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The Romance of an Eastern Capital
Excerpt from The Romance of an Eastern Capital
Eastern bengal, lying outside the beaten track Of the tourist and making no insistent claim to notice, has long failed to attract the attention it deserves. The much-discussed question of the Partition of Bengal, however, has recently brought it prominently before the general public, both in India and at home, and it is hoped that the story of its Capital, which the following pages attempt to relate in popular form, will be of special interest at the present time. The task Of setting forth something Of its history in a manner calculated to appeal to the general reader has not been without difficulty. Of the record of its earlier years, during Buddhist and Hindu supremacy, little that is authoritative has survived; while so fast did events move, and so rapid were the changes.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Eastern bengal, lying outside the beaten track Of the tourist and making no insistent claim to notice, has long failed to attract the attention it deserves. The much-discussed question of the Partition of Bengal, however, has recently brought it prominently before the general public, both in India and at home, and it is hoped that the story of its Capital, which the following pages attempt to relate in popular form, will be of special interest at the present time. The task Of setting forth something Of its history in a manner calculated to appeal to the general reader has not been without difficulty. Of the record of its earlier years, during Buddhist and Hindu supremacy, little that is authoritative has survived; while so fast did events move, and so rapid were the changes.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
- GenresHistory
407 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1906
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 26, 2025
The author narrates the history of Bengal and its capital cities particularly Sonargaon, and Dhaka. Ancient stories are told with great respect and affection. We get a glimpse of life in the ancient Kingdom of Vikrampur. Early Bengal Sultanate period gets special mention, so do great mughal subahdars such as Islam khan, and Shaista khan. The book reads more like a novel written with love and tenderness, than a history book. Western accounts of ancient Bengal such as this are really hard to find.
The book is not without its fair share of shortcomings. The author could not ascend above the usual bias of ''white saviour'' on a ''civilizing mission''. when describing the English takeover of Bengal. He fails to mention the oppression, reckless looting of Bengal by the EIC that directly led to three severe famines within a few years of the takeover which killed millions and wrecked havoc in the social fabric of the province. I had to skim through those pages as they were too difficult to digest. More recent authors such as William Dalrymple (The Anarchy) has done a terrific job of dissecting EIC misdoings; I would refer conscious readers to have additional reads such as the WD book to get a clearer picture of the EIC/Raj period.
There are some obvious error such as the spelling of names of Prince Azam and Prince Azim gets mixed up at times.
Do I recommend the book for readers interested in the history of ancient Bengal? Yes. Absolutely. It's a history of the ancient and wonderful kingdom of Bengal told with poetic affection. You won't find many books such as this.
The book is not without its fair share of shortcomings. The author could not ascend above the usual bias of ''white saviour'' on a ''civilizing mission''. when describing the English takeover of Bengal. He fails to mention the oppression, reckless looting of Bengal by the EIC that directly led to three severe famines within a few years of the takeover which killed millions and wrecked havoc in the social fabric of the province. I had to skim through those pages as they were too difficult to digest. More recent authors such as William Dalrymple (The Anarchy) has done a terrific job of dissecting EIC misdoings; I would refer conscious readers to have additional reads such as the WD book to get a clearer picture of the EIC/Raj period.
There are some obvious error such as the spelling of names of Prince Azam and Prince Azim gets mixed up at times.
Do I recommend the book for readers interested in the history of ancient Bengal? Yes. Absolutely. It's a history of the ancient and wonderful kingdom of Bengal told with poetic affection. You won't find many books such as this.
Displaying 1 of 1 review