Bengal Subah

**Bengal Subah**
(1576–1717)
**Bengal State**
(1717–1793)
Bengal Subah; (1576–1717)Bengal State; (1717–1793)
1576–1793
	Flag of the Nawab of Bengal Coat of arms
	Map of the Bengal Subah in 1733 under the Nawabs of Bengal
Status	Province of the Mughal Empire (1576–1717); Mughal Empire (De jure 1717–1757); De facto independent (1717–1757); British puppet state (1757–1793);
Capital	Tanda; (1576–1590); Akbarnagar; (1595–96; 1639–1660); Jahangirnagar; (1608–39; 1660–1711); Murshidabad; (1711–1763; 1765–1793); Munger; (1763–1765);
Common languages	Persian (official); Bengali (official); Arabic (religious);
Religion	Islam (official); Hinduism and other Indian religions (minority);
Government	Viceroyalty (1576–1717); Absolute monarchy (1717–1757); Oligarchy with restricted monarchial figurehead (1757–1793);
Subahdars/Nawab Nazims; (see below)
Historical era	Early modern period
• Battle of Raj Mahal	12 July 1576
• Baro Bhuiyan revolt	1571–1611
• Establishment of Jahangirnagar	1608
• Self-governance	1717
• Maratha invasions	April 1741–March 1751
• Battle of Plassey	23 June 1757
• Battle of Buxar	22–23 October 1764
• Treaty of Allahabad	16 August 1765
• Grant of administration and judiciary to Company	1793
Area
• 1601	90,319 sq mi (233,930 km2)
Currency	Taka
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	1576:; Bengal Sultanate
	1610:; Baro Bhuiyan
	1666:; Portuguese Chittagong
	Kingdom of Mrauk U
Bengal Presidency
Today part of	Bangladesh; India; Myanmar;

The Bengal Subah (Bengali: সুবাহ বাংলা, Persian: صوبه بنگاله), also referred to as Mughal Bengal and Bengal State (after 1717), was one of the largest subdivision of Mughal India encompassing much of the Bengal region, which includes modern-day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and some parts of the present-day Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha between the 16th and 18th centuries. The state was established following the dissolution of the Bengal Sultanate, a major trading nation in the world, when the region was absorbed into the Mughal Empire. Bengal was the wealthiest region in the Indian subcontinent.

Bengal Subah has been variously described the "Paradise of Nations"^[8] and the "Golden Age of Bengal".^[9] It alone accounted for 40% of Dutch imports from Asia.^[10] The eastern part of Bengal was globally prominent in industries such as textile manufacturing and shipbuilding,^[11] and it was a major exporter of silk and cotton textiles, steel, saltpeter, and agricultural and industrial produce in the world.^[12] The region was also the basis of the Anglo-Bengal War.^[13]

By the 18th century, Bengal emerged as a semi-independent state, under the rule of the Nawabs of Bengal, who acted on Mughal sovereignty. It started to undergo proto-industrialization, making significant contributions to the first Industrial Revolution,^[14]^[15]^[16]^[17] especially industrial textile manufacturing. In 1757 and 1764, the Company defeated the Nawab of Bengal at the Battle of Plassey and the Battle of Buxar, and Bengal came under British influence. It was deindustrialized^[14]^[15]^[16]^[12] after being conquered by the British East India Company. In 1765, Emperor Shah Alam II granted the office of the Diwani of Bengal (second-highest office in a province, included revenue rights) to the Company and the office of the Nizamat of Bengal (highest office, administrative and judicial rights) in 1793.^[18] The Nawab of Bengal, who previously possessed both these offices, was now formally powerless and became a titular monarch.

