SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The history of Bengal, with its beginnings hidden in obscurity, may be traced as far back as 800 B.C. Epigraphic material is available from about 400 A.D. Its main geographical divisions were Suhma (or Radha), Vanga, Samatata and Pundravardhana. Aryan influence operated through the intermediaries of Magadha, Anga and Videha. Its relationships with the outer world were maintained through Tamralipta. The greater part of Bengal was allied with Tamraliptra during Alexander's invasion, probably annexed to the Maurya Empire by Asoka. In the first century B.C. it may have helped Kharavela's army to cross the Ganges. In the second century A.D. part of Bengal was independent, the rest under the control of the Murundas and the Mandalai. Later it was under different rulers, some at least of local origin and endowed with warlike gifts. The native dynasties, with the exception of the one connected with Samatata, were swept away by the Guptas. The break-up of the Gupta dynasty stimulated political ambition, crystallising into an effort towards imperialism. The seeds of the antagonism between Kanauj and Gauda, subsequently the pivot of North Indian politics, were sown at this time. Harsha, allied with Assam, crippled Sasanka's wider plans. In the seventh century the Khadgas ruled in Samatata. The absence of a strong central government invited foreign invasions and encouraged anarchy at home. The Pala dynasty (c.A.D.750-1125) organised an empire including Magadha, Assam and Orissa. Several causes hastened its downfall: invasions of the Cholas and the Kambojas, the Gurjara-Pratihara ascendency in North Bengal, the uprising of the Kaivartas, and the growth of independent dynasties, such as the Chandras, the Varmans, etc. The Palas continued to rule precariously in Bihar till about the Muhammedan conquest, leaving the Bengal empire to the Senas, who came from the south. The Senas were overthrown by the Muhammedans about 1200 A.D.