It is the capital of Bangladesh.
Dhaka the capital of Bangladesh, has a fairly long history. Its existence in the pre-Muslim period cannot be ascertained with certainty. But it grew as an urban centre in the Sultanate period and rose into prominence in the Mughal period when it enjoyed the position of a provincial capital. Its history has here been dealt with in two sections: Dhaka up to 1800 AD and Dhaka since 1800 AD. Its physical growth has been dealt with in the context of its history in the last section.
Dhaka was a place of some importance in the pre-Mughal period, but it came to the limelight of history under the Mughals. The origin of the name of Dhaka is obscure. Suggestions put forward about the origin are: the name is derived from (i) the Dak tree (Butea frondosa) which was once found in the place in abundance; (ii) the Hindu Goddess Durga, found concealed (Dhaka-Ixvari or concealed goddess) in the place; (iii) the Dhak or drum beaten by order of islam khan while inaugurating the capital; (iv) a Prakrit dialect called Dhaka Bhasa; (v) Dhakka used in the Rajtarangini for a watch-station; or it is the same as Davaka, mentioned in the Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudra Gupta as an eastern frontier kingdom.
The pre-Mughal relics are two mosques at Dhaka proper and one at Mirpur; the earliest one is dated from 1456 AD Joao De Barros found Dhaka prominent enough to be inserted in his map drawn in c 1550. In the Akbarnama, Dhaka is referred to as a thana (thana), a military outpost, and in the Ain-i-Akbari, Dhaka-baju is a pargana in Sarkar Bajuha. Islam Khan Chishti transferred the capital of Subah Bangalah from Rajmahal to Dhaka in 1610 and renamed it Jahangirnagar after the name of the emperor. The name Jahangirnagar was used in official circles, but to the general people old name Dhaka was more popular. All foreign travellers and foreign company officials used the name Dhaka in their records and dispatches.
The Buriganga (Budiganga) and her mother river Dhaleswari (Dhaleshvari) connect Dhaka to the great rivers and through them with almost all districts of Bengal. Dhaka is also situated in bhati, the low-lying river-girt Bangalah and the abode of the rebels against the Mughals. So Islam Khan Chishti found it a suitable place for a capital in his plan of establishing Mughal authority in Bengal. Islam Khan, on reaching Dhaka, took up his residence in what was called the fort of Dhaka. Whether it was a brick-built structure or not, Islam Khan made arrangements to make it suitable as a residence of the subahdar. The fort has been identified with the present Dhaka Central Jail compound. The old city of Dhaka was small, centering round Pakurtali (modern Babubazar area), but on becoming the capital of the Mughal Subah the city was extended along the bank of the river from the fort in the west to modern Sadarghat in the east.
Once made the capital, Dhaka was destined to grow. Administrative requirements and expansion of governmental activities must have led to an expansion of the city. The names of different localities in Dhaka, which persist even today, suggest how the city grew and developed. For example, Urdu Road suggests the camp of soldiers. Diwanbazar, Bakhshibazar, Mughaltoli, Hazaribagh, Peelkhana, Atishkhana, Mahouttoli, all signify that they had been occupied and inhabited by Mughal civil and military officials and their retinue at one time or another. Commercial and professional interests also contributed to the growth of the city. Kayettoli signifies the quarter of the Kayets (or Kayasthas), the Hindu writers of the Mughal government. Places like Tantibazar, Sankharibazar, Banianagar, Kamarnagar etc were residences of Hindu professional groups; places whose names end with ganj, like Nawabganj, Alamganj etc were developed by business interests, and places ending with dewri, like Becharam Dewri, Mir Jammal Dewri, etc were connected with landed interests.
Sebastien Manrique, who came to Dhaka in 1640, thirty years after the establishment of the capital, says that the city extended for over a league and a half from Maneswar (Maneshvar) in the west to Narinda in the east and to Fulgari (Fulbaria) in the north. There was, therefore, a rapid expansion of Dhaka during these thirty years, but the expansion was mainly to the west. In this part were located the Mughal governmental establishments. manucci, who came to Dhaka in 1663, describes the city as neither strong nor large. But, according to him, it had many inhabitants and most of the houses were made of straw. The next foreign traveller, tavernier, who came to Dhaka three years later (1666), says that Dhaka was a great and populous city, but it extended only in length because everyone desired to have a house by the side of the river. Tavernier found the city over two leagues in length. Thomas Bowrey, who came three years later (1669-70), saw the city of Dhaka as spacious, no less than forty English miles in circuit, but it stood on low marshy ground. In the 18th century, though Dhaka lost the glory of being capital of the province, it extended further, particularly to the north, because the European Companies built their factories in that area, ie, around Tejgaon. In 1786, the east india company's government accepted the boundaries of the city as Buriganga in the south, Tongi-Jamalpur in the north, Mirpur in the west and Postgola in the east. In 1800 AD John Taylor, the English Commercial Resident of Dhaka put the boundaries of Mughal Dhaka as Buriganga in the south, Tongi in the north, Jafrabad in the west and Postgola in the east. The extent of the Mughal city of Dhaka was, as Bowrey estimated, no less than forty English miles in circuit.