Timeline (Early Bengal)
year event
320-180 BC Mauryan empire ● First well organized empire
● The first to bring Buddhism in
Bengal
● Sea trade started in Bengal
● Mahinda, son of Ashoka and his
sister carried massages to Sri Lanka
4th Century AD Gupta empire ● strong central government, which
brought peace and prosperity
● political stability trade and commerce
resulted in economic prosperity
● religious toleration and coexistence
of religious beliefs
● Art and culture flourished during this
time
600-625 AD Shashanka’s rule ● Made Bengal important in the map of
ancient India
● Extended Bengal’s influence till
Northern India
● Patronized art and architecture in
Bengal
● Religiously tolerant
● Brought Bengal under one identity as
the first ruler
● Defended against a strong adversary
7th Century AD Khadga kings ● Kingdom in the southeast Bengal
(Southeast Bengal)
650-750 Matsyanyam ● Unstable political situation and
lawlessness
● Unrest in the civil society
● Economy falling due to unrest
● Anarchy
● Bengal broke into smaller kingdoms
8th Century AD Deva Dynasty ● Four generations of kings who ruled
(south east bengal) the Samatata
● They were Buddhists
● Under them Mainamati area rose to
prominence as a Buddhist cultural
center
756-1124 Pala dynasty ● Benevolence
● Religious tolerance
● Strong and able administration
● Good relationship with neighboring
Buddhist rulers
● Art and culture flourished during this
time
○ Construction of monasteries
○ Artworks depicted daily life
occurrences
○ Hymns written by Buddhist
monks
756-781 Gopala ● Gopala brought an end to
Matsyayanam
● Established the Pala dynasty
● The whole area of north and western
Bengal
781-821 Dharmapala ● Annexed Bihar and the north Indian
region of Kanauj
● Credited with the foundation of the
Vkramshila monastery and the
Somapura Mahavira at Paharpur
● Religiously tolerant
● Sea trade flourished under his rule
9th Century Ad Kanti Deva ● The first independent ruler of
(southeast Bengal) Harikela
821-861 Devapala ● Conquered large areas of northern
India, Orissa and Kamarupa
● Great patron of the famous seat of
learning a Nalanda
● Granted 5 villages for the monastery
built at Nalanda build by
Balapuradev and the Shailendra king
of Java and Sumatra
900-1050 The Chandra ● Five generations ruled
(southeast Bengal) ● Empire embraced areas of Vanga and
Samatata
● Srichandra was the greatest ruler
1080-1150 The Varman Dynasty ● Established their rule taking
(south Southeast Bengal) advantage of the Kaviarta rebellion
● Hindus and capital at Vikrampur
995-1043 Mahipala ● Gave a second lease of life to the
Pala empire
● Successful in recapturing the lost
territories in western Bengal
● Is well known for his ballads folklore
1082-1124 Ramapala ● Tried to establish peace and stability
in Bengal
● Built a new capital at Ramavati
1098-1160 Vijaya Sena ● Restored administration
● Expanded their kingdom
1160-1178 Vallala Sena ● Emergence of orthodox Hinduism
(caste system)
1178-1204 Lakshmana Sena ● Generous and righteous rule
● Patronized art, literature and
architecture
1204 Battle of Nadia ● End of the Sena dynasty and Muslim
rule was established
1204-1206 Bakhtiar Khalji ● First Muslim ruler of Bengal
● During his time, Sufis started coming
in Bengal and had a huge impact in
spreading of Islam
● Issued coinage
● Divided his kingdom into districts
and also appointed governors who
were expected to
● maintain law and order
● Built numerous mosques, madrasas
and khanqahs
1212-1227 Iwaz Khalji
1265-1287 Balban ruled as the sultan
1301-1322 Shamsuddin Firuz Shah
1338-1349 Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah ● Founder of the earliest sultanate of
Bengal
● Headquarters at Sonargaon
● He dominated the greater districts of
Comilla, Noakhalli, Sylhet and
Chittagong
1342-1358 Iliyas Shah ● Bringing all the three major regions
of Bengal together
● Practice of religious toleration
● Defended Bengal from foreign
invasion
● Robust foreign relations
● Local armed forces
● Equality in administration
● Establishing Bengali identity
1358-1390 Sikander Shah ● Ruled a prosperous Bengal
● Stopped the efforts of the sultans of
Delhi to capture Bengal
1390-1410 Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah ● Art and culture flourished
● Thriving foreign relations
1410-1413 Saifuddin Hamza Shah ● He was killed by his slave
● Raja Ganesh took over
1414-1415 1416- Raja Ganesh ● Local rulers
1418 ● Raja Ganesh, Jalaluddin and his
successors regarded themselves as
Bengalis and
● adopted Bengali customs to a greater
extent
● During Jalaluddin’s rule, Bengali
become one of the court languages,
along with Persian
● They were often referred to as
‘Rajas’ a Bengali expression and
used the symbol of the
● lion on their coins
● Architecture began to make use of
Bengali styles and the development
of Bengali
● literature was encouraged
1415-1435 Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah ● First local Muslim ruler of Bengal
● A peaceful reign of about two
decades helped Jalaluddin to exercise
authority over
● almost the whole of Bengal,
including eastern Bengal and
Chittagong
● He maintained good relations with
the religious institutions and
personalities of Bengal
● who had been persecuted during the
reign of his father
● During his rule, Bengali become one
of the court languages, along with
Persian
● Jalaluddin and his successors
regarded themselves as Bengalis and
adopted Bengali
● customs to a greater extent
● Architecture began to make use of
Bengali styles and the development
of Bengali
● literature was encouraged
1435-1459 Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah ● The boundary of Bengal was greatly
extended
● Progress in Muslim settlements
1459-1474 Rukhunuddin Barbak Shah ● He was religiously tolerant
1494-1519 Husain Shah ● Hussein Shah conquered Kamarupa,
Kamata, Jajnagar, and Orissa and
extended the sultanate all the way to
the port of Chittagong
● Religious toleration
● Patronized art, culture, and
architecture
● Attracted foreign traders to trade
1519-1532 Nusrat Shah ● Diplomatic
○ Did not want to confront
neither the Mughals nor Lodi
○ Maintained good relations
with both of them
1533-1538 Mahmud Shah ● The last of the Bengali Sultanate