Editing History of Bangladesh (section)

==Mughal period==
{{Main|Bengal Subah}}
[[Image:Mughal-Arakanese battle on the Karnaphuli river in 1666.jpg|thumb|left|A Mughal invasion on the [[Rakhine people]] in 1660]]
[[File:Renaldis muslin woman.jpg|thumb|A woman in [[Dhaka]] clad in fine Bengali [[muslin]], 18th century]]
A major Mughal victory in 1576, in which Akbar took Bengal, was followed by four decades of efforts dedicated to vanquishing rebels in the Bhati region.<ref name="Willem van Schendel 50"/> The initial victory was accompanied by destruction and severe violence.<ref name="Willem van Schendel 52">{{cite book|author=Willem van Schendel|title=A History of Bangladesh|date=12 February 2009|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780511997419|page=52}}</ref> The Mughals were opposed by the Bengalis. Akbar appointed a Hindu servant Raja Man Singh as Bengal's governor. Singh based his rule at Rajmahal, Bihar, thinking that he could administer the region beyond.<ref name="Baxter 1997 20"/>

The province of Bengal was especially prosperous from the time of its takeover by the Mughals in 1590 until the British East India Company seized control in 1757. It was the Mughal Empire's wealthiest province. Domestically, much of India depended on Bengali products such as rice, silks and cotton textiles.<ref>[[Economy of the Mughal Empire]]</ref>{{Circular reference|date=February 2025}}

The Bara Bhuiyan, or twelve landlords, resisted the Mughal<ref name="Baxter 1997 21">{{cite book|last=Baxter|first=Craig|year=1997|title=Bangladesh: From A Nation to a State |publisher=Westview Press|page=21|isbn=978-0-813-33632-9}}</ref> attempts to annex Bengal. The landlords were mainly Afghan and Hindu aristocrats.<ref name="Willem van Schendel 50"/> Pratapaditya was one of the Hindu landlords among these leaders. They were led by the landlord Isa Khan, who was based in Sonargaon. Isa Khan is known for his resistance to outside rule, particularly from Delhi and Urdu-speaking soldiers. His actions were to serve as an inspiration in 1971.<ref name="Baxter 1997 21"/>

The landlords spearheaded an extensive revolt.<ref name="Baxter 1997 21"/> Both the Mughals and rebels committed atrocities such as massacre, rape and looting.<ref name="Willem van Schendel 50"/> They defeated the Mughal navy in 1584. After this, battles continued on land. In 1597, they again defeated the Mughal navy, however, Isa Khan died in the following year. The struggle against Mughal rule weakened. Man Singh, realising the strategic value of controlling Dhaka to administer eastern Bengal, created a military base there.<ref name="Baxter 1997 21"/> He also realised its utility in controlling Arakanese and Portuguese influence.<ref name="Willem van Schendel 50"/>

This base became more important in the late 1500s when the Ganges started to change its course. The change in the river's course allowed the clearing and harvesting of more land. The waterways of Dhaka allowed easy movement of soldiers to various parts of Bengal.<ref name="Baxter 1997 21"/> In 1610, Dhaka became a provincial capital. By then several of the internationally known muslin looms had shifted to Dhaka from Sonargaon. Dhaka flourished both as an administrative and handloom center.<ref name="Baxter 1997 21"/>

The Bengal region was historically an international hub of various activities. Merchants, pilgrims and voyagers traversed Bengal to travel to Nepal and Tibet. Bengal's waterways were a place where various peoples interacted. In 1346, the Moroccan voyager Ibn Battuta followed the trade route through Sri Lanka when he traveled to Bengal from the Maldives in 1346.<ref>{{cite book|author=Willem van Schendel|title=A History of Bangladesh|date=12 February 2009|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780511997419|page=39}}</ref> In the 1300s Bengal traded its paddy for cowries from the Maldives. Evidence from the 1500s demonstrates that rice grown in Bengal was eaten as far as eastern Indonesia and Goa. Bengal also exported other materials and food products at the same time. Bengali traders dominated trade with southeast Asia.<ref name="Willem van Schendel 41">{{cite book|author=Willem van Schendel|title=A History of Bangladesh|date=12 February 2009|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780511997419|page=41}}</ref> Chinese merchants in the 1400s and 1500s introduced gold, satin, silks, silver and porcelain.<ref name="Willem van Schendel 41"/> A European traveler in 1586 reported that the quality of the cotton textiles produced in Sonargaon was better than in other parts of the subcontinent. These fabrics were sent to international markets.<ref>{{cite book|author=Willem van Schendel|title=A History of Bangladesh|date=12 February 2009|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780511997419|page=42}}</ref>

