Ancient Political Divisions
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Harikela (Bengali: হরিকেল) was an ancient kingdom located in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, it was an independent township of ancient eastern Bengal,[1] which had a continuous existence of about 500 years.[2] The state of Harikal consisted of present-day Sylhet and Chittagong divisions of Bangladesh, as well as parts of the Tripura state of India.[3]

History

Two seventh century Chinese travellers mention a kingdom of Harikela.[4] The kingdom was ruled by the Chandra dynasty during the 10th century CE. They were overthrown by the Varman Dynasty of Southeast Bengal, who were in turn overthrown by the Deva dynasty.

Geography

For a time its capital was near Chittagong before being moved to Munshiganj by the Candras.[5] Arab traders recognised Harikela (known as Harkand in Arabic) as the coastal regions of Bengal (near Chittagong) in the early period and included Sylhet[6] in the later period reaching as far as the ancient Sundarbans.[7]

Notes

  1. ^ হরিকেল জনপদ (in Bengali).
  2. ^ Kanungo, Suniti Bhushan (2016). History of the Ancient Harikele State and Central Chittagong. Nandan Bookstore. Page 4, 21.
  3. ^ প্রাচীন বাংলার জনপদসমূহ | (in Bengali).
  4. ^ Ray, Niharranjan (1994). History of the Bengali People (Ancient Period). Translated by Hood, John W. Calcutta: Orient Longman Ltd. p. 84. ISBN 0-86311-378-8.
  5. ^ "Coinage survey for Myanmar". anythinganywhere.com.
  6. ^ Chakrabarti, Dilip K. (2001). Ancient Bengal: A Study of the Archaeological Sources. Dhaka: University Press Ltd. p. 25.
  7. ^ Siddique, Yousuf (July–December 2008). "The Diffusion of Islam in Bengal and the Articulation of a New Order" (PDF). Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan. 45 (2): 1–55.

References

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