^ Era, Mahmuda Iasmin (2023). The 'Swadeshi Jinish' from the 'Didima Company': An analysis of the connection between Thakurmar Jhuli by Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumder and nationalism in Bengal in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century (Doctoral dissertation). Memorial University of Newfoundland. [1]
^ Akhtaruzzaman, Muhammad (2012). "Tandah". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
^ "Rajmahal – India". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 12 October 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
^ "Dhaka – national capital, Bangladesh". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
^ Rizvi, Saiyid Athar Abbas (1986). A Socio-intellectual History of the Isnā 'Asharī Shī'īs in India: 16th to 19th century A.D. Vol. 2. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. pp. 45–47.
^ Rieck, Andreas (15 January 2016). The Shias of Pakistan: An Assertive and Beleaguered Minority. Oxford University Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-19-061320-4.
^ Habib, Irfan (1986). "Table I: Area and ʽJama of the Mughal Empire, c. 1601". An Atlas of the Mughal Empire: Political and Economic Maps with Detained Notes, Bibliography and Index. Oxford University Press. pp. xii–xiii. ISBN 978-0-19-560379-8.
^ Steel, Tim (19 December 2014). "The paradise of nations". Op-ed. Dhaka Tribune. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
^ Islam, Sirajul (1992). History of Bangladesh, 1704–1971: Economic history. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 978-984-512-337-2.
^ Cite error: The named reference Prakash was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Indrajit Ray (2011). Bengal Industries and the British Industrial Revolution (1757–1857). Routledge. pp. 57, 90, 174. ISBN 978-1-136-82552-1. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference star was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Vaughn, James M. (March 2018). "John Company Armed: The English East India Company, the Anglo-Mughal War and Absolutist Imperialism, c. 1675–1690". Britain and the World. 11 (1): 101–137. doi:10.3366/brw.2017.0283.
^ ^a ^b Junie T. Tong (2016). Finance and Society in 21st Century China: Chinese Culture Versus Western Markets. CRC Press. p. 151. ISBN 978-1-317-13522-7.
^ ^a ^b John L. Esposito, ed. (2004). The Islamic World: Past and Present. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-19-516520-3. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
^ ^a ^b Indrajit Ray (2011). Bengal Industries and the British Industrial Revolution (1757–1857). Routledge. pp. 7–10. ISBN 978-1-136-82552-1. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
^ Cite error: The named reference sengupta was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ The Bengalis. p. 143.

[1] Era, Mahmuda Iasmin (2023). The 'Swadeshi Jinish' from the 'Didima Company': An analysis of the connection between Thakurmar Jhuli by Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumder and nationalism in Bengal in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century (Doctoral dissertation). Memorial University of Newfoundland. [1]

[bpedia-2] Akhtaruzzaman, Muhammad (2012). "Tandah". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 9 May 2025.

[3] "Rajmahal – India". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 12 October 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.

[4] "Dhaka – national capital, Bangladesh". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2018.

[Rizvi1986-5] Rizvi, Saiyid Athar Abbas (1986). A Socio-intellectual History of the Isnā 'Asharī Shī'īs in India: 16th to 19th century A.D. Vol. 2. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. pp. 45–47.

[Rieck2016-6] Rieck, Andreas (15 January 2016). The Shias of Pakistan: An Assertive and Beleaguered Minority. Oxford University Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-19-061320-4.

[7] Habib, Irfan (1986). "Table I: Area and ʽJama of the Mughal Empire, c. 1601". An Atlas of the Mughal Empire: Political and Economic Maps with Detained Notes, Bibliography and Index. Oxford University Press. pp. xii–xiii. ISBN 978-0-19-560379-8.

[8] Steel, Tim (19 December 2014). "The paradise of nations". Op-ed. Dhaka Tribune. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.

[:1-9] Islam, Sirajul (1992). History of Bangladesh, 1704–1971: Economic history. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 978-984-512-337-2.

[Prakash-10] Cite error: The named reference Prakash was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[ray-11] Indrajit Ray (2011). Bengal Industries and the British Industrial Revolution (1757–1857). Routledge. pp. 57, 90, 174. ISBN 978-1-136-82552-1. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2019.

[star-12] Cite error: The named reference star was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[13] Vaughn, James M. (March 2018). "John Company Armed: The English East India Company, the Anglo-Mughal War and Absolutist Imperialism, c. 1675–1690". Britain and the World. 11 (1): 101–137. doi:10.3366/brw.2017.0283.

