Misplaced Pages

Ancient history of Bangladesh

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by GtAM6 (talk | contribs) at 12:00, 12 January 2025 (-- Draft creation using the WP:Article wizard -- First Additions (Article - Incomplete)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 12:00, 12 January 2025 by GtAM6 (talk | contribs) (-- Draft creation using the WP:Article wizard -- First Additions (Article - Incomplete))(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
This article, Ancient history of Bangladesh, has recently been created via the Articles for creation process. Please check to see if the reviewer has accidentally left this template after accepting the draft and take appropriate action as necessary.
Reviewer tools: Inform author
This article, Ancient history of Bangladesh, has recently been created via the Articles for creation process. Please check to see if the reviewer has accidentally left this template after accepting the draft and take appropriate action as necessary.
Reviewer tools: Inform author
Ancient history of Bangladesh
Ptolemy map illustrating the Ganges and beyondPtolemy map illustrating the Ganges and beyond
History 
• Dawn of the Bronze Age in South Asia and beginning of the Ancient Era of Bangladesh - c. 3000 BCE 3000 BCE
• Pundra Kingdom c.1280 BCE
• Janapada and Vedic Period c.1100 BCE
• Prince Vijaya's conquest of the island of Lanka and the establishment of the House of Vijaya in Sri Lanka 543 BCE

The ancient history of Bangladesh is a period of time, part of a series on the History of Bangladesh, dating back over multiple millennia. The region's ancient history is comprised of a sequence of different independent regional kingdoms and the various Magadha dynasties. Due to Bangladesh's geography and the plethora of rivers, namely the Ganges, Meghna and Padma rivers, and their constant shifting, archeological evidence regarding the ancient history of Bangladesh has been scarce. Due to this, many historians have been more partial to prioritising other, well documented or recent areas of the history of Bangladesh.

Overview

The Oxford History of India categorically claims that there is no definitive information about Bengal before the third century BCE. It is believed that there were movements of Austro-asiatics, Tibeto-Burmans, Indo-Aryans, Dravidians and Mongoloids, including a people called Vanga, into Bengal. One view argues that humans entered Bengal from China 60,000 years ago. Another view claims that a distinct regional culture emerged 100,000 years ago.

The ruins of Wari-Bateshwar in Narsingdi is from the Copper Age.

Due to Bangladesh's natural geography there are plentiful rivers and many tributaries of those rivers. Naturally, overtime these rivers shifted their courses', causing the natural landscape of the region to be unsuitable for tangible archaeological evidence and remains. Hence the very weak evidence for a prehistoric human presence in the region. The lack of stones suggests that the early humans in Bengal probably used materials such as wood and bamboo that could not survive in the environment. Human presence during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic eras also seem to be similar with scant evidence. This usually means that archaeological discoveries are almost entirely from the hills around the Bengal delta. Industries of fossil-wood manufacturing blades, scrapers and axes have been discovered in Lalmai, Sitakund and Chaklapunji. These have been connected with similar findings in Myanmar and West Bengal. Large stones, thought to be prehistoric, were constructed in north eastern Bangladesh and are similar to those in India's nearby hills. West Bengal holds the earliest evidence of settled agrarian societies.

An ancient inscription from Mahasthangarh

Moreover, during the fifth century BCE there was widespread agricultural success for stationery cultures with the emergence of cross-sea trade, some of the earliest polities and many towns. Wari-Bateshwar, was an ancient city within the region and traded with Ancient Rome and Southeast Asia. Archaeologists have discovered coinage, pottery, iron artefacts, bricked road and a fort in Wari-Bateshwar. The findings connote that this city was an administrative hub with industries such as iron smelting and valuable stone beads. The site shows extensive use of clay and bricks, which were most prominent on the walls. Chandraketurgarh in West Bengal is home to some of the most famous terracotta plaques, made by clay depicting deities and scenes of ordinary life and nature. The early coinage unearthed in Wari-Bateshwar and Chandraketugarh were found to be illustrating boats.

The Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW or NBP) was a culture of the Indian Subcontinent lasting between c. 700–200 BCE. It peaked from c. 500 - 300 BCE and coincided with the emergence of the 16 Mahajanapadas of North India and the eventual rise of the Magadhan Dynasties.

