There are also records of the sultans' relations with Egypt, Herat and some kingdoms in Africa. The earliest reference to "Vangala" (Bôngal) has been traced in the Nesari plates (805 CE) of Rashtrakuta Govinda III which speak of Dharmapala as the king of Vangala. British Bengal - 1757-1947 The province of Bengal was one of the most valuable acquisitions that was ever made by any nation. The centre of Indian culture and trade shifted from Delhi to Calcutta when the Mughal Empire fell. An Afghan dynasty was the last royal house of the Bengal Sultanate. In addition, he paid large sums as ‘gifts’ or bribes to the high officials of the Company. [91] Commonwealth forces included troops from Britain, India, Australia and New Zealand. The Governor of Bengal was concurrently the Governor-General of India for many years. The Palas also had extensive trade as well as influence in Southeast Asia. An interesting theory of the origin of the name is provided by Abu'l-Fazl in his Ain-i-Akbari. Even though Mir Jafar owed his position to the Company, he soon repented the bargain he had struck. His grandson and successor Siraj-ud-daulah was the last independent Nawab of Bengal due to his defeat to British forces at the Battle of Plassey in 1757. Governors of Fort William in Bengal (1757-1772) 1. One of the notable properties of the French included the land of the Ahsan Manzil, where the French administrative building was located. The Koch Bihar Kingdom in the northern Bengal, flourished during the period of 16th and the 17th centuries as well as weathered the Mughals and survived till the advent of the British. Bengal was strategically important during the Burma Campaign and Allied assistance to the Republic of China to fight off the Japanese invasions. Under Regulating Act, the Bengal Presidency gained control over the other two presidencies. ", "East–West Orientation of Historical Empires", "Mahasthan Brahmi Inscription – Banglapedia", "History revisited: How Tughlaq's currency change led to chaos in 14th century India", "Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal – Google Books", "Reimagining the Colonial Bengal Presidency Template (Part I) | Daily sun", Revolutionary movement for Indian independence, List of West Bengal districts ranked by literacy rate, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_Bengal&oldid=1000766251, Articles containing Bengali-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Location unclear; probable location around northern West Bengal and eastern, Location unclear; probable location in West Bengal of India, Abdul Momin Chowdhury (1967) Dynastic History of Bengal, c. 750–1200 A.D, Dacca: The Asiatic Society of Pakistan, 1967, Pages: 310, ASIN: B0006FFATA. Bengal was divided by the British rulers for administrative purposes in 1905 into an overwhelmingly Hindu west (including present-day Bihar and Odisha) and a predominantly Muslim east (including Assam). Dharmapala and Devapala were two great patrons of Buddhism, secular education and culture. An independent Bengal Sultanate was formed in 1352 and ruled the region for two centuries, during which a distinct form of Islam based on Sufism and the Bengali language emerged and the region was known as a major trading nation in the world. A hotbed of the Indian independence movement through the early 20th century, Bengal was divided during India's independence in 1947 along religious lines into two separate entities: West Bengal—a state of India—and East Bengal—a part of the newly created Dominion of Pakistan that later became the independent nation of Bangladesh in 1971. Dharmapala extended the empire into the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. Members of the imperial family were often appointed to the position of Subedar. It was now determined to remain in Bengal even against the wishes of the Nawab and to trade there on its own terms. The Danish company later gained permission from Nawab Alivardi Khan to establish a trading post in Serampore in 1755. In 1666, the Mughal conquest of Chittagong resulted in the expulsion of Portuguese and Arakanese forces in the port city. The inscriptional evidences show that his kingdom was extended up to the present-day Comilla–Noakhali–Chittagong region. The Palas were responsible for the introduction of Mahayana Buddhism in Tibet, Bhutan and Burma. Welcome to HistoryDiscussion.net! [19][28] Archaeological evidence confirms that by the second millennium BCE, the Bengal delta was inhabited by rice-cultivating communities, with people living in systemically-aligned housing and producing pottery. The assembly was elected on the basis of the so-called "separate electorate" system created by the Communal Award. Ilyas Shahi dynasty (1342–1414 and 1435–1487), "But the most important development of this period was that the country for the first time received a name, ie Bangalah. [27], Stone Age tools found in the region indicate human habitation for over 20,000 years. Vijaya Sena, second ruler of the dynasty, defeated the last Pala emperor, Madanapala, and established his reign formally. The lessons learnt there were profitably applied in Bengal. Bengalis also played a notable role in the Indian independence movement. The subedar was elevated to the status of a hereditary Nawab Nazim. To read Bengal famine and Responsibility for Holocaust. Ashoka sponsored the spreading of Buddhist missionaries to various parts of Asia. By the 18th century, Mughal Bengal became a quasi-independent country under the nominal rule of the emperor in Delhi. While Hindu Indians disagreed with the partition saying it was a way of dividing a Bengal which is united by language and history, Muslims supported it by saying it was a big step forward for Muslim society where Muslims will be majority and they can freely practice their religion as well as their culture. Ganesha installed his son Jadu to the throne but his son was influenced to convert to Islam[citation needed] by the court's Sufi clergy. The dynasty is regarded by several historians as a golden age in which a syncretic Bengali culture evolved including elements of Muslim and Hindu traditions. The Chandra kingdom covered the Harikela region, which was known as the Kingdom of Ruhmi to Arab traders. Gopala I (750–770) was its first ruler. It was also understood that British merchants and officials would no longer be asked to pay any taxes on their private trade. Cossimbazar and Balasore also hosted French factories.[85]. 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