AN APPRAISAL OF THE CENTRALITY OF MUGHAL DHAKA ALIAS JAHANGIRNAGAR BASED ON A MODIFIED VERSION OF CENTRAL PLACE THEORY

Abstract

Dhaka alias Jahangirnagar became the capital of Mughal Subah-i-Bangalah in the early 17th century CE. As the principal seat of the region and the centre of trade and commerce, it attracted the opportunity seekers, travellers, traders, government officials from different parts of the then known world and became a true cosmopolitan city. During the Mughal period the city was full of beautiful palaces, forts, richly decorated houses, caravanserais, mosques, shops, streets, bridges, etc. But owing to the ravages of time and the unplanned development of modern Dhaka, nothing is left except a few mosques, tombs, the ruins of a fort, and a few local names associated with the Mughals. It is now difficult to locate Jahangirnagar, the Mughal capital of Subah-i-Bangalah, based on archaeological evidence. Previous researchers (mostly historians, and/or architects) attempted to locate the capital in the older of part of present-day Dhaka through analysing mostly historical narratives, and occasionally material evidence. Owing to a lack of training in archaeological data analysis, early assumptions and narratives show an absence of archaeological interpretation of material evidence. However, the present research does not seek to challenge the accepted narrative of Dhaka as the capital of Mughal Bengal; rather it is an attempt to comprehend the centrality of Dhaka by using archaeological evidence and by analysing some parameters developed from modified versions of Christaller’s Central Place Theory presented by Kimmig and Gringmuth- Dallmer.