Syed Ismail Hossain Siraji was a Bengali author and poet from Sirajganj in present-day Bangladesh. He is considered to be one of the key authors of period of the Bengali Muslim reawakening; encouraging education and glorifying the Islamic heritage. He also contributed greatly to introducing the Khilafat Movement in Bengal, and provided medical supplies to the Ottoman Empire during the Balkan Wars. Anal-Prabaha, his first poetry book, was banned by the government and he was subsequently imprisoned as the first South Asian poet to allegedly call for independence against the British Raj. The government issued Section 144 against him 82 times in his lifetime.
Dhaka (Dacca) is a modern megacity with origins dating to circa the 7th century CE. The history of Dhaka begins with the existence of urbanised settlements that were ruled by the Hindu Gauda Kingdom, Buddhist and Shaivite Pala Empire before passing to the control of the Hindu Sena dynasty in the 10th century CE. After the Sena dynasty, the city was ruled by the Hindu Deva Dynasty.
Hakim Habibur Rahman was an Unani physician, litterateur, journalist, politician and chronicler in early 20th-century Dhaka.
Ibrahim Shah Sultan Balkhi, also known by his sobriquet, Mahisawar, was a 16th-century Muslim saint. He is associated with the spread of Islam in Sandwip and Bogra.
Shamsuddīn Aḥmad Shāh was the last Sultan of Bengal belonging to the House of Ganesha. He was the son and successor of Sultan Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah. After his father's death, he ascended the throne at the age of 14.
Nāsir ad-Dīn Naṣrat Shāh, also known as Nusrat Shah, was the second Sultan of Bengal belonging to the Hussain Shahi dynasty. He continued with his father's expansionist policies but by 1526, had to contend with the Mughal ascendency in the Battle of Ghaghra. Simultaneously, Nasrat Shah's reign also suffered a reverse at the hands of the Ahom kingdom. The reigns of Alauddin Husain Shah and Nasrat Shah are generally regarded as the "golden age" of the Bengal Sultanate.
Ḥusām ad-Dīn ʿIwaz bin Ḥusayn Khaljī, later known by his regnal title as Ghiyāth ad-Dīn ʿIwaz Shāh, was a two-time governor of Bengal under the Delhi Sultanate, and a member of the Khalji dynasty of Bengal. During his second term, lasting from 1212 to 1227, Khalji declared himself as an independent ruler of Bengal.
Ruknuddīn Bārbak Shāh was the son and successor of Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah. Initially appointed as the governor of Satgaon during the reign of his father, Barbak ascended the throne of the Bengal Sultanate in 1459. He was the first ruler to give prominent roles in the Sultanate's administration to the Abyssinian community. Historian Aniruddha Ray credits Barbak Shah as the pioneer of urbanisation in Bengal.
Sidi Badr, later known by his regnal name Shams ad-Dīn Muẓaffar Shāh, was the Sultan of Bengal from 1491 to 1493. Described by the Indo-Persian historians as a tyrant, his cruelty was said to have alienated the nobles as well as his common subjects.
Musa Khan was the leader of the Bara-Bhuiyans of Bengal following the death of his father, Isa Khan, who is known for resisting the Mughal invasion of Bengal.
Shāhzāda Bārbak, known by his regnal title as Ghiyāsuddīn Bārbak Shāh, was the Sultan of Bengal in 1487 and the founder of the Sultanate's Habshi dynasty. He was a former commander of the palace-guards of Jalaluddin Fateh Shah court.
Malik Andil Habshi, better known by his regnal title Saifuddin Firoze Shah was the second "Habshi" ruler of the Bengal Sultanate's Habshi dynasty. He was a former army commander of the Sultanate's Ilyas Shahi dynasty.
Mohammad Mozammel Huq was a Bengali-language poet, novelist, magistrate and educationist. His writings were said to have been inspired by a "Muslim renaissance".
Nawab Bahadur was a title of honour bestowed during Mughal Empire and later during British Raj to Indian Muslim individuals for faithful service or acts of public welfare.
Masum Khan was a zamindar of Bengal. He was the eldest son and successor of Baro-Bhuiyan leader Musa Khan and the grandson of Isa Khan.
Shāh ʿAlī al-Baghdādī was a 15th-century Muslim missionary and Sufi saint based in the Faridpur and Dhaka regions of Bengal.
Sikhism in Bangladesh has an extensive heritage and history, although Sikhs had always been a minority community in Bengal. Their founder, Guru Nanak visited a number of places in Bengal in the early sixteenth century where he introduced Sikhism to locals and founded numerous establishments. In its early history, the Sikh gurus despatched their followers to propagate Sikh teachings in Bengal and issued hukamnamas to that region. Guru Tegh Bahadur lived in Bengal for two years, and his successor Guru Gobind Singh also visited the region. Sikhism in Bengal continued to exist during the colonial period as Sikhs found employment in the region, but it declined after the partition in 1947. Among the eighteen historical gurdwaras in Bangladesh, only five are extant. The Gurdwara Nanak Shahi of Dhaka is the principal and largest gurdwara in the country. The Sikh population in the country almost entirely consists of businessmen and government officials from the neighbouring Republic of India.
Tanda, also known as Tandah and Khwaspur Tandah, was a historic 16th-century city of Bengal in the eastern part of South Asia, and one of the most prominent medieval capitals; serving the Karrani Sultans of Bengal and the early Mughal governors of Bengal.
Nūr Qut̤b ʿĀlam was a 14th-century Bengali Islamic scholar, author and poet. Based in the erstwhile Bengali capital Hazrat Pandua, he was the son and successor of Alaul Haq, a senior scholar of the Bengal Sultanate. He is noted for his efforts in preserving the Muslim rule of Bengal against Raja Ganesha and pioneering the Dobhashi tradition of Bengali literature.
