History of Dhaka

Dhaka City across Buriganga River – a painting by Frederick William Alexander de Fabeck in 1861[1]

Dhaka (Dacca) is a modern megacity with origins dating to circa the 7th century CE.[citation needed] The history of Dhaka region begins with the existence of urbanised settlements that were ruled by Gangaridai,[2] Gupta Empire, Gauda Kingdom and Buddhist or Shaivite[3] Pala Empire before passing to the control of the Hindu Sena dynasty in the 10th century CE.[4] After the reign of Sena dynasty, the region was ruled by the Hindu Deva dynasty.[5]

Dhaka was successively ruled by the Turkic and Afghan governors descending from the Delhi Sultanate, followed by the Bengal Sultanate, before the arrival of the Mughals in 1608[citation needed]. The city became proto-industrialised and declared capital of the Mughal Bengal and commercial (financial) capital of the Mughal India.[citation needed] The Dhaka natural riverine port has a recorded existence since the 16th century CE.[citation needed] Dhaka's strategic riverine location in Bengal made it a hub for Eurasian traders, including Armenians, the Portuguese, French, Dutch and British.[citation needed] The bustling old city was known as the Venice of the East.[citation needed] After Mughals, British ruled the region for 200 years until the independence of India in 1947. After the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, Dhaka became the capital of the new state.

  1. ^ "Painting – De Fabeck, Frederick William Alexander – V&A Search the Collections". collections.vam.ac.uk. 4 October 1861. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  2. ^ Enamul Haque (2001). Excavation at Wari-Bateshwar: A Preliminary Study. International Center for Study of Bengal Art. ISBN 978-984-8140-02-4.
  3. ^ Alexis Sanderson (2009). "The Śaiva Age: The Rise and Dominance of Śaivism during the Early Medieval Period". In Shingo Einoo (ed.). Genesis and Development of Tantrism. Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo. pp. 108–115. ISBN 9784903235080.
  4. ^ Dhaka City Corporation (5 September 2006). "Pre-Mughal History of Dhaka". Archived from the original on 27 November 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  5. ^ Roy, Niharranjan (1993). Bangalir Itihas: Adiparba Calcutta: Dey's Publishing, ISBN 81-7079-270-3, pp.408-9