According to economic historian Indrajit Ray, Bengal was globally prominent in industries such as [[textile manufacturing]] and [[shipbuilding]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Ray |first=Indrajit |year=2011 |title=Bengal Industries and the British Industrial Revolution (1757-1857) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CHOrAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA57 |publisher=Routledge |pages=57, 90, 174 |isbn=978-1-136-82552-1 |access-date=20 January 2019 |archive-date=16 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116112335/https://books.google.com/books?id=CHOrAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA57 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Dhaka was renamed to Jahangirnagar by the governor for Jahangir, the emperor.<ref name="Willem van Schendel 50"/> The governor managed to defeat and make the chieftains accept Mughal authority.<ref name="Willem van Schendel 50"/> During Mughal rule, Dhaka's architecture was enriched. In 1678, Aurangzeb's son started the construction of the Lalbagh fort, which encloses the tomb of Nur Jahan's grand niece.<ref name="Baxter 1997 21"/> Surviving Mughal buildings are the Bara Katra, Chhota Katra and the Husaini Dalan (a Shi'a mosque).<ref>{{cite book|last=Baxter|first=Craig|year=1997|title=Bangladesh: From A Nation to a State |publisher=Westview Press|pages=21–22|isbn=978-0-813-33632-9}}</ref>

During the Mughal rule many civilian and military administrators entered Bengal. A lot of these officials received land grants and became domiciled. Despite the Hindu domination of the landed class, Muslims formed a crucial section and maintained possession of significant land grants until the land reforms after 1947.<ref name="Baxter 1997 23">{{cite book|last=Baxter|first=Craig|year=1997|title=Bangladesh: From A Nation to a State |publisher=Westview Press|page=23|isbn=978-0-813-33632-9}}</ref>

The form of Bengal's government had been less rigid than the ones in other parts of the Mughal empire. The Mughals asserted a centralised form of rule on top of the differing local administrative structures. Consequently, local rulers administered control in the rural areas. These "zamindars" were autonomous and were a secular elite,<ref>{{cite book|author=Willem van Schendel|title=A History of Bangladesh|date=12 February 2009|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780511997419|page=51}}</ref> differentiated from the general populace by their authority.<ref>{{cite book|author=Willem van Schendel|title=A History of Bangladesh|date=12 February 2009|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780511997419|pages=51–52}}</ref> Surnames in modern Bangladesh such as Chowdhury, Khan, Sarkar and Talukdar originate from the names of ranks in the Mughal elite.<ref name="Willem van Schendel 52"/> This elite functioned alongside the Mughal officials. The latter's duty was to keep charge over tax collection. The diwan was the most important tax officer and was directly selected by the Mughal ruler. Each Mughal conquest in Bengal was accompanied with the establishment of a thana (garrison) for the purpose of maintaining peace. After that the territory would be merged into the empire's administrative system. In the empire's system each province would comprise several regions, called "sarkar", which in turn would be made up of subdivisions called parganas. The lowest tier in the system was the mouza (revenue village).<ref name="Willem van Schendel 52"/>

