Images of a vibrant, timeless heritage
Farida Shaikh plunges into history through a remarkable work
11 January 2008, 18:00 PM
Iqlim Sonargaon
History Jurisdiction Monuments
Habiba Khatun
Academic Press & Publishers Library
The book is the outcome of the author's Ph.D dissertation, a study on Islamic art and archaeology in the Department of Islamic History and Culture, Dhaka University. It is an empirical treatise on the history and monuments of Sonargaon.
In 1996, the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh published a monograph titled 'Sonargaon-Parnam', giving details on Sonargaon, about 24 square miles in area, 27 km south-east of Dhaka, spread on both sides of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway and bounded on all sides by the old Brahmaputra, Sitalakhya, Meghna and Dhaleswari. Note that the Bara Bhuiyas defied Mughal suzerainty from Katrabo in Sonargaon.
The book comprises nine chapters, with a total of five maps on ancient Bengal, Sonargaon, Khalifatabad past and present. Ground plans and elevations of mosques are provided in 25 figures. There are photographs of 27 mosques and 17 monuments.
Ancient Sonargaon, meaning golden village, was one of the three principalities, an Iqlim of Bangala during the rule of Sultan Ilyas Shah in 1342. It was one of three administrative units or Iqlims of Bengal Sultanate, the other two being Lakhnauti and Satgaon. Its synonymous name is Suvarnagrama. Suvar means principality, and Nigama is a commercial centre. Sonargaon comprised Vanga and the coastal regions of Vikrampur, Faridpur and southern Bengal. The name Sonargaon came to be used during the Sena period in the 12th century. Abu Tawwama in 1300 established here a centre for Islamic theology. Later, in 1345, the Chinese traveller Ma Huan was amazed to see the fine variety of cotton manufactured in Sonargaon, then a walled city. Today Sonargaon, by the banks of the river Buriganga, is an upazila under Narayanganj district of Dhaka division.
An identification of Sonargaon under different names is detailed in Chapter 1. Sonargaon for over a century was ruled by the Ilyas Shahi dynasty. The west of Dhaka was known as Mubarakabad in 1338, probably after Sultan Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah. Afterwards Sultan Ilyas took the title of Shah-i-Bangala, uniting Varendre, Vanga and Radha; his son Sikandar Shah named the iqlim Mu'zamabad.
Sonargaon was no more the official name except when used in coins by later rulers. It was made a mint town by Sultan Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah, who ruled for 20 years from Pandua until defeated by Raja Ganesh. His general and Wazir Khan al Azam Khan Jahan also fled Pandua and took shelter in Arsa Shahr-i-Nau, present-day Bagerhat. Also known as Ulugh Khan Jahan, he was a great builder of monuments, tanks and highways.
Chapter 2 covers early references to the history of Sonargoan. In 1204 Ikhtiyaruddin Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji controlled Nadia in Bengal. Bahram Khan was the governor of Sonargaon. Ghiyasuddin Bahadur, born a rebel, was appointed deputy governor and, invested with increased powers, took possession of Lakhnauti. This period of rule ended in 1338.
Usually the period 1338-1348 is considered a time of political turmoil. Haji Ilyas proclaimed independence in 1342. Fakruddin extended his power east of Chandpur and Chittagong, then known as Sadkawan, and built many mosques there. He ruled from 1338-1349, after which Ikhtiyaruddin Ghazi Shah became the ruler of Sonargoan.
Previously Bengal was known as Lakhnauti or Gaur. In 1352 Shamsud-Din Ilyas Shah conquered Sonargaon and consolidated his rule in Lakhnauti, Satgaon and Sonargaon. The Delhi Sultan was unsuccessful in his campaign to defeat Ilyas Shah, who then came to be known as Sultan-i- Bangala. In 1359 Sikandar Shah, known as Sultanul Muazzam, was the ruler of Pandua. He built the Adina mosque and the tomb at Sagar Dighi.
Sonargaon during the Sultanate period and Isa Khan's is covered in chapter 3. Fakhruddin ruled for eleven years, and in 1338 his son Ikhtiyaruddin Ghazi Shah became the ruler, followed by Shamsud-Din who conquered Sonargaon by defeating the Mughals in 1352 and later was given the title of Sultan-i-Bangala.
