This is a list of rulers of Bengal. For much of its history, Bengal was split up into several independent kingdoms, completely unifying only several times. In ancient times, Bengal consisted of the kingdoms of Pundra, Suhma, Vanga, Samatata and Harikela.
In the 4th century BCE, during the reign of the Nanda Empire, the powerful rulers of Gangaridai sent their forces consisting of war elephants which led to the withdrawal of Alexander the Great from the Indian subcontinent.
With the rise of Gopala in 750 AD, Bengal was united once more under the Buddhist and Shaivite Pala Empire. The Pala period is considered as one of golden eras of Bengali history as it brought stability and prosperity to Bengal after centuries of Civil War, created outstanding works of art and architecture, proto-Bengali language developed under them including its first literary work, the Charyapada and so on. They ruled Bengal until the 12th century, before being succeeded by the Buddhist and Hindu Chandra dynasty, Sena dynasty and Deva dynasty. The rule of the Sena and Deva dynasty extended over various parts of Bengal, until the arrival of Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji as part of the Ghurid Invasion of Bengal.
In the early 13th century, Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji conquered the Western and parts of Northern Bengal, and established the first Muslim kingdom in Bengal. The Delhi Sultanate, under various Islamic dynasties such as the Mamluk Sultanate, the Khalji dynasty, the Turko-Indian Tughlaq dynasty, the Sayyid dynasty and the Lodi dynasty ruled over various parts Bengal for some 300 years, interrupted and frequently challenged by local muslim rulers of Bengal.
The Bengal Sultanate, a major trading nation in the world, was founded in 1342 by Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah, after he united Satgaon, Lakhnauti and Sonargaon. The Ilyas Shahi dynasty ruled Bengal for nearly 150 years. The Hussain Shahi dynasty founded by Alauddin Husain Shah, reached its greatest territorial extent which saw the extension of the sultanate from modern Bihar and Odisha in the west, to Kamaraupa and the port of Chittagong in the east, witnessing the arrival of the earliest Portuguese merchants.
The founders of Angas, Vangas, Kalingas, Pundras, Odras and Suhmas shared a common ancestry. They were all adopted sons of a king named Bali, born by a sage named Gautama Dirghatamas, who lived in Magadha close to the city of Girivraja.
The earliest mention occurs in the Atharvaveda (V.22.14) where they are listed alongside the Magadhas, Gandharis and the Mujavatas. Anga was annexed by Magadha in the time of Bimbisara. This was the one and only conquest of Bimbisara.
Known Anga rulers include:
Vanga was an ancient kingdom and geopolitical division on the Ganges delta. It was located in southern Bengal, with the core region including present-day southwestern Bangladesh and southern West Bengal (India).
Known Vanga rulers are:
Pundravardhana or Pundra Kingdom, was an ancient kingdom, that included parts of present-day Rajshahi and Rangpur Divisions of Bangladesh as well as the West Dinajpur district of West Bengal in India.
Known Pundra rulers are:
Suhma kingdom was an ancient state during the Vedic period on the eastern part of the Bengal.This kingdom was mentioned in the epic Mahabharata along with its neighbouring kingdom Prasuhma.
Tirabhukti or Mithila region is bounded by the Mahananda River in the east, the Ganges in the south, the Gandaki River in the west and by the foothills of the Himalayas in the north.
Mithila region firstly ruled by Videha dynasty. There were 52 Janaka (kings) ruled Videha dynasty of Mithila-
During this period of fall of Videha dynasty, the famous republic of Licchavi was rising in Vaishali and Mithila region came under control of Licchavi clan of Vajji confederacy in around eighth century BCE.
Gangaridae is a term used by the ancient Greco-Roman writers to describe a people or a geographical region of the ancient Indian subcontinent. Some of these writers state that Alexander the Great withdrew from the Indian subcontinent because of the strong war elephant force of the Gangaridai. However, the geographical region was annexed and governed by the Nanda Empire at the time.
A number of modern scholars locate Gangaridai in the Ganges Delta of the Bengal region, although alternative theories also exist. Gange or Ganges, the capital of the Gangaridai (according to Ptolemy), has been identified with several sites in the region, including Chandraketugarh and Wari-Bateshwar.
(Ripunjaya was the last ruler of dynasty, dethroned by Pradyota in 682 BCE)
(Varttivarddhana was the last ruler of the dynasty and was dethroned by Bimbisara in 544 BCE)
(NÃÂgadÃÂsaka was the last ruler of the dynasty and was overthrown by Shishunaga in 413 BCE)
(Mahanandin lost his empire to his illegitimate son Mahapadma Nanda in 345 BCE)
(Dhana Nanda lost his empire to Chandragupta Maurya after being defeated by him in 322 BCE)
(Brihadratha was the last ruler of dynasty, dethroned by Pushyamitra Shunga in 185 BCE)
(Devabhuti was the last ruler of the dynasty dethroned by Vasudeva Kanva in 73 BCE)
(Susarman was the last ruler of dynasty, dethroned by Simuka of the Satavahana Empire)
The Chandra Kingdom, which ruled the Vanga-Samatata region of Bengal, as well as northern Arakan. Later it was a neighbour to the Pala Empire to the north. Rulers of the Chandra kingdom were followers of Hinduism.