Militarily, ancient Bangladesh possessed mighty armies consisting of eighty thousand horsemen, two hundred thousand footmen, eight thousand chariots, and six thousand war elephants. The combined might of the Nanda's and the Gangaridai would then go on to cause Alexander the Great's withdrawal from India. Fearing the prospect of facing other large armies and exhausted by years of campaigning, Alexander's army mutinied at the Hyphasis River (Beas), refusing to march farther east. This river thus marks the easternmost extent of Alexander's conquests.

Vedic Period and the Janapadas

The polities mentioned in the Indian Epic, Mahabharata

The Janapadas were the realms, republics and kingdoms of the Indian subcontinent during the Vedic period. They surfaced all across the Indian subcontinent and lasted between c. 1100–600 BCE. The Vedic period reached from the late Bronze Age into the Iron Age - from about 1500 BCE to the 6th century BCE. With the rise of sixteen Mahajanapadas ('great janapadas'), most of the states were annexed by more powerful neighbours, although some remained independent. Among some of these independent entities were the Pundra and Vanga Kingdom which were the most eminent kingdoms from the region.

Pundra Kingdom

See also: Pundravardhana

The Pundra Kingdom or Pundravardhana emerged during the late Bronze Age around c. 1280 BCE and was the very first documented independent kingdom in the region of Bangladesh. It was mostly known for being the home and birthplace of Ācārya Bhadrabahu. Bhadrabahu was the spiritual teacher of Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Maurya Empire.

24°58′N 89°21′E / 24.96°N 89.35°E / 24.96; 89.35Mahasthangarh, the ancient capital of Pundravardhana is located 11km (7mi) north of Bogra on the Bogra-Rangpur highway, with a feeder road (running along the eastern side of the ramparts of the citadel for 1.5km) leading to Jahajghata and site museum.

Vanga Kingdom

Map of the Vanga Kingdom
See also: Vanga kingdom

The Vanga Kingdom was a powerful seafaring nation of Ancient Bengal. They had overseas trade relations with Java, Sumatra and Siam (modern day Thailand). According to Mahavamsa, the Vanga prince Vijaya Singha conquered Lanka (modern day Sri Lanka) in 544 BC and gave the name "Sinhala" to the country. Bengali people migrated to the Maritime Southeast Asia and Siam (in modern Thailand), establishing their own settlement there.

Kurukshetra War

The Kurukshetra War, c. 400 BCE - c. 500 BCE, is a war described in the Hindu epic poem Mahabharata, rising from a struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas to acquire the throne of Hastinapura. The Vanga Kingdom sided with the Kauravas. However the historical accuracy of the Kurukshetra War and the Mahabharata is uncertain and unclear.

Vangas sided with Duryodhana in the Kurukshetra War (8:17) along with the Kalingas. They are mentioned as part of the Kaurava army at (7:158). Many foremost of combatants skilled in elephant-fight, belonging to the Easterners, the Southerners, the Angas, the Vangas, the Pundras, the Magadhas, the Tamraliptakas, the Mekalas, the Koshalas, the Madras, the Dasharnas, the Nishadas united with the Kalingas (8:22). Satyaki, pierced the vitals of the elephant belonging to the king of the Vangas (8:22). Behind Duryodhana proceeded the ruler of the Vangas, with ten thousand elephants, huge as hills, and each with juice trickling down (6:92). The ruler of the Vangas (Bhagadatta) mounting upon an elephant huge as a hill, drove towards the Rakshasa, Ghatotkacha. On the field of battle, with the mighty elephant of great speed, Bhagadatta placed himself in the very front of Duryodhana's car. With that elephant he completely shrouded the car of thy son. Beholding then the way (to Duryodhana's car) thus covered by the intelligent king of the Vangas, the eyes of Ghatotkacha became red in anger. He ruled that huge dart, before upraised, at that elephant. Struck with that dart hurled from the arms of Ghatotkacha, that elephant, covered with blood and in great agony, fell down and died. The mighty king of the Vangas, however, quickly jumping down from that elephant, alighted on the ground (6:93).

Tambapanni was the place where Prince Vijaya arrived

Prince Vijaya

See also: Prince Vijaya and House of Vijaya

Prince Vijaya was born in the Vanga Kingdom and is one of the most notable figures of the Vanga Kingdom. He is also known in Sri Lankan History for being the first King of Sri Lanka. Prince Vijaya was made prince regent by his father, but the young prince and his band of followers would go on to become notorious for their violent deeds. With multiple complaints from Vijaya's father failing, many citizens opted for Vijaya's death. King Sinhabahu then expelled Vijaya and 700 of his followers from the kingdom. The prince left the Kingdom of Vanga and would eventually reach the northern tip of the island of Sri Lanka where he would establish the Kingdom of Tambapanni. The descendants of Prince Vijaya (from the House of Vijaya) would rule the island for next 500 years and also go on to establish the Kingdom of Upatissa Nuwara and finally the Anuradhapura Kingdom.

