accept his lordship.
 As a result, a man named Gopala was elected for the position of king.  Gopala was the
first ruler from the dynasty.
 Pala Empire was the first independent Buddhist dynasty of Bengal.
 The Buddhist dynasty lasted for four centuries (750–1161 AD) and ushered in a period
of stability and prosperity in Bengal. The kings of Pala dynasty ruled this country for
400 years at a stretch. No other dynasty ruled this country so long as Pala Dynasty.
 The empire reached its peak under Dharmapala and Devapala. Dharmapala extended
the empire into the northern parts of the Indian Subcontinent.
 The achievements of Bengal during this long period are indeed the glories of
the Palas. Widespread empire, organised administrative system, ruling policy
oriented towards welfare of the people, unprecedented excellence in the
field of arts and cultivation of knowledge and literature all these are the
achievements and glories of the Pala dynasty.
 An organised system of administration prevailed from the village level to the
central government level. They built up an efficient structure for revenue
collection.
 The long list of state-officials, clearly indicate that the administration was
taking care of every aspect of public life - from the ferry ghats to the
riverways, land routes, trade and commerce, towns and ports, and law and
order in the country.
 The basis of their long rule was the efficient administrative system.
 Religious toleration and mutual coexistence can be identified as the
characteristic of the social life of the people in the Pala period.
 The brightest aspect of Pala glories was manifest in the field of different arts.
Distinctive achievements are seen in the arts of architecture, terracotta,
sculpture and painting. The somapura mahavihara at paharpur, a creation of
Dhamapala, proudly announces the excellence of the architectural art
achieved in the Pala period.
 The terracotta plaques recovered from Paharpur amply demonstrate the
excellence of the art in the Pala period. Of all the arts of the period
sculptural art witnessed phenomenal development.
 Sena Dynasty
 After the fall of the Pala dynasty Sena (1161A.D.-1204 A.D.) dynasty
started their rule in Bengal in the second half of the twelveth century.
 The founder of the Sena dynasty in Bengal was Samantasena. He showed
heroism in his youth and first settled down in Rahr region on the Ganges
at the last years of his life.
 After the death of Hemanta Sena, his son Bijoy Sena ascended to the
throne. During his long reign itself, the rule of the Sena dynasty was
established on a strong foundation.
 After the reign of Bijoy Sena, his son Ballal Sen ascended to the throne.
During his reign he not only protected the kingdom of his father but also
established Sena rule on a strong foundation by bringing Mogodha and
Mithila under it.
 After Ballal Sena his son Lakhsmana Sena ascended to the throne at the age of 60.
 Like father and grandfather Laksman Sena was a skilled warrior and showed his skill
in the battlefield. He brought Prag-Jotish, Gaur, Kalinga, Kashi, Mogodha etc. regions
under Sena Empire.
 At last he became inattentive to running of the kingdom due to long-standing
warfare, old age debility and for other reasons.
 As a result, Gaur turned into a playing ground of fearful intrigue and internal conflict
and there grew internal disorder.
 Bakhtiar Khalji attacked Nadia at the beginning of the eleventh century. Old
Lakhsmana Sena did not withstand this attack; rather he took shelter in Bikrampur of
Munshiganj district, going there by river.
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