Pre-600 C.E	600-1200 C.E	1200-1500 C.E	1500-1800 C.E	1800-Present
Addendum: Segregation in Islamic Society		Addendum: Incidences of Sufi appropriation of Hindu Spirituality

 

In the links above, we have made an effort to generate a simplified diagram of the historical epochs in the region of Bengal and its proximity. A close study of the history of Bengal, reveals a generic pattern which is common to many other geographic regions in Asia, be it Indonesia, Afghanistan or Persia. From a glorious Hindu past where the region excelled in arts, architecture, science and literature, to a Islamic period that witnessed a period of violence, anarchy and dilution of Hinduism, slowly replaced by Islamic dogmas; all of which eventually culminating into a greater Islamic Bangladesh and a smaller Hindu West Bengal as we know it today.

In earliest known historical documents, Bengal is referred to as Anga, one of the sixteen prosperous Mahajanapada or republics that formed South Asia during 6th century BC. In the next 2600 years, Bengal contributed to the world in various ways, from the great Gupta dynasty who reigned in Asia during what unarguably is the golden age of Bengal and India, to the great men and woman of Bengal renaissance like Swami Vivekananda, Jagadish Chandra Bose and Rabindranath Tagore. But perhaps one of the most defining moment in the history of Bengal is the first Islamic invasion of the region by Bakhtiyar Khiji, which started an era, lasting over five centuries, during which most of Bengal was dominated by rulers professing the Islamic faith and eventually leading Bengal into being the second largest converted ethnic population in the world after the Arabs.