Prince Vijaya's party of several hundred landed in Sri Lanka, were split on the journey. The men, women and children were on separate ships. Vijaya and his followers landed at a place called Supparaka; the women landed at a place called Mahiladipaka present day (Maldives), and the children landed at a place called Naggadipa. Vijaya eventually made it to the island of Lanka.

Oversea Settlements of Vanga

The Vanga Kingdom was known for its superior naval fleets and naval supremacy. According to the Mahabarata (major Indian epic) the Vanga Kingdom also colonised territory outside of mainland India. While this claim is not very likely it cannot be ignored completely because of the instances the Vanga Kingdom having oversea settlements and the special case of Prince Vijaya's conquest of the island of Lanka.

This can be observed with the supposed Vanga settlements in the island of Mahiladipaka in the Maldives and Prince Vijaya's conquests of Lanka when the women of Prince Vijaya's party went astray and landed at Mahiladipaka. There has also been findings of Vanga settlements in Southeast Asia. Most notably in Champa (present-day Vietnam), where a settlement was founded in Cochinchina. The settlement was named after a native Bengali name

Gangaridai and the Nanda Dynasty

Independent Gangaridai

Not much is known about the independent state of Gangaridai and when it was independent, however renowned Bengali historian, Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay, noted that during the rule of Chandragupta Maurya, the state of Gangaridai was independent. The state of Gangaridai was established c. 300 BCE.

Establishment of the Nanda Dynasty

Nanda Empire, c. 325 BCE

R.C Majumdar and D.C Sircar both argue that the Nanda dynasty was of Gangaridae (Bengali) origin. The Nanda's, are represented as the lord of both "Prasioi and the Gangaridai" or of Gangaridai alone. The description of Prasioi was a general name for the people of Eastern India, so the specific mention of Gangaridai attaches significance. The importance of Gangaridai or the Vanga people (Lower Bengal) may be explained by the suggestion of the Nanda dynasty belonging to them.

The idea of the Bengali origin of the Nanda's can also be observed through Greek accounts of Xandrames (Greek for 'Nanda'). As Diodorus explicitly states, Plutarch affirms and Arrian evidently implies, Bengal had conquered Magadha. This view is also compatible with the Puranic account and would explain the low position of these kings in the Puranas as Bengal was outside the domain of Aryan Culture during this time.

Alexanders the Great's withdrawal

Main article: Alexander the Great
Alexander's Empire in 323 BCE with respect to the Nanda Dynasty and Gangaridai Empire.

East of Porus's kingdom, near the Ganges River, was the Nanda Empire of Magadha and the Gangaridai Empire of the Bengal region in the Indian subcontinent. Fearing the prospect of facing other large armies and exhausted by years of campaigning, Alexander's army mutinied at the Hyphasis River (Beas), refusing to march farther east.

Alexander tried to persuade his soldiers to march farther, but his general Coenus pleaded with him to change his opinion and return. Alexander eventually agreed and turned south, marching along the Indus. Along the way his army conquered the Malhi (in modern-day Multan) and other Indian tribes; while besieging the Mallian citadel, Alexander suffered a near-fatal injury when an arrow penetrated his armor and entered his lung.

"As for the Macedonians, however, their struggle with Porus blunted their courage and stayed their further advance into India. For having had all they could do to repulse an enemy who mustered only twenty thousand infantry and two thousand horse, they violently opposed Alexander when he insisted on crossing the river Ganges also, the width of which, as they learned, was thirty-two furlongs , its depth one hundred fathoms , while its banks on the further side were covered with multitudes of men-at-arms and horsemen and elephants. For they were told that the kings of the Ganderites and Praesii were awaiting them with eighty thousand horsemen, two hundred thousand footmen, eight thousand chariots, and six thousand war elephants."

Samatata

Magadha Dynasties

Well developed towns had emerged by 300 BCE such as Tamralipti (present-day Tamluk, West Bengal, India), Mahasthan and Mainamati. Instead of the seaside, main towns sprang up by the riversides. Mahasthan contains the earliest piece of writing in Bangladesh, a stone inscription. It indicates that the site was an important town in the Maurya empire. Mahasthan is believed to have then been a provincial centre.> The inscription, in Prakrit, apparently contains a command to stock up supplies in case of an emergency. The inscription is called the Mahasthan Brahmi Inscription. Bengal was the eastern frontier of the Mauryan empire. Western Bengal with its port of Tamralipti achieved importance under the Mauryas.

