History of Bengal - Medieval Bengal

Medieval Bengal

  • Raja Ganesha is regarded as one of the most powerful rulers in Medieval Bengal.

  • The Mosque City of Bagerhat has more than 50 Islamic monuments. The site has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983, "as an outstanding example of an architectural ensemble which illustrates a significant stage in human history", of which the Sixty Pillar Mosque, constructed with 60 pillars and 77 domes, is the most well known.

  • Pari Bibi's mazar at the Lalbagh Fort, the center of Mughal military power in Dhaka and an intrinsic part of the history of the city, founded by Muhammad Azam Shah in 1678.

  • Kantaji Temple is a late medieval Hindu temple built by Maharaja Pran Nath. It boasts one of the greatest examples on Terracotta architecture and once had nine spires, but all were destroyed in an earthquake that took place in 1897.

Islam made its first appearance in Bengal during the 12th century when Sufi missionaries arrived. Later, occasional Muslim raiders reinforced the process of conversion by building mosques, madrassas and Sufi Khanqah. Beginning in 1202 a military commander from the Delhi Sultanate, Bakhtiar Khilji, overran Bihar and Bengal as far east as Rangpur, Bogra and the Brahmaputra River. Although he failed to bring Bengal under his control, the expedition managed to defeat Lakshman Sen and his two sons moved to a place then called Vikrampur (present-day Munshiganj District), where their diminished dominion lasted until the late 13th century.

During the 14th century, the former kingdom became known as the Sultanate of Bengal, ruled intermittently with the Sultanate of Delhi as well as powerful Hindu states and land-lords-Baro-Bhuyans.

Read more about this topic:  History Of Bengal

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    “Nothing in medieval dress distinguished the child from the adult. In the seventeenth century, however, the child, or at least the child of quality, whether noble or middle-class, ceased to be dressed like the grown-up. This is the essential point: henceforth he had an outfit reserved for his age group, which set him apart from the adults. These can be seen from the first glance at any of the numerous child portraits painted at the beginning of the seventeenth century.”
    —Philippe Ariés (20th century)

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