Dhaka, formerly spelled as Dacca in English, is the capital and one of the oldest cities of

Bangladesh. The history of Dhaka begins with the existence of urbanised settlements in the
area that is now Dhaka dating from the 7th century CE. The city area was ruled by the
Buddhist kingdom of Kamarupa before passing to the control of the Sena dynasty in the 9th
century CE.[2] After the Sena dynasty, Dhaka was successively ruled by the Turkic and
Afghan governors descending from the Delhi Sultanate before the arrival of the Mughals in
1608. After Mughals, British ruled the region for over 150 years until the independence of
India. In 1947, Dhaka became the capital of the East Bengal province under the dominion of
Pakistan. After the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, Dhaka became the capital of the
new state.

Contents

1 Etymology

2 Kamarupa kingdom

3 Hindu kingdom

4 Sultanate Period

5 Mughal rule and rise as the capital of Bengal

o 5.1 Portuguese settlements

6 Nawab era
o 6.1 Naib-Nazim of Dhaka
o 6.2 Armenian settlements

7 British East India Company rule (17721857)

o 7.1 Rise of Dhaka Nawab Estate

8 British Raj rule (18581947)

9 East Bengal's (later East Pakistan's) capital (19471971)

10 Post-independence of Bangladesh (1971present)

11 See also

12 References

13 External links

Etymology

Dhakeshwari Temple
There are several myths on the origin of the name Dhaka. One is that the name came
following the establishment of Dhakeshwari temple by Raja Ballal Sena in the 12th century
and Dhakeswari is the name of a Goddess. While others say that Dhakeshwari stands the
meaning of Goddess of Dhaka; so the temple must have been named after the region. Another
myths says that the Dhak (a membranophone instrument) is used as part of the Durga Puja
festival in this temple and hence the name Dhaka. Yet another one says it came from the plant
named Dhak (Buttea Frondosa) which was widely found in that area.[3]
The more credible theory comes from the source of Rajatarangini written by a Kashmiri
Brahman, Kalhana.[3] It says the region was originally known as Dhakka. The word Dhakka
means watchtower. Bikrampur and Sonargaonthe earlier strongholds of Bengal rulers were
situated nearby. So Dhaka was most likely used as the watchtower for the fortification
purpose.[3]

Kamarupa kingdom
Main article: Kamarupa
Kamarupa kingdom, also known as Pragjyotisa, existed between 350 and 1140 CE.[4]
According to the chronicle of Yogini Tantra, the southern boundary of the kingdom stretched
up to the junction of Brahmaputra River and Shitalakshya River which covered the Dhaka
region.[5] Pala Empire was the last dynasty to rule the whole Kamarupa region. During their
reign between the 8th century until the late 11th century, Vikrampur, a region 12 miles from
Dhaka, was their capital. The Pala rulers were Buddhists, but majority of their subjects were
Hindus.[6]

Hindu kingdom
Sena dynasty's founder, Hemanta Sen, was part of the Pala dynasty until their empire began
to weaken.[7] He usurped power and styled himself king in 1095 AD. Then largely Hindu
community populated the lower Dhaka region. Still existent localities like Laksmibazar,
Banglabazar, Sutrapur, Jaluanagar, Banianagar, Goalnagar, Tantibazar, Shakhari Bazar,
Sutarnagar, Kamarnagar, Patuatuli and Kumartuli are the examples of settlements of Hindu
craftsmen and professionals in that era.[8] According to popular legend, Dhakeshwari Temple
was built by Ballal Sena, the second Sena ruler.[9] Another tradition says, there were fifty two

bazaars and fifty three streets and the region acquired the name of "Baunno Bazaar O Teppun
Gulli".[10]

Sultanate Period

Binat Bibi Mosque (1454) the earliest known mosque surviving in Dhaka
Upon arrival of Islam in this region, Turkish and Afghan rulers reigned the area from the
early 14th century until the late 16th century. An Afghan fort (also known as Old Fort of
Dhaka) was built at that time which was later converted to the present-form of Dhaka Central
Jail in 1820 by the British.[11] A 17th century historian, Mirza Nathan, described the fort in his
book Baharistan-i-Ghaibi as "surrounded by mud walls and the largest and strongest in preMughal era".[11]
In 1412 Shah Ali Baghdadi, a saint arrived in Delhi and then came to Dhaka where he
became a disciple of Shah Bahar of the Chistia order.[12] His tomb is still at Mirpur on the
outskirts of Dhaka.
Binat Bibi Mosque was built in 1454 at Narinda area of Dhaka during the reign of the Sultan
of Bengal, Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah (r. 1435 1459).[13] It is the oldest brick structure that
still exists in the city.[14]
According to the inscription found near the present-day Central Jail area, the gate of
Naswallagali Mosque was renoveated in 1459 AD.[8][15]
Around 1550 a Portuguese historian, Joo de Barros, first inserted Dhaka into the map in his
book Dcadas da sia (Decades of Asia).[8]

Mughal rule and rise as the capital of Bengal

Painting of Lalbagh Kella by Charles D'Oyly in 1814

Lalbagh Kella in 2007

1870 photograph of Bara Katra.