A prominent view in scholarship is that the Mauryan and Gupta empires exercised authority over most parts of the Bengal delta. The incomplete evidence which exists suggests that Bengal's western rather than eastern regions were parts of larger empires. The ancient zones in Bengal were the Bhagirathi-Hooghly basin, Harikela, Samatata, Vanga and Varendra. Vanga is believed to be central Bengal, Harikela and Samitata were apparently Bengal's eastern zones and Varendra was northern Bengal. The names of sites indicate that Tibeto-Burman, Austro-Asiatic and Dravidian languages were spoken by the majority of people. Indo-European languages became prominent from 400 BCE.

Trade

Indo-Roman trade Relations

Southwestern Silk Road

Muslin

Ancient Regions and divisions of Bangladesh

Ancient Political Divisions
Ancient region Modern region
Pundravardhana Rajshahi Division and Rangpur Division in Bangladesh; Malda division of West Bengal in India
Vanga Khulna Division and Barisal Division in Bangladesh; West of the Padma river.
Samatata Dhaka Division, Barisal Division and Chittagong Division in Bangladesh
Harikela Sylhet Division, Chittagong Division, Dhaka Division and Barisal Division in Bangladesh

References

Part of a series on the
History of Bangladesh

Ancient
Neolithic 7600 - 3300 BCE
Bronze Age 3300 – 1200 BCE
    Pundra kingdom c.1280 – c. 300 BCE
Iron Age 1200 – 200 BCE
Vanga kingdom c.1100 – c. 340 BCE
     House of Vijaya 543 BCE - 66 CE
Northern Culture 700 – 200 BCE
Gangaridai c. 350 – c. 300 BCE
Nanda Dynasty c. 345 BCE– c. 322 BCE
Mauryan Empire 325 – 185 BCE
Samatata kingdom c. 232 BCE – 800 AD
Shunga and Kushan c. 185 BCE – c. 75 CE
Southwestern Silk Road c. 114 BCE – c. 1450 CE
Indo-Roman trade relations c. 30 BCE – c. 600 CE
Gupta Empire 240 – 550 CE
Kamarupa kingdom 350 – 1140 CE
Medieval
Jaintia Kingdom 500 – 1835 CE
Gauda Kingdom 590 – 626 CE
Laur kingdom 600 - 1565 CE
Harikela kingdom 600 - 650 CE
Gour Kingdom 600 – 1303 CE
Khadga dynasty 650 – 750 CE
Bhadra dynasty c. 700s CE
Pala Empire 750 – 1100 CE
Chandra dynasty 900 – 1050 CE
Sena dynasty 1070 – 1320 CE
Deva dynasty 1100 – 1250 CE
Ghurid Conquest 1202 CE
Khaljis of Bengal 1204 - 1231 CE
Taraf Kingdom c. 1200s – c. 1600s CE
Bhulua Kingdom 1203 – 1600s CE
Delhi Sultanate 1204 – 1338 CE
    Mamluk Dynasty 1206 – 1290 CE
    Khalji Dynasty 1290 – 1320 CE
    Tugluq Dynasty 1320 – 1338,1342 CE
City State Sultanates
    Sonargaon 1338 – 1352 CE
    Lakhnauti/Gauda 1342 – 1352 CE
    Satagon/Saptagram 1342 – 1352 CE
Twipra Kingdom c. 1400 – 1949 CE
Bengal Sultanate 1352 – 1576 CE
    Ilyas Shahi dynasty 1342 – 1487 CE
    House of Ganesha 1414 – 1436 CE
    Habshi dynasty 1487 – 1494 CE
    Hussein Shahi 1494 – 1538 CE
    Suri Interruption 1539 – 1554 CE
    Muhammad Shahi 1554 – 1564 CE
    Karrani dynasty 1564 – 1576 CE
Pratapgarh Kingdom 1489 – 1700s CE
Early Modern
Koch Kingdom 1515 – 1956 CE
Suri Dynasty 1540 – 1556 CE
Twelve Bhuyans 1550 – 1620 CE
Porto Grande de Bengala 1528 – 1666 CE
Kingdom of Mrauk U 1530 – 1666 CE
Mughal Empire 1576 – 1717 CE
    Bengal Subah 1576 – 1717 CE
    Rajshahi Raj c. 1700s - 1950 CE
    Zamindars 1700s - 1900s CE
Pratapaditya Kingdom 1602 – 1611 CE
Sitaram Ray Kingdom 1688 – 1714 CE
Nawabs of Bengal 1717 – 1757 CE
    Maratha Invasions 1742 - 1751 CE
    Siege of Calcutta 1756 CE
Shamsher Gazi's Kingdom 1748 – 1760 CE
Company Raj 1757 – 1858 CE
    Bengal famine of 1770 1770 CE
    Bengal Renaissance 1772 - 1913 CE
    Faraizi Movement 1818 – 1884 CE
    The Great Rebellion 1857 – 1858 CE
British Raj 1858 – 1947 CE
    Partition of Bengal 1905 CE
    Bengal and Assam 1905 - 1912 CE
    Bengal Famine 1943 CE
    Bengali Prime Minister 1937 - 1947 CE
    Noakhali riots 1946 CE
Modern
East Bengal 1947 – 1955 CE
    Partition of Bengal (1947) 1947 CE
    East Bengali refugees 1947 CE
    Bengali Language Movement 1948 – 1956 CE
East Pakistan 1955 – 1971 CE
    1964 East Pakistan riots 1964 CE
    Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 1965 CE
    Six Point Movement 1966 CE
    East Pakistan Uprising 1969 CE
    Pakistani general election 1970 CE
    Non-cooperation 1971 CE
Bangladesh Liberation War 1971 CE
    Independence Declaration 1971 CE
    Provisional Government 1971 – 1972 CE
    Bangladesh Genocide 1971 CE
    Surrender of Pakistan 1971 CE
Contemporary
Bangladesh famine 1974 CE
Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League 1975 CE
Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman 1975 CE
Jail Killing Day 1975 CE
Military rule 1975 – 1990 CE
Military coups in Bangladesh 1975 - 2011 CE
Chittagong Hill Tracts conflict 1977 - 1997 CE
Mass Uprising 1990 CE
Transition to democracy 1991 – 2008 CE
Caretaker government of Bangladesh 1996 CE
Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord 1997 CE
Bangladeshi political crisis 2006–2008 CE
Hasina era 2009–2024 CE
Vision 2021 and Digital Bangladesh 2008 CE
Bangladesh Rifles revolt 2009 CE
Shapla Square protests 2013 CE
Bangladesh quota reform movement 2013 CE
International Crimes Tribunal 2009 CE
2015 Bangladeshi political crisis 2015 CE
2018 Bangladesh road-safety protests 2018 CE
2018 Bangladesh quota reform movement 2018 CE
2021 Bangladesh Communal Violence 2021 CE
Smart Bangladesh
Bangladesh protests (2022–2024) 2022- 2024 CE
Student–People's uprising 2024 CE
Interim Government era 2024–present CE
Yunus ministry
Related articles
flag Bangladesh portal

