Editing Bengal (section)

===Antiquity===
{{See also|Vanga Kingdom|Gauda Kingdom|Samatata|Pala Empire|Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah}}
[[File:WLA lacma West Bengal Vase with Processional Scenes ca 100 BC.jpg|thumb|left|Pottery with processional scenes from the [[Chandraketugarh|Chandraketugarh region]] of West Bengal, India, c. 100 BC.]]
[[File:Durga Mahishasuramardini slaying the Buffalo Demon, Bengal, India, or Bangladesh, Pala dynasty, 1100s AD, phyllite - Dallas Museum of Art - DSC05056.jpg|thumb|left|Goddess Durga, Pala period, 10th century.]][[File:Delhi Sultanate Coin from Gaur, Bengal in the British Museum.jpg|thumb|Coin featuring a horseman issued by the [[Delhi Sultanate]] celebrating the Muslim conquest of [[Lakhnauti]]|left]]
[[File:Vanga coin (400-300 BCE).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Coinage of India#Origin of currency in Indian subcontinent|Coinage]] of [[Vanga Kingdom]], 400–300 BCE]]
[[File:Atisha.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Atisa]] of [[Bikrampur]]]]
[[Neolithic]] sites have been found in several parts of the region.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Prehistory |title=Prehistory |website=Banglapedia}}</ref> In the second millennium BCE, rice-cultivating communities dotted the region. By the eleventh century BCE, people in Bengal lived in systematically aligned homes, produced copper objects, and crafted black and red pottery. Remnants of [[Copper Age]] settlements are located in the region.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-50746 |title=Wari-Bateshwar: In search of origins |work=The Daily Star |date=18 August 2008}}</ref> At the advent of the [[Iron Age]], people in Bengal adopted iron-based weapons, tools and irrigation equipment.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft067n99v9&chunk.id=d0e788&toc.depth=100&toc.id=ch01&brand=ucpress |title=The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760}}</ref> From 600&nbsp;BCE, the second wave of urbanisation engulfed the north Indian subcontinent as part of the [[Northern Black Polished Ware]] culture. Ancient archaeological sites and cities in [[Dihar (archaeological site)|Dihar]], [[Pandu Rajar Dhibi]], [[Mahasthangarh]], [[Chandraketugarh]] and [[Wari-Bateshwar ruins|Wari-Bateshwar]] emerged. The [[Ganges]], [[Brahmaputra]] and [[Meghna]] rivers were natural arteries for communication and transportation.<ref name="google5" /> [[Estuary|Estuaries]] on the [[Bay of Bengal]] allowed for [[maritime industry|maritime]] trade with distant lands in Southeast Asia and elsewhere.<ref name="google5" />

The ancient geopolitical divisions of Bengal included [[Varendra]], [[Suhma]], [[Anga]], [[Vanga Kingdom|Vanga]], [[Samatata]] and [[Harikela]]. These regions were often independent or under the rule of larger empires. The Mahasthan [[Brahmi]] Inscription indicates that Bengal was ruled by the [[Mauryan Empire]] in the 3rd century BCE.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Mahasthan_Brahmi_Inscription|title=Mahasthan Brahmi Inscription |website=Banglapedia}}</ref> The inscription was an administrative order instructing relief for a distressed segment of the population.<ref name="auto1"/> [[Punch-marked coins]] found in the region indicate that [[coin]]s were used as currency during the Iron Age.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Punch_Marked_Coins|title=Punch Marked Coins |website=Banglapedia}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bb.org.bd/museum/collections/ancient.php|title=About Taka Museum|website=bb.org.bd}}</ref> The namesake of Bengal is the ancient Vanga Kingdom which was reputed as a naval power with overseas colonies. A prince from Bengal named [[Prince Vijaya|Vijaya]] founded the first kingdom in [[Sri Lanka]]. The two most prominent pan-Indian empires of this period included the Mauryans and the [[Gupta Empire]]. The region was a centre of artistic, political, social, spiritual and scientific thinking, including the invention of [[chess]], [[Indian numerals]], and the concept of [[zero]].<ref name="Murray 1913">{{cite book |last=Murray |first=H. J. R. |author-link=H. J. R. Murray |title=A History of Chess |publisher=Benjamin Press (originally published by Oxford University Press) |year=1913 |isbn=978-0-936317-01-4 |oclc=13472872 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofchess00murr }}</ref>

