History of Bangladesh

History of Bangladesh is also the History of Bengal. The advancement of civilization in Bengal dates back four millennia. Geographically, it is made up by the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta system, the largest such formation in the world; along with mountains in its north bordering the Himalayan states of Nepal and Bhutan and east bordering Burma. The term Vangala was often used to refer to the territory. The places are known to ancient Greek and Roman writers as having the same name as the river Ganges referred to as ‘Gangaridai’. Chandraketugarh of west Bengal Mahasthangarh in Bangladesh is a major archaeological site is associated with the Vanga kingdom .Vanga Kingdom is a 1500 BC Iron Age Kingdom in Ganges delta of South Asia. The Name Bengal or Bangla was originated from Vanga. The Bengali people are the descendants of the Vanga Kingdom. History of Bangladesh is also the History of Bengal.


1500 – 500 BC

The Vanga Kingdom


The Vanga / Banga বঙ্গ রাজ্য Kingdom was an ancient seafaring
nation Lived in the
Ganges Delta –
mentioned in various Vedic and Greek text

1500 – 500 BC
300 BC – TO AD

The Gangaridai – Alexander’s Dream

Bengal was known to the Greeks as Gangaridai, notable for mighty military power. It was described by Greek historians that Alexander The Great wanted to coqure Bengal but withdrew from today’s Punjab area , anticipating a counterattack from an alliance of Gangaridai of Bengal

300 BC – TO AD
200 – 500 AD

Gupta Empire

Gupta Empire was an empire centered in the Bengal existing from the mid-to-late 3rd century C to 590 CE

200 – 500 AD
800 – 1200 AD

Pala Empire

A Buddhist imperial power which originated in the Bengal

800 – 1200 AD
1204 – 1339 AD

Delhi Sultanate

Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji Conquered Bengal & Bengal fall to Dellhi Sultanate rule

1204 – 1339 AD
1338 AD

The Independent Bengal Sultanate


.Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah Established the Independent Bengal Sultanate – Apart from Dellhi Sultanate in Bengal .
Fakhruddin’s capital was Sonargaon

1338 AD
1415 AD


Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah – The First King Converted to Islam



Yadu or Jadu later Renamed Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah was son of Raja Ganesha, converted to Islam and ruled the Bengal Sultanate. His conversion to Islam is one of the main reason todays Majority Bengalis is Muslim

1415 AD
1576–1740 AD

Nawabs of Bengal :Mughal Bengal


Babur defeated Sultan Nasiruddin Nasrat Shah of the Bengal Sultanate in Battle of Ghaghra . the Nawab Nizam of Bengal and Orissa were the rulers of the then provinces of Bengal and Orissa. . However, they were only nominally subordinate to the Mughal Empire

1576–1740 AD
April 28, 1740

Nawab Alivardi Khan Bahadur


Alivardi Khan’ was a military General of Bengal’s He took control of the Masnad in 1740.
Alivardi Khan reign of 16 years, was mostly engaged in various wars against the Marathas. Towards the end, he turned his attention to rebuilding and restoring Bengal. He Died 10 April 1756 at aged 84.

April 28, 1740
April 8, 1756

Siraj ud-Daula was Maternal Grandchild of Nawab Alivardi Khan .
He was raised at the Nawab’s palace with all necessary education and Military training.
He accompanied Alivardi on his military ventures against the Marathas .
In May 1752, Alivardi Khan declared Siraj as his successor.
Siraj ud-Daula resented the British politico-military presence in Bengal.
When the East India Company began enhancement of military strength at Fort William in Calcutta, Siraj ud-Daulah ordered them to stop .
The British did not heed his directives; consequently
Siraj attacked Calcutta with a 50,000 strong army and captured
Fort William Kolkata from the British in June 1756 .
Like before traitor
 Mir Jafar, the paymaster of the army, conspires to overthrow
Siraj ud-Daula .
A treaty was drawn up between the British and Mir Jafar to raise him to the throne of the Nawab in return for support to the British in the field of battle.

April 8, 1756
February 9, 1757

Treaty of Alinagar





In December 1756, Siraj-ud-Daulah’s main force left Calcutta as British didn’t t had enough military strength to challenge the Nawab of Bengal in the battlefield. The British sent Colonel Robert Clive and
Royal Navy Admiral Charles Watson from Madras to Bengal to topple the Nawab by
a palace coup. The small 2000 force landed in Bengal on January 1757.
On 9th January 1757, Clive captured the town of Calcutta.