The Bhadra dynasty was a Bengali Hindu royal house of Brahmin origin; their rule flourished during the first half of the 7th century, though little is known about their history. The kings of the dynasty bore names with the suffix "Bhadra".
Most of the Pala inscriptions mention only the regnal year as the date of issue, without any well-known calendar era. Because of this, the chronology of the Pala kings is hard to determine. Based on their different interpretations of the various epigraphs and historical records, different historians estimate the Pala chronology as follows:
The Sena dynasty ruled southwestern Bengal from 1070 and ruled East Bengal until 1230. Vijaya Sena conquered the entirety of Bengal by 1154 CE.
The Khalji dynasty of Bengal () were initially representatives of the Ghurid Empire, later becoming independent, although at times being subordinate to the Delhi Sultanate.
Governors of Bengal under the Mamluk dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate-
The House of Balban () came about as a result of Mamluk governor Nasiruddin Bughra Khan declaring independence.
In 2009 a coin of a ruler named Nasiruddin Ibrahim Shah was found in Bangladesh, which was struck in 818 AH (around 1416 CE). It is possible he was a claimant to the throne. Undated coin of another ruler called Siraj-al Din Sikandar Shah was found in southwestern Bengal in 2014. MD. Sharif Islam theorizes that this Siraj-al Din is the same Siraj-al Din mentioned by Riyaz As Salatin, who was a judge serving under Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah.
Two ephemeral rulers: Qutbuddin Azam Shah and Ghiyasuddin Nusrat Shah ruled Eastern Bengal for a brief period and struck coins from Muazzamabad (modern Sonargaon) in AH 837 (1434 CE). Siraj-al Din Sikandar Shah is only known from his undated coins, it is possible he belongs to this time period. It is not known if any of them were related to Shamsuddin Ahmad Shah or the Ilyas Shahis.
Rulers of Gazipur and Madhupur forest are in central Bangladesh.
The advent of the British East India Company with its "exploitation and oppression" alongside zamindari subjugation, made life of the peasants and farmers difficult and despondent. Shamsher Gazi's efficient rule freed them of this control. With the granting of rent exemption to the peasants, he managed to govern the economy in an appropriate manner, leading to the reduction of the prices of essential commodities. He was generous to both the Hindus and Muslims. He had ponds dug, naming them after himself, and built many schools in and outside his capital Jagannath Sonapur. 'Kaiyar Sagar' was one of the larger ponds in the area.
As per the treaty of Allahabad in 1765, the British East India Company (BEIC) was given the right to collect revenue (Diwani right). From 1769, the company collected revenue from Bengal.
Following the Regulating Act 1773, the Governor of Bengal was officially called Governor-General of Fort William.
In 1793, the British East India Company abolished Nizamat, i.e. local rule by Mughal emperor- appointed Nawabs and annexed Bengal.
As per Charter Act 1833, the Governor-General of Bengal would be called Governor-General of India
With the establishment of the Empire of India in 1858, the position of Governor-General was replaced with Governor-General and Viceroy of India. Calcutta, the capital of Bengal also became the capital of India. As a result, the position of Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal was established to look after provincial matters.
In late 1911, the Indian Government decided to move the capital to New Delhi. As a result, the Governorship of Bengal Presidency was now necessary.
The Government of India Act 1935 introduced provincial autonomy in India and the position of Chief Minister or Premier of Bengal became very prominent.
Subsequently, all three Bengali chief ministers moved to East Pakistan, where they continued to be influential statesmen. Nazimuddin and Suhrawardy became Prime Ministers of Pakistan, while Huq served as the chief minister and governor of East Pakistan.
British colonial period ended when India and Pakistan became independent nations in 1947. Bengal fell into two parts â one in India, named West Bengal and the other part in Pakistan as East Bengal, later renamed to East Pakistan in 1955.
Political Party
Legend
In late 1955, the prime minister Muhammad Ali Bogra initiated the One Unit policy which resulted in East Bengal province being renamed to East Pakistan.
Political Party
Legend
Political Party
On 7 October 1958, the post of Chief Minister of East Pakistan was abolished. And after the independence of Bangladesh on 16 December 1971, the province of East Pakistan was dissolved.
East Pakistan seceded from West Pakistan on 16 December 1971 after the end of Bangladesh Liberation War and was named Bangladesh as an independent nation.
The President was the executive Head of state of Bangladesh during Presidential system of government from 1975 to 1991. Thereafter, the Prime Minister is the executive head of government of this parliamentary republic while the President is the ceremonial Head of state, elected by the parliament.
Died in office
Note that numbering for Prime Minister is given either bracketless, or with ( ) brackets. Numbering for Chief Adviser is given in [ ] brackets. Acting Prime Ministers or Chief Advisers are not numbered and instead denoted as "âÂÂ". There are 10 Prime Ministers, 1 Acting Prime Minister, 5 Chief Advisers, and 1 Acting Chief Adviser of Bangladesh so far.
Died in office