Dhaka came into the domain of Mughal Empire during the reign of Akbar after the Battle of
Tukaroi which was fought in 1575 near the village of Tukaroi now in Balasore District,
Odisha between the Mughals and the Karrani Sultanate of Bengal and Bihar. [16]
However, during this reign of Emperor Akbar (r. 15561605), Dhaka was referred as a Thana
(a military outpost).[17] Dhaka was situated in Bhati region which hosted several rebel forces
led by Bara-Bhuiyans from mid to late 16th century. After the leader of Bara-Bhuiyans, Musa
Khan, was subdued by Mughal General Islam Khan Chisti in 1608, Dhaka again went
directly under control of Mughals.
The newly appointed Governor of Bengal, Islam Khan transferred the Bengal capital from
Rajmahal to Dhaka in order to crush further rebel uprisings.[8] This initiated a new era of the
history of Dhaka as the capital city of Mughol province of Bengal. He also renamed Dhaka as
Jahangirnagar (City of Jahangir) after the Emperor Jahangir. Due to its location right beside
some main river routes, Dhaka was an important center for business. The Muslin fabric was
produced and traded in this area. He successfully crushed the regional revolts in Jessore,
Bakla (present days Barisal) and Bhulua (present days Noakhali) and brought almost the
entire province under the Mughal domain.[8]

Shaista Khan, governor of Bengal (1664-1688)

As the next governor, Prince Shuja built Bara Katra between 1644 and 1646 in Dhaka to
serve as his official residence. He also patronized building of Hussaini Dalan, a Shia shrine in
old Dhaka though he himself was a Sunni. In the late 1640s, for personal and political
reasons, he made the temporary move to shift the capital back to Rajmahal. Dhaka became a
subordinate station.
Due to political turmoil, Emperor Aurangzeb sent Mir Jumla to deal with Prince Shuja.[18] He
pursued Shuja up to Dhaka and reached the city on 9 May 1660. But Shuja fled to Arakan
region. As Jumla was ordered to become the next Governor of Bengal, Dhaka was again
made the capital of the region. He was engaged in construction activities in Dhaka and its
suburbs - two roads, two bridges and a network of forts. A fort at Tangi-Jamalpur guarded one
of the roads connecting Dhaka with the northern districts which is now known as
Mymensingh Road.[18] He built Mir Jumla Gate at the northern border to defend the city from
the attacks of Magh pirates. Italian traveler Niccolao Manucci came to Dhaka in 1662-1663.
[19]
According to him, Dhaka had large number of inhabitants compare to the size of the city.
Most of the houses were built of straw. There were only two kuthis - one of the English and
the other of the Dutch. Ships were loaded with fine white cotton and silk fabrics. A large
number of Christians and white and black Portuguese resided in Dhaka.[19]
Construction of Lalbagh Fort was commenced in 1678 by Prince Muhammad Azam during
his 15-month-long governorship of Bengal, but before the work could complete, he was
recalled by Emperor Aurangzeb.
The largest expansion of the city took place under the next Mughal governor Shaista Khan
(16641688). The city then stretched for 12 miles in length and 8 miles in breadth and is
believed to have had a population of nearly a million people.[20] The Chawk Mosque,
Babubazar Mosque, Sat Gumbad Mosque, Choto Katra were originally built during this
period. He also built tombs of Bibi Pari, Bibi Champa and Dara Begum.[8] A French traveler,
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, arrived Dhaka on 13 January 1666 and met Shaista Khan.[21] He
referred Shaista Khan as "the uncle of King Aurangzeb and the cleverest man in all his
kingdom".[21]
Prince Azim-ush-Shan became the Governor of Bengal in 1697. Due to conflict with Diwan
Murshid Quli Khan, he shifted his office from Dhaka to Patna in 1703.[22][23] Murshid Khan
also shifted his office to Mauksusabad (later renamed it to Murshidabad).

Portuguese settlements

Holy Rosary Church built by Portuguese missionaries in 1677

In Bengal region, the Portuguese made the principal trading center in Hooghly.[24] They also
made small settlements in Dhaka in about 1580.[25] Ralph Fitch, an English traveler, recorded
in 1586 that Portuguese traders were involved in shipping rice, cotton and silk goods.[25]
Tavernier mentioned about churches built in Dhaka by Portuguese Augustinian missionaries.
J.J. Campos, an editor of Asiatic Society of Bengal, named several Portuguese churches in
Dhaka - Church of Our Lady of Rosary, Church of St. Nicholas of Tolentino, Church of the
Holy Ghost and Church of our Lady Piety.[26]
During the viceroyalty of Shaista Khan, another section of the Portuguese came from
Sandwip and Arakan and settled in Dhaka at a place called Feringhi Bazar.[25]
Sebastien Manrique, a Portuguese missionary and traveler, visited Dhaka in September 1640
and spent about 27 days around the area.[24] According to him, the city extended along the
Buriganga river for over four and a half miles from Maneswar to Narinda and Fulbaria.
Christian communities lived around these suburbs in the west, east and north. He further
mentioned "a small but beautiful church with a convent" in Dhaka. In his words,

This is the chief city in Bengala and the seat of the principal N