bangladesh history chronology

Goddess Durga, Pala-Sena Period, 12th century, MET Museum.

Pre - 1,500 BCE

  • Cultivation of irrigated rice and domestication of animals.

5th century BCE

  • Urban centers, long distance maritime trade, first sizeable states.

  • Indo-European languages and Sanskritic culture begin to spread from the west.

  • Regions of Bengal identified as Rarh, Pundra, Varendra, Gaur, Vanga, Samtata and Harikela.

4th - 2nd century BCE

  • Maurya Empire (Hindu/Buddhist)

  • First pan-Indian empire to consolidate the subcontinent into one polity.

  • Emperor Ashoka, most famous Mauryan ruler, establishes Buddhism as the state religion.

  • Mahastangarh founded in north-western Bangladesh which includes the ruins of the ancient city Pundranagar.

4th - 5th century CE

  • Gupta Empire (Hindu)

  • Second pan-Indian empire which ushers in a Golden Age when the arts flourished and Sanskrit high culture was exported to SE Asia.

  • Angkor Wat and Borobudur are examples of this cultural exchange between India and SE Asia.

7th century CE

  • Gauda Kingdom (Hindu)

  • Ruled by King Shashanka with the capital in present-day Murshidabad, West Bengal.

7th - 11th century CE

  • Pala Empire and Chandra Dynasty (Buddhist)

  • The Palas reign over western Bengal while the Chandras rule over eastern Bengal.

  • Paharpur Buddhist monastery established in north-western Bengal.

  • Mainamati Buddhist monastery established in eastern Bengal.

11th - 13th century CE

  • Sena Kingdom (Hindu)

  • Lakhnauti-Gaur in north-western Bengal was capital of the Senas.

1205 - 1342 CE

  • Delhi Sultanate (Muslim)

  • Lakhnauti-Gaur conquered by Muslims in 1206.

  • Bengal ruled by Delhi for the next 200 years.

1342 - 1575 CE

  • Bengal Sultanate (Muslim)

  • Secedes from Delhi and establishes an independent sultanate.

  • Ruled by a succession of Muslim Dynasties.

  • Consolidation of Bengal from different regions. First time the word ‘Bangala’ appears to describe the region.

1520s CE

  • First Europeans (Portuguese) settles in the Bengal delta.

1575 - 1713 CE

  • Mughal Empire (Muslim)

  • After more than a 25-year struggle against Bengalis, Mughals bring the entire Bengal under their domain by 1612.

  • Dhaka in central Bengal is founded as Jahangirnagar (named after 4th Mughal Emperor Jahangir) and becomes the capital of Bengal Subha, a province of Mughal India.

1713 CE

  • Nawabs of Bengal (Muslim)

  • Bengal becomes independent from Delhi under the Nawabs; the capital is moved to Murshidabad in western Bengal.

  • The Mughal Emperor in Delhi is now a nominal ruler with extremely limited power.

1757 CE

  • British East India Company

  • The Company defeats the Nawab of Bengal in the Battle of Plassey and becomes the de facto ruler of Bengal.

  • Calcutta (Kolkata) is the capital of Bengal. It later becomes the capital of British India (British Raj) from 1857 to 1911.

1857 CE

  • British Raj

  • The Sepoy Mutiny is the first independence movement against British rule.

  • The British crown takes over from the East India Company and British Raj officially begins.

Early 1900s CE

  • Nationalist movement takes off in British India.

  • Bengal is a stronghold for anti-colonial activities with prominent Bengali leaders such as Subhash Chandra Bose, Bipin Chandra Pal, AK Fazlul Huq.

1905 - 1911 CE

  • First partition of Bengal into two provinces: East Bengal & Assam and West Bengal.

  • Partition is reversed in 1911.

1947 CE

  • Independence from Britain.

  • Partition of British India into two modern nation states: Pakistan and India.

  • East Bengal becomes the easternmost province of Pakistan separated by India. West Bengal becomes a state of India.

1952 CE

  • Language Movement that gave official status to Bangla as a national language of Pakistan.

1971 CE

  • Independence from Pakistan.

  • Bangladesh founded as a People’s Republic.

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