Chapter 4 - The Delta as a Crossroads

Summary

The early Bengal delta had a highly mobile population and dynamic economy that was open to both the immense expanse of the Indian Ocean and an enormous hinterland. For as far back as we can reconstruct, the delta was integrated into networks of long-distance trade, pilgrimage, political alliance, cultural exchange and travel. It served as a gateway to the wider world for people and goods from the landlocked Ganges plains in the west, from Tibet and Nepal in the north, and from the Brahmaputra valley and China in the east. Conversely, traders, Buddhist pilgrims, political emissaries and adventurers who wanted to visit these regions had to pass through Bengal. It was in the coastal waterways of Bangladesh that Southeast Asians, North Indians, Sri Lankans, Chinese, Arabs, Central Asians, Persians, Ethiopians and Tibetans met from very early times.