Bangladesh:Geographical Chronology

A brief geographical journey to Bangladesh from 276 BC
to
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Bangladesh 1971

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The ancient Greek geographer Eratosthenes c.276-194 BC, was not only the first to add lines of latitude and longitude but was also the first geographer to add name of the Ganges in his world map. Please note that Bay of Bengal was known as the Eastward ocean. Eratosthenes retired as librarian of Alexandria Library. He also predicted about possibility of reaching India by sea sailing westward along the Mediterranean sea.

It is not known much about Claudius Ptolemaeus c.100-178 ad.Ptolemy lived and worked in Alexandria and was the most well-known geographer of his time.He was the author of GEOGRAPHY,a book of encyclopaediac stature until the 16th century. Please note the appearance of the Ganges delta for the first time in the world map.Palibothra(Patna or Pataliputra) or Taprobane(Ceylon or Sri Lanka) exists but not Bay of Bengal. Mare Prasodum and not the Indian Ocean which exists. All the world maps from his time until 1300 AD was known as Ptolemaic map. One of the Alexander´s generals PtolemyI king of Egypt from 304 BC was his ancestor.

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Abraham Cresques,a jew from Mallorca,mapped his famous Catalan map in the year 1357.He divided the world into 8 pages.
This map is still well-preserved in Spain.
Perhaps he is the first man to put BANGALA corresponding today`s Bengal in the world map.
In his map the Ganges has disappeared and Java(IANA) is situated south of Bangala!
Ceylon or Trapobana is situated on the SE of Bangala!
Abraham expired in the year 1387.
The word Bang is probably a Chinese or Tibetian word means marshland

A map of Indian subcontinent from the post Mughal-age. Bay of Bengal is shown as Golf von Bengalen.The Ganges and Jamuna with their tributaries and estuaries with Calcutta is well described. The German text did not make difficult to trace the places of India.

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The NationalGeographicvol.191,No.5May 1997 published a supplement with the headline Changing faces of India: Empires to Independence.

It is a synopsis of Indian history ranging from 2500 BC to 1971 when Bangladesh emerged as an independent land.

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Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman proclaimed independence of Bangladesh with the land entiy formerly known as East Pakistan 7th March 1971.Major Ziaur Rahman reiterated independent Bangladesh from a clandestine radio station 27th March 1971 located in Chittagong. The occupation army of Pakistan surrendered to the joint command of Bangladesh and Indian army 16th December 1971. Bangladesh command was represented by an air force officer A.K.Khandoker and Major Haider.

How Bangladesh looks from the space at the height less than 500 km? Isn´t it fascinating to see how the Ganges and the Brahmaputra enters Bangladesh and their meeting point near Nagarbari and Goalunda ghats. Test your geographical knowledge by locating Chittagong Hilltrackts, Sundarbans, Kurigram, Raumari, Rajshahi, Pabna,Chandpur, Hatia, Dakhin Shahbazpur and Hiron point from the satellite map of Bangladesh ! (SI and MR).

Exciting Satellite pics of Ganges-Brahmaputra basin from NASA

This page is dedicated to the man
who first measured the height of the Mount Everest ,
Mr. Radhanath Sikder,
surveryor of The Geological Survey of the British India
in 1841