Citations

  1. ^ Baxter 1997, p. 12.
  2. Willem 2009, p. 11.
  3. Willem 2009, p. 13.
  4. Willem 2009, p. 15.
  5. ^ Willem 2009, p. 17.
  6. ^ Willem 2009, p. 19.
  7. ^ Kosmin 2014, p. 34.
  8. Tripathi 1999, pp. 129–30.
  9. Misra 1973, p. 18.
  10. Hossain 2006, p. 14-15.
  11. ^ The Modern Review, p. 111-112.
  12. Mittal 2006, p. 405.
  13. Ratnatunga.
  14. The Mahavamsa, p. 06.
  15. Gangaridai.
  16. Sri Venkatesvara University 1979, p. 33.
  17. ^ Sircar 1984, p. 5.
  18. Majumdar 1925, p. 11.
  19. Tripathi 1999, pp. 137–38.
  20. Dodge, Theodore Ayrault (1890). Alexander. Great captains. Vol. 2. Houghton Mifflin. pp. 604–605.
  21. Plutarch 1919.
  22. ^ Willem 2009, p. 16.
  23. ^ Baxter 1997, p. 13.
  24. Willem 2009, p. 16-17.
  25. Willem 2009, p. 21.
  26. Richard 1996, p. 3.

Bibliography

  • Hossain, Md. Mosharraf (2006). Mahasthan: Anecdote to History. Dibyaprakash. ISBN 984-483-245-4.
  • Mittal, J.P (2006). History of Ancient India (A New Version) Volume 2. Atlantic. ISBN 9788126906161.
Categories: