History of Bengal Sources

Source of anciant Bengal History

The history of Bengal (by which we mean modern-day Bangladesh and West Bengal in India) can be traced back more than 2,500 years. However, we cannot be sure of much of its history until around the 4th century AD because there are so few historical sources that have survived. However, after the 4th century AD, when the Gupta Empire began to rule India, more reliable written records became available. What we do know is that it was divided into six areas called janapadas. For the period before the 4th century AD, historians have tried to get a sense of what happened from scanty references found mainly in various religious texts which were not usually intended to be accurate historical documents.

According to Professor A.L. Basham (Head of the Depertment of South Asian History, School if Oriental and African Studies, University of London and Professor of South Asian Histouy, Australian National University, Canberra)
"Literary sources suggest that Bengal was one of the last areas of the northern part of the Sub-Continent to come under Aryan influence. But recent excavations near Burdwan have shown that three thousand years ago the inhabitants if Bengal were by no means savages. Some of them at least lived in comfortable houses and made efficient metal tools and attractive pottery. However, the early history of Bengal is obscure, for there are few reliable sources which throw much light upon it. From the Gupta period a number of inscriptions have survives, and hence times we have the names if a few indigenous rulers if Bengal, and a certain amount of information (probably rather prejudiced) about Sasanka, the most powerful of them. But only from the eighth century onwards, with the rise of the Pala dynasty, is it possible to reconstruct a fairly continuous picture of the political history of Bengal."
(Source: Dynastic History of Bengal, Dr. A.M. Chowdhuty)

Source of Medieval History of Bengal

For the history of Bengal in middle age our source is
DYNASTIC HISTORY OF BENGAL (c. 750 - 1200 A. D.) of
Dr. Abdul Momin Chowdhury (M. A. (Dhaka), Ph. D. (London), Senior Lecturer, Department of History, University of Dhaka).

The book was first published from "The Asiatic Society of Bengal, Dhaka in 1967. The book is one of the best researces about the history of Bengal in middle age and it earned him Ph. D. Degree from the University of London. This book is also considered as one of the best reference books among university students of Bangladesh.

Abbreviations:

ABORI	Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.
AMMK	Arya-Manju-Sri-Mulakalpa.
ASI	Archeological Survey of India.
BI	Bangalar Itihasa
DHNI	The Dynastic History of Northern India by H.C. Ray.
DKM	The Decline of the Kingdom of Magadha.
EHB	The Early History of Bengal.
EI	Epigraphia India.
GL	Gaudalekhamala by Aksaya Kumar Maitreya
GR	Gaudarajamala
HB-I, HB-II	History of Bengal Vol. I & II, published by the University of Dhaka.
HCIP	History of the Culture of Indian People, published by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay.
IA	Indian Antiquary
IB-III	Inscription of Bengal, Vol. III, by N.G. Majumdar.
IC	Indian Culture.
IHI	Imperial History of India in a Sanskrit Text by K.P. Jayaswal.
IHQ	Indian Historical Quarterly.
JAHRS	Journal of the Andhra Historical Research Society.
JASB	Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
JASB (NS)	Journal of Asiatic Sociaty of Bengal, New Series.
JAS, L	Journal of Asiatic Society, Letters.
JASP	Journal of Asiatic Society of Pakistan.
JBBRAS	Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Sociaty.
JBORS	Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Sociaty.
JBRS	Journal of the Bihar Research Sociaty.
JIH	Journal of the Indian History.
JL	Journal of the Depertment of Letters, Calcutta University.
JRAS	Journal of the Royal Asiatic Sociaty.
JRASB	Journal of the Royal Asiatic Sociaty of Bengal.
JRASB,L	JRASB, Letters.
MASB	Memoirs of the Asiatic Sociaty of Bengal.
MASI	Memoirs of the Archiological Survey of India.
Mainamati	Monograph published by the Depertment of Archeology, Govt of Pakistan, Karachi, 1963.
TN	Tabaqat-i-Nasiri.
VRS	Varendra Research Sociaty, Rajshahi, Bangladesh.

Timeline history of Bangladesh.
Source BBC: (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/country_profiles/1160896.stm)