[tong-14] Junie T. Tong (2016). Finance and Society in 21st Century China: Chinese Culture Versus Western Markets. CRC Press. p. 151. ISBN 978-1-317-13522-7.

[esposito-15] John L. Esposito, ed. (2004). The Islamic World: Past and Present. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-19-516520-3. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2019.

[rayB-16] Indrajit Ray (2011). Bengal Industries and the British Industrial Revolution (1757–1857). Routledge. pp. 7–10. ISBN 978-1-136-82552-1. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2019.

[sengupta-17] Cite error: The named reference sengupta was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[18] The Bengalis. p. 143.

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Prehistoric Paleolithic Masol c. 2.6 Ma Riwat c. 2.5 Ma Madrasian culture c. 1.5 Ma Soanian c. 500,000 BCE Neolithic, c. 7600 – c. 1000 BCE Bhirrana 7570 – 6200 BCE Jhusi 7106 BCE Lahuradewa 7000 BCE Koldihwa 7000 BCE Mehrgarh 7000 – 2600 BCE South Indian Neolithic 3000 – 1000 BCE
Ancient Indus Valley Civilization, c. 3300 – c. 1700 BCE Post Indus Valley Period (Cemetery H Culture), c. 1700 – c. 1500 BCE Vedic civilization, c. 1500 – c. 500 BCE Kuru kingdom, c. 1200 – c. 500 BCE Early Vedic period Rise of Śramaṇa movement Later Vedic Period Spread of Jainism – Parshvanatha Spread of Jainism – Mahavira Rise of Buddhism Kingdom of Magadha Brihadratha Dynasty 1700 – 682 BCE Haryanka Dynasty 544 – 413 BCE Shaishunaga Dynasty 413 – 345 BCE Nanda Dynasty, 345 – 322 BCE Mahajanapadas, c. 600 – 345 BCE
Classical Magadhan Empire Maurya Dynasty, 322 – 185 BCE Shunga Dynasty, 185 – 73 BCE Kanva Dynasty, 73 – 28 BCE Sangam period 300 BCE – 400 CE Kushan Dynasty, c. 30 – c. 375 CE Satavahana Dynasty, c. 228 BCE – c. 224 CE Gupta Dynasty, c. 240 – c. 550 CE
Early medieval Pallava dynasty, 275 CE - 897 CE Chalukya Dynasty, 543 – 753 CE Pandya Dynasty, 590 CE - 920 CE Harsha's Dynasty, c. 606 CE – c. 647 CE Karakota Dynasty, c. 724 – c. 760 CE Arab Invasion, c. 738 CE Tripartite Struggle, c. 760 – c. 973 CE Pratihara dynasty Rastrakuta Dynasty Pala Dynasty Chola Dynasty, c. 848 – c. 1251 CE 2nd Chalukya Dynasty, c. 973 – c. 1187 CE
Late medieval Delhi Sultanate, 1206 – 1526 CE Mamluk Dynasty Khalji Dynasty Tugluq Dynasty Sayyid Dynasty Lodhi Dynasty Pandyan Empire, 1251 – 1618 CE Vijayanagara, 1336 – 1646 CE Bengal Sultanate, 1342 – 1576 CE
Early modern Mughal Dynasty, 1526 – 1540 CE Suri Dynasty, 1538/40 – 1556 CE Mughal Dynasty, 1556 – 1857 CE Bengal Subah, c. 1576 – c. 1757 CE Maratha Empire, c. 1674 – c. 1818 CE Company Raj, c. 1757 – c. 1858 CE Kingdom of Mysore, c. 1760 – c. 1799 CE Sikh Empire, c. 1799 – c. 1849 CE
Modern The Great Rebellion, 1857 – 1858 CE British Raj, 1858 – 1947 CE Independence Movement Independent India, 1947 CE – present Dominion of India, 1947 – 1950 CE Republic of India, 1950 CE – present
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