Ancient Bengal - Name, Localities and Cities

Naming
The word Bangladesh comes from the word Bongal or Bongala. Bongal is a mixed of two words, first
is Bongo which means ‘wetland’ and second is Al that means ‘embankment or dam’. As it was a low
land and so it is today, the inhabitants of this land used to make embankments on their land to protect their
farmland, livestock, home, belongings from flood and seawater. Abul Fazal, the chief historian of the
Mughal emperor Akbar the great’s court, wrote about the root of the word Bongal or Bangala. Farmers of
today also used to make small embankments between their lands that is called ‘Al or Ail’.
There are two legends or tails related to the naming of Bengal. One from the Muslims and the others from
the Hindus. Some Muslim historian argued that, Bogal/bangal came from ‘Bongo’, a great-grand son of
Nuh (a), who settled here. According to Hindu legand, ‘Vanga’ was a son of Hindu rular and Bangal/Bongal
came from his name.
Some historian said, Bongo comes from the word Ganga. Bengal delta is a result of Ganga. From Ganga
to Banga. There was an empire name ‘Gangaridaya’. Alexander the great failed to conquer Gangaridaya.
Political Formation:
Bengal was first politically announced as an independent state by Shamsuddin Iliyas Shah, the first
independent Muslim ruler of this country. He titled himself as the ‘Shah-i- Bangala or Shah-i-Bangalian’,
He also titled his courtiers as ‘Paikan-i-Bangala’ and so on. Historian called him the founder of the
political Bengal.
After the battle of Rajmahal in 1776, Mughal ruled over the Bengal and named it as a Province, ‘Sub-
i-Bangla’. Governor of this province Islam Khan made Dhaka as the capital of this province in 1610. It was
called Jahangirnagar, it was the time of the emperor Jahangir. Now Jahangir Nagar is in Savar, and the
center of the capital is kilometers away.
After the Battle of Palasi in 1757, Sub-i-Bangla called Bengal by the British colonizer. After the
partition of Bengal in 1905, Bengal was divided into two separate provinces, one is the Bengal now the
west Bengal, other is the East Bengal and Assam, present Bangladesh and some parts of Assam and Tripura.
After the Independence in 1947, Bengal divided once again and forever. West Bengal attached with India
and East Bengal to Pakistan. After the Liberation war of 1971, East Bengal Became Bangladesh, an
Independent and sovereign state.
Sources Ancient History: We have not much sources of ancient period. What we got is very brief. The
main sources of history of that time is inscriptions, copper plate, coin, Sanskrit books and some legends.
Language of Ancient Bengal: Bangla language was not develop at that time. It was in her primary level,
just on process to start. There were Prakrit, Sanskrit, Mogadh, Pali and some dialects at that time.
Sanskrit and Pali were religiously dominet as Sanskrit is to Hindu and Pali is to Buddist religion.
Ancient Janapad or Town or Locality: Bengal was not a unique, united territory as it is today. To be
decleared as an independent or sovereign territory is a political incident. It divided into many separate,
independent towns, lands, localities in the ancient time. There was Gaur, Pundra or Verandra, Samatat,
Horicel, Bongal/Bongo/Vanga, Chanradvipa, Radha, Dakshin Radha, Uttara Radha Mandala, Tamralipti,
Pundrabhardhana-bhukti.
 Bongal/Bongo/Vanga: Dhaka, Kushtia, Jessore and Mymensingh

 Chanradvipa: Barisal, Patuakhali, Bakerganj. Between the river Baleshwar and the Meghna
 Pundra or Verandra: Rajshahi, Pabna, Bogra, Rongpur, Dinajpur.
 Gaur: Chapai Nawabganj, Naogaon and Natore
 Horical: Sylhet to Chittagong
 Samatata: Cumilla, Nuakhali, Tripura
Ancient Cities:
 Wari-Batashwer: Important port city, treaded with south and South-east Asia and the Roman
world. On the bank of the river Brhamaputra.
 Pundranagara: Modern day Mahasthangar, on the bank of the river Karatoya. Chinese traveler
Hiuen Tsang visited this city.
 Tamralipti: A port city. Near Sarasvati river, a brach of Ganga.
 Tamluk: Now Hugli, on the right bank of the river Rupnarayana.
 Mainamati: Modern day Cumilla.
 Karnashuvarna: Possibly in the Murshidabad District.
 Lakhnauti-Gaur:
Key factors of the geographical changes:

Many of our ancient cities or towns are vanished or destroyed by certain time. We have little information
of the destruction of those localities or cities. But, we can find some factors that played a vital rule to destroy
a town, locality or decrease its importance, so that people migrated from this land to others. By this way
old town or locality destroys and new one born. Some of those factors, which played a vital rule to change
the geographical changes, are, given below.
We can divide those factors in tow main categories. First is natural, other is man-made.
Natural Factors:
 River or water body. William Von Scandal writes, “When a river moved course and the Port silted
up, the town would decline”.
 Earthquake. That can change the road map of a mighty river, or destroy a country, civilization.
 Natural Disaster: Flood, drought, cyclone, landslide etc.
 Disease: Deadly disease like, Plague, Polio, Chickenpox etc. are one of the main factors of
destroying a city by killing her all inhabitants.
 Climate change: Global Warming.
Man-made factors:
 War: Fall of Baghdad by Halagu khan. Destruction of many cities in modern Syria, Iraq by US lead
western regime.
 Pollution:
 High Population density:

Ancient Bengal - Name, Localities and Cities

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Ancient Bengal - Name, Localities and Cities

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Ancient Bengal - Name, Localities and Cities

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Naming

 Bongal/Bongo/Vanga: Dhaka, Kushtia, Jessore and Mymensingh

Key factors of the geographical changes:

You might also like