Bangladesh Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands

The land of today's Bangladesh appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 17 different states, among them British Raj, Palas, Bengal, Gupta Empire, Bangladesh.

Bangladesh

Explore the history of Bangladesh in the interactive map

Compare 1000 with today

Who ruled the land of Bangladesh, map by map

Share of sample points inside today's borders held by each state on each map. Areas with no organised state on the map are left out.

Historic cities in Bangladesh

• Dhaka

Questions

Which empires and states ruled the territory of Bangladesh?

On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Bangladesh belonged to British Raj, Palas, Bengal, Gupta Empire, Bangladesh, Magadha, along with 11 other states.

What was Bangladesh part of in 1000?

On the border map for 1000, most of the territory of today's Bangladesh lay within Palas.

What was Bangladesh part of in 1500?

On the border map for 1500, most of the territory of today's Bangladesh lay within Bengal.

What was Bangladesh part of in 1900?

On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Bangladesh lay within British Raj.

Further reading

• History of Bangladesh in Encyclopaedia Britannica
• History of Bangladesh on Wikipedia

Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.