The region was known to the ancient [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]] and [[Roman world|Romans]] as [[Gangaridai]].<ref name=Gangaridai>{{cite web |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Gangaridai |title=Gangaridai |access-date=5 August 2015 |last=Chowdhury |first=AM |website=[[Banglapedia]] |publisher=Asiatic Society of Bangladesh |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602094443/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Gangaridai |archive-date=2 June 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Greek ambassador [[Megasthenes]] chronicled its military strength and dominance of the [[Ganges delta]]. The invasion army of [[Alexander the Great]] was deterred by the accounts of Gangaridai's power in 325&nbsp;BCE, including a [[cavalry]] of [[war elephant]]s. Later Roman accounts noted maritime trade routes with Bengal. 1st century Roman coins with images of [[Hercules]] were found in the region and point to trade links with [[Roman Egypt]] through the [[Red Sea]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.archaeology.org/issues/112-1311/letter-from/1406-wari-bateshwar-ptolemy-sounagoura-indo-pacific-beads#art_page2 |title=A Family's Passion |magazine=Archaeology Magazine |date=November–December 2013}}</ref> The [[Wari-Bateshwar ruins]] are believed to be the emporium (trading centre) of Sounagoura mentioned by Roman geographer [[Claudius Ptolemy]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10081769/1/Man_and_Environment_Bangladesh_Archaeobotany_7_01_2019.pdf |title=Wari-Bateshwar and Vikrampura: 2 Successful Case Studies in Bangladesh 3 Archaeobotany |publisher=University College London |access-date=6 March 2023 |author=Mizanur Rahman |display-authors=et. al.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-28431 |title=Wari-Bateshwar one of earliest kingdoms |first1=Emran |last1=Hossain |date=19 March 2008 |work=The Daily Star}}</ref> A Roman amphora was found in [[Purba Medinipur district]] of West Bengal which was made in [[Aelana]] (present-day Aqaba, [[Jordan]]) between the 4th and 7th centuries AD.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sarkar |first1=Sebanti |date=19 February 2018 |title=In rural Bengal, an indefatigable relic hunter has uncovered a hidden chapter of history |url=https://scroll.in/magazine/868330/in-rural-bengal-an-indefatigable-relic-hunter-has-uncovered-a-hidden-chapter-of-history |work=Scroll.in |access-date=18 February 2024}}</ref>
[[File:Pañcarakṣā (Cambridge University Library MS Add.1688).jpg|thumb|Buddhist palm leaf manuscript, 10th century CE.]]
The first unified Bengali polity can be traced to the reign of [[Shashanka]]. The origins of the [[Bengali calendar]] can be traced to his reign. Shashanka founded the [[Gauda Kingdom]]. After Shashanka's death, Bengal experienced a period of civil war known as Matsyanyayam.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Matsyanyayam | title=Matsyanyayam |website=Banglapedia}}</ref> The ancient city of [[Gauda (city)|Gauda]] later gave birth to the [[Pala Empire]]. The first Pala emperor [[Gopala I]] was chosen by an assembly of chieftains in Gauda. The Pala kingdom grew into one of the largest empires in the Indian subcontinent. The Pala period saw advances in linguistics, sculpture, painting, and education. The empire achieved its greatest territorial extent under [[Dharmapala (emperor)|Dharmapala]] and [[Devapala (Pala dynasty)|Devapala]]. The Palas vied for control of [[Kannauj]] with the rival [[Gurjara-Pratihara]] and [[Rashtrakuta]] dynasties. Pala influence also extended to [[Tibet]] and [[Sumatra]] due to the travels and preachings of [[Atisa]]. The university of [[Nalanda]] was established by the Palas. They also built the [[Somapura Mahavihara]], which was the largest monastic institution in the subcontinent. The rule of the Palas eventually disintegrated. The [[Chandra dynasty]] ruled southeastern Bengal and [[Arakan]]. The [[Varman dynasty]] ruled parts of northeastern Bengal and [[Assam]]. The [[Sena dynasty]] emerged as the main successor of the Palas by the 11th century. The Senas were a resurgent Hindu dynasty which ruled much of Bengal. The smaller [[Deva dynasty]] also ruled parts of the region. Ancient Chinese visitors like [[Xuanzang]] provided elaborate accounts of Bengal's cities and monastic institutions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Hiuen-Tsang | title=Hiuen-Tsang |website=Banglapedia}}</ref>

Muslim trade with Bengal flourished after the fall of the [[Sasanian Empire]] and the [[Arab]] takeover of Persian trade routes. Much of this trade occurred with southeastern Bengal in areas east of the [[Meghna River]]. Bengal was probably used as a transit route to China by the earliest Muslims. [[Abbasid]] coins have been discovered in the archaeological ruins of [[Somapura Mahavihara|Paharpur]] and [[Mainamati]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Coins|title=Coins |website=Banglapedia}}</ref> A collection of Sasanian, [[Umayyad]] and Abbasid coins are preserved in the [[Bangladesh National Museum]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.asiaticsociety.org.bd/journal/H_DEC_2017/4_H_Shariful%20%20&%20Monir.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.asiaticsociety.org.bd/journal/H_DEC_2017/4_H_Shariful%20%20&%20Monir.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |title=Microsoft Word – 4_H_942 Revised_ Monir m.doc |access-date=6 February 2022}}</ref>