Forming part the historical Bengal region, the earliest cities in Bangladesh date back to the Vedic period.^[12] The region was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as Gangaridai.^[13] The mightyGanges and Brahmaputra rivers connected Bengal to India and China, making the region a centralentrepot of the historic Silk Road.^[14] During the Pala and Sena periods, the people of the land developed their own language, script, literature, music, art and architecture. Islam was established in the second millennium CE under the Delhi Sultanate, the Bengal Sultanate and the Mughal Empire. Annexed by theBritish East India Company in 1765, the region was a part of British-ruled India until the creation of Pakistan in 1947. The rise of Bengali nationalism in East Pakistan resulted in the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. After independence, Bangladesh experienced several military coups. The parliamentary system was restored in 1990.

Forming part the historical Bengal region, the earliest cities in Bangladesh date back to the Vedic period.^[12] The region was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as Gangaridai.^[13] The mightyGanges and Brahmaputra rivers connected Bengal to India and China, making the region a centralentrepot of the historic Silk Road.^[14] During the Pala and Sena periods, the people of the land developed their own language, script, literature, music, art and architecture. Islam was established in the second millennium CE under the Delhi Sultanate, the Bengal Sultanate and the Mughal Empire. Annexed by theBritish East India Company in 1765, the region was a part of British-ruled India until the creation of Pakistan in 1947. The rise of Bengali nationalism in East Pakistan resulted in the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. After independence, Bangladesh experienced several military coups. The parliamentary system was restored in 1990.