Sonargaon Essay

803 Words4 Pages
Sonargaon orSunārgāon[1]) or Sunargaon or Suratân was the administrative center of medieval Muslim rulers in East Bengal. It became the capital of Bengal during Isa Khan's ruling. The area falls under present-day Narayanganj District, Bangladesh. Today the name Sonargaon survives as Sonargaon Upazila in that district.[2] Sonargaon was the capital of the ancient kingdom ruled by Isa Khan of Bengal. Sonargaon was known as “The City of Panam” and was a focal part of the renowned Deva Dynasty until the thirteenth century. Mainly middle or upper class people inhabited Sonargaon during that time period. After the thirteenth century Sonargaon was made a secondary capital to the main capital of the Sultanate of Bengal. Pre-Muslim period The name Sonargaon came as the Muslim version of the ancient name Suvarnagrama.[2] Hindu ruler Danujamadhava Dasharathadeva shifted his capital to Suvarnagrama from Bikrampur sometime in the middle of the 13th century.[2] In early 14th century, Hindu ruling in this area ended when Shamsuddin Firoz Shah (reigned 1301–1322) of Lakhnauti occupied and annexed it to his kingdom.[3] Muslim period Muslim settlers first arrived in Sonargaon region in around 1281.[4] Sharfuddin Abu Tawwamah, a medieval Sufi saint and Islamic philosopher came and settled here sometime between 1282 and 1287.[5] He then established his Khanqah and founded aMadrasa. Sonargaon is the eastern terminus of the Grand Trunk Road, which was built by the Pashtun emperor Sher Shah Suri, extended approximately 2500 kilometres from Bangladesh across northern India and Pakistan to Kabul in Afghanistan.[4] [edit]Isa Khan's ruling When Taj Khan Karrani was the independent Afghan ruler of Bengal, Isa Khan obtained an estate in Sonargaon and MaheswardiPargana in 1564 as a vassal of the Karrani rulers. Isa Khan gradually increased his strength and in 1571 he was designated
Open Document