History of West Bengal
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Template:History of West Bengal
The history of West Bengal basically refers to the history of the western part of Bengal, located in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent. Evidence of human settlement has been found in West Bengal about 42,000 years ago. The presence of human settlement of that period has been found in the Ayodhya Hills of West Bengal.[1][2][3] By 2,000 BCE, settled life had increasingly spread of human civilization in the Damodar-Ajay River Valley, which was contemporary with the Harappa-Mahenjodaro civilization.[4][5] The southern part of West Bengal witnessed the presence of the Vanga Kingdom between 1100 BCE and 350 BCE, which was contemporary with the Vedic civilization of northern India.[5]
Among the Mahajanapadas, Magadha became powerful around 350 BCE, at that time rulers of the Nanda dynasty of Magadha incorporated the territory of West Bengal into their empire. West Bengal was under the rule of all Magadha-centric empires after the Nanda Empire. Tamralipta in West Bengal was the main seaport of the Magadha-centered Maurya Empire.[6] Most of the West Bengal's territory was ruled under the Gupta Empire, that arose in northern India after the collapse of the Magadha-centric empires.
In Bengal, the Gaur kingdom was established in 690 AD, which spread across West Bengal and present-day Bangladesh. Gaur is often referred to as the first well-established independent political entity in Bengal.[7] After this kingdom, the Pala Empire in 750 AD and the Sena Empire in 1070 AD respectively emerged across West Bengal. Both of these empires were mainly Bengal-centric.
Islamic conquests were established in West Bengal as early as the 13th century. At this time Bengal along with West Bengal was included in the Ghaznavid Empire. West Bengal was ruled under the Delhi Sultanate from the 13th to the 14th century and the Bengal Sultanate from the 14th to the 16th century. In the 16th century, after the fall of the Bengal Sultanate, West Bengal came under the Mughal Empire.
Murshidabad in West Bengal was the capital of independent Nawab Bengal (1717–1765). In 1765, the British took over the control of Bengal including West Bengal from the Nawabs of Bengal.[8] The Bengal Presidency of the British Indian Empire was divided into West Bengal and East Bengal in August 1947; West Bengal was included in the Dominion of India and gained independence as a Indian state.
Prehistoric era (until c. 2000 BCE)Edit
Stone AgeEdit
The time from West Bengal's first inhabitation until the the Old Stone Age, or Palaeolithic era.[9][10][11] Palaeolithic sites are mostly found in the upper Gandeshwari, Middle Dwarakeswar, Upper Kangsabati, Upper Tarafeni and Middle Subarnarekha valleys between 87°10' E and 22°30' N - 23°30' N. Evidence of 42,000 years old human habitation has been found in West Bengal.[10] The extensive forest-covered high land and moderate rainfall of the southwestern part of West Bengal provided ideal conditions for the growth and development of the Paleolithic culture. These human settlements have been discovered at Kana and Mahadebbera at the foothills of the Ajodhya Hills.[1][2][3] Microlithic tools found at Kana are 42,000 years old, while microlithic tools found at Mahadevera are 34,000 to 25,000 years old.[2][3] Hatpara on the west bank of Bhagirathi River has evidence of human settlements dating back to around 15,000-20,000 years.[12] About 200 small stone weapons[12] have been found here. Grains and fish bones were also found here. According to archaeologists, the prehistoric civilization of Hatpara was spread along the banks of the Bhagirathi from Ganakar to Mahipala. Fish was a common part of the human diet of the time, and coppery color of the fish bones found at the site indicates that the Burnt fish was eaten.[13]
The western plateau and delta region or the present flood plain area are the two biological regions of West Bengal where Mesolithic sites identified. The microlithic industry of West Bengal was mostly a non-geometric industry. Blades, points, scrapers, lunettes, burins, borers, flakes, and cores are the most common tools used throughout this period. Evidence from this period is scarce.[10][9]
The Neolithic culture took place in five major river valleys, namely Ajay-Mayurakshi river valley, Dwarakeswar-Damodar river valley, Gandeshwari river valley, Tarafeni river valley and Subarnarekha river valley. Also a Neolithic culture developed in Kalimpong. The main tool types recovered from the site include celts (both axes and adzes), wedges, chisels, perforated tools and pounders, along with microliths and bone tools.[14][10]
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gautam Basumallik (30 March 2015). "৪২০০০ বছর আগে অযোধ্যা পাহাড় অঞ্চলে জনবসবাসের নিদর্শন মিলেছে" [42,000 years ago, evidence of human habitation has been found in the Ayodhya Hills region]. www.eisamay.com (in Bengali). Ei Samay. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Bishnupriya Basak; Pradeep Srivastava; Sujit Dasgupta; Anil Kumar; S. N. Rajaguru (10 October 2014). "Earliest dates and implications of Microlithic industries of Late Pleistocene from Mahadebbera and Kana, Purulia district, West Bengal". CURRENT SCIENCE. 107: 1167–1171.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Sebanti Saarkar (21 October 2014). "Bengal just got older by 22000 yrs". www.telegraphindia.com. The Telegraph India. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- ↑ Pradeep Mukherjee (13 December 2022). "প্রায় চার হাজার বছর পূর্বের সভ্যতার নিদর্শন বর্ধমানের 'পাণ্ডু রাজার ঢিবি '" [The 'Mound of Pandu Raja' in Bardhaman is a sign of the civilization of about four thousand years ago.]. www.eisamay.com (in Bengali). Ei Samay. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bharadwaj, G (2003). "The Ancient Period". In Majumdar, RC (ed.). History of Bengal. B.R. Publishing Corp.
- ↑ Haraniya, Krutika (25 June 2017). "Tamralipti - The Ancient Copper Port". www.livehistoryindia.com. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ↑ "প্রাচীন বাংলার ইতিহাস" [History of Ancient Bengal] (PDF). www.ebookbou.edu.bd (in Bengali). Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- ↑ Paul, Gautam. "Murshidabad History - Mir Muhammed Jafar Ali Khan". murshidabad.net. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 T S Sreenivasa Raghavan; Shilpa Krishnan (14 April 2008). "Early human history dug out in WB". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Chennai: The Times of India. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Gourav Debnath (2022). "South Asian History, Culture and Archaeology - "The Evolution of Stone Tool Technology of Pre-Historic West Bengal: A Renewed Archaeological Approach"" (PDF). ESI Journals. ESI Publications. 2: 55–67. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ↑ "Agricultural Communities, Early Period". en.banglapedia.org. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Sebanti Sarkar (27 March 2008). "History of Bengal just got a lot older". www.telegraphindia.com. The Telegraph India. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ↑ Biman Hazra (6 November 2020). "মাছের হাড়, শস্যের দানা মেলে হাটপাড়ায়" [Fish bones, and grains of crop are found in Hatpara]. www.anandabazar.com (in Bengali). Sagradighi: Anandabazar Patrika. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- ↑ Asok Datta (1992). Neolithic Culture in West Benga (PDF). Delhi: Agam Kala Prakashan. Retrieved 9 August 2023.