Medieval Bengal

This is incomplete. It is currently only a timeline.

Muslims have been in India since the seventh century, but it was only at the end of the twelfth century that they came to eastern India. This was a period of renewed scientific and technological contact with the outside world: For example, the turkish soldiers may have been responsible for bringing iron stirrups, first seen in china in the sixth century AD, and iron horse shoes, invented possibly in Siberia in the 9th century AD, to India; the spinning wheel for quicker textile production may also be a chinese invention diffusing into India around this period.

Since the beginning of muslim rule in Bengal under Bakhtiyar Khilji, the rulers of Bengal till 1282 were affected by the Turk/Afghan struggle in the mamluk Delhi Sultanate. Though they often acted independently and even declared this whenever the central power declined, they almost always started off as the governors of the Delhi sultanate, and the sultanate still influenced the local politics in this far flung province. With the fall of the mamluks, however, Bengal became more independent, though split. Under the Iliyas Shahi dynasty (1342–1415), it was united and turned into a strong power. As this regime provoked strong sentiments by moving hindus out of politial power, a hindu landowner named ganesha took over; he and his descendants, who were muslims, ruled Bengal for a period of about 20 years (1415–1435), when a descendant of Iliyas Shah usurped power. This dynasty was in power for the next half a century (1435–1487). After a brief interlude of abyssinian power, Bengal was then ruled by the Hussain-Shahi dynasty. Bengal in the early mughal (who may have brought chinese invention of gunpowder around 100 AD to India; they might also have introduced the persial wheel into Indian agriculture, boosting production) period (1538–1563) was dominated by two Afghan dynasties: that of Sher Shah Suri and the Karrani dynasty. After that Bengal was a Mughal suba into the beginnning of the modern period.

Up to history of Bengal

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