The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c24.2

v3.c24.2

IT must not be supposed that the province of Bengal, conquered for Muhammad *bin* Sām and Qutb-ud-dīn Aibak by Muhammad Bakhtyār the Khalj, was conterminous with the Lower Provinces of Bengal which were governed until 1905 by a Lieutenant Governor. Before the Muhammadan conquest Bengal was divided into five regions, (1) Rādha, the country west of the Hughlī and south of the Ganges; (2) Bāgdī, the delta of the Ganges and Brāhmaputra; (3) Banga, the country to the east of the delta; (4) Bārendra, the country to the north of the Padma and between the Karatoya and the Mahānandā rivers; and (5) Mithila, the country west of the Mahānandā. Muhammad Bakhtyār took possession of the south-eastern parts of Mithila, Bārendra, the northern districts of Rādha, and the north-western districts of Bāgdī. The Muhammadan province and kingdom of Bengal was long confined to this territory, which was commonly known, from the name of its capital, as Lakhnāwatī, but was subsequently extended into Banga and the western districts of Rādha, which included Jhārkhand, or Chota Nāgpur.