Bhati was a large region of medieval Bengal, referred to by Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak and by others until at least the 17th-century CE, during the period of the Mughal Empire. It encompassed the river delta area now lying within the borders of Bangladesh and often referred to as eastern Bengal. [1] The area of Bhati included the low-lying areas of the greater districts of Dhaka, Mymensingh, Tippera (Comilla) and Sylhet in the days of Akbar and Jahangir. [2]
Bhati was one of the forested areas that the Mughals began to turn into arable land. [3] The historian Richard Eaton says that:
A distinguishing feature of East Bengal during the Mughal period — that is, in "Bhati" — was its far greater agricultural productivity and population growth relative to contemporary West Bengal. Ultimately, this arose from the long-term eastward movement of Bengal's major river systems, which deposited the rich silt that made the cultivation of wet rice possible. [4]
At the end of the Karrani Dynasty (1564–1575), the nobles of Bengal Sultanate became fiercely independent. Sultan Sulaiman Khan Karrani carved out an independent principality in the Bhati region comprising a part of greater Dhaka district and parts of Mymensingh district. During that period Taj Khan Karrani and another Afghan chieftain helped Isa Khan to obtain an estate in Sonargaon and Mymensingh in 1564. By winning the grace of the Afghan chieftain, Isa Khan gradually increased his strength and status and by 1571, he had become the leader of the Baro-Bhuyans and a zamindar of Bhati region. [5]
There were 22 parganas (administrative units) under the rule of Isa Khan. [8]