History of Bangladesh ............... [ Part - 2 ] Overseas Colonization The Vanga Kingdom was a powerful seafaring nation of Ancient India. They had overseas trade relations with Java, Sumatra and Siam (modern day Thailand). According to Mahavamsa, the Vanga prince Vijaya Singha conquered Lanka (modern day Sri Lanka) in 544 BC and gave the name Sinhala to the country. Bengali people migrated to the Maritime Southeast Asia and Siam (in modern Thailand), establishing their own colonies there.[3] Gangaridai Empire Main article: Gangaridai Asia in 323BC, the Nanda Empire and Gangaridai Empire in relation to Alexanders Empire and neighbors. Ptolemys map of Asia, where the word Gangaridai first appeared. This is also believed to be the first appearance of Bangladesh in any map in history. Though north and west Bengal were part of the empire southern Bengal thrived and became powerful with her overseas trades. In 326 BCE, with the invasion of Alexander the Great the region again came to prominence. The Greek and Latin historians suggested that Alexander the Great withdrew from India anticipating the valiant counterattack of the mighty Gangaridai empire that was located in the Bengal region. Alexander, after the meeting with his officer, Coenus, was convinced that it was better to return. Diodorus Siculus mentions Gangaridai to be the most powerful empire in India whose king possessed an army of 20,000 horses, 200,000 infantry, 2,000 chariots and 4,000 elephants trained and equipped for war. The allied forces of Gangaridai Empire and Nanda Empire (Prasii) were preparing a massive counterattack against the forces of Alexander on the banks of Ganges. Gangaridai, according to the Greek accounts, kept on flourishing at least up to the 1st century AD. H.E. Jashim uddin , ICBC Ambassador at Large & History4Heritage Culture & Heritage Preservationist, IFBC Bangladesh Blue Crescent Society.
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 23:08:06 +0000
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