The agricultural borderland during Mughal rule in the 1500s started moving towards the eastern portion of Bengal. The region's agricultural productivity increased. To increase their revenues the Mughal administration promoted forest clearing and wet-rice farming. The officials gave land grants to entrepreneurs who were willing to give taxes in exchange for rights over the lands. The colonists required labour and this was advantageous for the religious elite.<ref name="Willem van Schendel 30">{{cite book|author=Willem van Schendel|title=A History of Bangladesh|date=12 February 2009|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780511997419|page=30}}</ref> Most communities in the region were boatmen and fishermen on the margins of society who were nominally Hindu but in reality had very weak ties to Hinduism. These were the labourers who cultivated the rice and would make up the bulk of peasantry in eastern Bengal.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/masala-noodles/how-did-bengalis-become-muslims1/|title=How did Bengalis become Muslims?|date=8 August 2012|work=Times of India Blog|language=en-US|access-date=17 November 2019|archive-date=1 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191201135500/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/masala-noodles/how-did-bengalis-become-muslims1/|url-status=live}}</ref> Land grants would require the construction of a shrine and the colonists would gather settlers around these shrines. Society was ordered around the shrine. New communities would engage in forest clearing and cultivation. Locals either merged with these communities or moved away while keeping trading contacts with the rice cultivators.<ref name="Willem van Schendel 30"/>

The Mughal government had no attitude of encouraging Islam in the region and Hindus made up many of these pioneers who had government backing. But most of the pioneers were Muslim. A large number of them were pirs. Richard Eaton asserts that Islam was understood to be linked with the government-accepted acquisition of land in eastern Bengal which had only weak connections with Hindu civilization. The traditions and rituals of eastern Bengal, mosques and shrines blended together. Islam spread in Bengal because of its localisation. Islamic agencies were inserted into the contemporary cosmology, were then associated with local divinities and eventually the Islamic agencies took over the local culture.<ref name="Willem van Schendel 30"/>

===Two great Mughal Subahdars===
==== Islam Khan ====

[[Islam Khan I|Islam Khan]] was appointed the [[Subahdar]] of Bengal in 1608 by Mughal emperor [[Jahangir]]. He ruled Bengal from his capital Dhaka which he renamed as Jahangir Nagar.<ref name=bpedia/> His major task was to subdue the rebellious Rajas, [[Bara-Bhuiyans]], Zamindars and Afghan chiefs. He fought with [[Musa Khan (Bengal Ruler)|Musa Khan]], the leader of Bara-Bhuiyans, and by the end of 1611 Musa Khan was subdued.<ref name=bpedia>{{cite book |last=Karim |first=Abdul |year=2012 |chapter=Islam Khan Chisti |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Islam_Khan_Chisti |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]] |access-date=26 October 2015 |archive-date=2 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202002132/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Islam_Khan_Chisti |url-status=live }}</ref> Islam Khan also defeated [[Pratapaditya]] of [[Jessore (city)|Jessore]], Ram Chandra of [[Bakla, Bangladesh|Bakla]] and [[Manikya Dynasty|Ananta Manikya]] of [[Bhulua Kingdom|Bhulua]]. He annexed the kingdom of [[Koch Hajo|Kamrup]] and subdued [[Cooch Behar State|Koch Bihar]] and [[Barak Valley|Kachhar]], thus taking total control over entire Bengal other than Chittagong.<ref name=bpedia/>

====Shaista Khan====
[[Image:Awesome look of Lalbagh Fort.jpg|thumb|The [[Lalbagh Fort]] was developed by [[Shaista Khan]].]]
[[Shaista Khan]] was appointed the Subahdar (Governor) of Bengal upon the death of [[Mir Jumla II]] in 1663.<ref name=bdpedia>{{cite book |last=Karim |first=Abdul |year=2012 |chapter=Shaista Khan |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Shaista_Khan |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]] |access-date=26 October 2015 |archive-date=1 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141001060230/http://www.banglapedia.org/HT/S_0327.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> He was the longest-serving governor of Bengal. He ruled the province from his administrative headquarters in Dhaka for almost 24 years from 1664 to 1688.<ref name=bdpedia/>

Shaista Khan's great fame in Bengal chiefly rests on his re-conquest of Chittagong. Though Chittagong came under the control of Bengal during Sultan [[Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah]]'s reign in the mid-14th century, it subsequently fell into the hands of [[Rakhine State|Arakanese]] rulers. Shaista Khan gave priority to recapturing Chittagong, and was able to do so in January 1666. The conquest brought a relief and peace to the people of Chittagong as pirates had caused a great distress to the local population.<ref name=bdpedia/>