on 3rd February 1757 with strong
18,000 cavalry, 25,000 infantry, and 40 guns Siraj-Ud-Daulah seized and camped outside
Maratha Ditch -. In military strength, Clive was dwarfed by Nawab Army, As a last resort
Clive decided to launch a surprise attack on the Nawab’s camp on the morning of 4 February under heavy fog to kill the Nawab.
Clive had intended to use a narrow raised causeway, to attack the Nawab’s quarters.
The Nawab’s troops had barricaded the passage. As the fog began to lift, the troops were overwhelmed by the discharge of heavy cannon from across the Maratha Ditch by the Nawab’s artillery.
The Nawab troops then made bridges, crossed the Maratha Ditch and reached the fort, William.
The British troops were assailed on all sides by cavalry and musket-fire of . Robert Clive surrendered to
Nawab Siraj Daula .
Siraj-ud-Daulah’s spare the life of all captured British forces, British asked to sign a treaty, He changed the name Calcutta to Alinagar and signed the Treaty of Alinagar & restored former privileges of British to do business.
On 14 June, Clive sent a declaration of war to Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah. On 15 June,
Siraj ud-Daula attacked on Mir Jafar’s palace in suspicion of his alliance with the British, Siraj obtained a promise from Mir Jafar to not join the British in the field of battle. Siraj trusted Mir Jaffer, he left the command of 16000 of his troops under Mir Jaffer.
A British Royal Navy squadron was present in the Bay of Bengal, commanded by Vice Admiral Watson.
 On 17 June
Jafar had sent messages to Clive, declaring his intention to uphold the treaty between them .
he could not deploy his ent ire force against the British for fear of being attacked from the flanks .
 fear of attack from the north by the Afghans under Ahmad Shah Durrani and from the west by the Marathas

February 9, 1757
1500 – 500 BC

Timeline Heading 12


The Vanga / Banga বঙ্গ রাজ্য Kingdom was an ancient seafaring
nation Lived in the
Ganges Delta –
mentioned in various Vedic and Greek text

1500 – 500 BC
1500 – 500 BC

Timeline Heading 13


The Vanga / Banga বঙ্গ রাজ্য Kingdom was an ancient seafaring
nation Lived in the
Ganges Delta –
mentioned in various Vedic and Greek text

1500 – 500 BC
1500 – 500 BC

Timeline Heading 14


The Vanga / Banga বঙ্গ রাজ্য Kingdom was an ancient seafaring
nation Lived in the
Ganges Delta –
mentioned in various Vedic and Greek text

1500 – 500 BC
1500 – 500 BC

Timeline Heading 15


The Vanga / Banga বঙ্গ রাজ্য Kingdom was an ancient seafaring
nation Lived in the
Ganges Delta –
mentioned in various Vedic and Greek text

1500 – 500 BC

On 14 June, Clive sent a declaration of war to Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah . The British sent reinforcements under Colonel Robert Clive and Admiral Charles Watson from Madras to Bengal . On 15 June,
Siraj ud-Daula attacked on Mir Jafar’s palace in suspicion of his alliance with the British, Siraj obtained a promise from Mir Jafar to not join the British in the field of battle. Siraj trusted Mir Jaffer, he left the command of 16000 of his troops under Mir Jaffer .
A British Royal Navy squadron was present in the Bay of Bengal, commanded by Vice Admiral Watson.
 On 17 June
Jafar had sent messages to Clive, declaring his intention to uphold the treaty between them .
he could not deploy his entire force against the British for fear of being attacked from the flanks .
 fear of attack from the north by the Afghans under Ahmad Shah Durrani and from the west by the Marathas

The Marathas invaded Bengal six times from August 1741 to May 1751. in 1747 Marathas led by Raghoji, began to raid, pillage and annex the territories of the Alivardi Khan.
Jan Kersseboom, chief of the Dutch East India Company in Bengal, estimated that close to 400,000 people were killed by the Marathas during their occupation of western Bengal and Bihar. Orissa Subedar Mir Jafar completely withdrew all forces without any resistance. Alivardi Khan dismissed the shamed Mir Jafar at Murshidabad for not having done much. In
Battle of Burdwan
Alivardi Khan rallied an Army of nearly 10,000 troops against
40,000 Maratha cavalry.
At the Battle of Burdwan where Raghoji and his Maratha forces were completely routed by excellent Military skill of Nawab Alivardi Khan
He reign of 16 years, was mostly engaged in various wars against the Marathas. Towards the end, he turned his attention to rebuilding and restoring Bengal. He Died 10 April 1756 at aged 84 .

Siraj ud-Daulah was the last independent Nawab of Bengal

Siraj ud-Daulah was the last independent Nawab of Bengal

Persian historian, Firishta talked about his tolerance of Hindus and Buddhists, applauded him by saying:
He upheld the principles of justice and equity and became the Naushirwan of the age

Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji
Conquered Bengal & Bengal fall to
Dellhi Sultanate rule

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