Chapter 4 describes the architectural background of the Muslim monuments of Sonargoan. Present-day Bangladesh constitutes the major part of old Bengal. Sonargaon belongs to this deltaic region where the changing course of the rivers has resulted in the loss of many settlements and monuments.
Climate and geography have shaped the architecture of the region. Bricks have been the chief building materials made out of the soft clay collected from the deposit of the alluvium on the bank of the rivers. The typical architectural style is derived from a bamboo framework, the curvilinear form, described by Fergusson as the most elegant of modern inventions. It was a blend of workmanship involving Central Asia and local craftsmen.
It was in 1338 under the independent Sultans that a definite style emerged during the period of Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah. The advent of the Muslims, mostly Khalji and Turks of Central Asia, in the 13th century in Sonargaon is recognised as the beginning of the second phase of archaeology.
Selected buildings, mosques, tombs, and idgahs, described in chapter 5, form the core of the book. Details are provided on 24 single tomb mosques, and 3 single tomb square mosques with corridors, 20 multi tombs, 17 tombs, and 1 idgah.
Masjidkur Mosque, Khulna, is a nine tomb square mosque at Amadi village on the banks of the Kobadak and protected by ditches on three sides. This location is believed to have been a treasury house; but as the position is on the border of Sonargoan territory it is also believed to have been an outpost of the legendary general Bura Khan and Fateh Khan who guarded this turbulent frontier. It is similar to the nine tomb mosque at Bagerhat probably built by Khan Jahan in the mid 15th century.
On the south eastern part of the Sonargoan territory, today's Bagerhat (formerly Khalifabad), stands the Shait Gumbaz Masjid, the largest surviving monument of its kind built by Khan Jahan. The chauchala style and decoration date the mosque between 1440 and 1459, built over a period of ten to fifteen years.
Khan Jahan also erected the mosque of Mymensingh in 1452, and repaired Churihatta mosque of Dhaka in 1459. The graves of Khan Jahan and Ali Muhammad Tahir, originally a Brahmin Thakur, within the same compound are a possible explanation for local people calling it Khanjali majar, Khanj +Ali, situated on the elevated northern bank of the extensive Thakur Dighi.
Katrabo is covered in Chapter 6. Today's Sonargaon is an upazila comprising eleven unions. The ancient city was much more extensive and Katrabo on the banks of the Sitalakhya, the first capital of Isa Khan, was within this limit.
In chapter 7 the writer notes the architectural elements --- brick built walls, towers, columns, arches, mihrabs, domed roofs and corridors. The decorative features consist of terracotta ornamentation, encaustic tile decoration and stone carving. The calligraphic ornamentation in Arabic and Persian letters follows intricate designs.
The bricks are made of red lateritic clay from Bhawal, Madhupur and Bagerhat. The ornamentation is called Bengal pendentive to distinguish this from the Turkish pendentive. Circular rows of brick setting in Ranvijoypur mosque in Bagerhat are another design.
Society and culture of Muslim Bengal were influenced by Muslims who came from central Asia, as discussed in chapter 8. Under the Ilyas Shahi rulers Muslim habitation began around southwest of Bangala.
The population of Sonargaon comprised Hindus and Buddhists prior to the rule of Sultan Ilyas Shah. Among the immigrants in Sonargaon were many Sufis who built many mosques and madrasas. Some of the rulers themselves were educated and cultured.
The learned religious leaders occupied high positions in society. They imparted education on Fiqh and Hadith. A large number of Sufis settled in Sonargaon.
Ancient Bengal was a large country. The most important iqlim was Sonargaon, which was the capital city, cultural centre and an inland port.
The book, a research work based on field visits by the writer and including an elaborate bibliography consisting of references from 102 books, encyclopedias and several journals, is a storehouse of rich and rare data for future work. The readership of the book will surely expand with improvements in the presentation of the historical material, especially in parts with repetitive texts, and a sequential context of rulers and narration of events.
Farida Shaikh is a sociologist and freelance writer.
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