What do you think?
Rate this book
প্রাচ্যের রহস্য নগরী
This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.
- GenresHistory
166 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1906
2 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
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