Dhaka
The Capital of Bangladesh

The historic quarter of Dhaka stands on the east bank of the Buriganga River. It is located in the central part of the Bengal delta.The city's name was Jahangir Nagar (City of Jahangir) in the 17th century. It was the Mughal capital of Bengal for 75 years; and flourished in trade and culture as a cosmopolitan commercial capital and the hub of the worldwide muslin and silk trade.The Mughals decorated the city with well-laid out gardens, tombs, mosques, palaces and forts. Dhaka became known as the City of Mosques in Bengal.

The history of urban settlement in the area of modern-day Dhaka dates to the 1st century. Under Islamic rule, it became part of the historic district of Sonargaon, the regional administrative hub of the Delhi and the Bengal Sultanates. The Mughal Empire conquered the region during the late 16th-century. Under Mughal rule, the Old City of Dhaka grew on the banks of the Buriganga River. Dhaka was proclaimed the capital of Mughal Bengal in 1608.

Dhaka was one of the largest and most prosperous cities in the Indian subcontinent. It grew into a regional economic centre during the 17th and 18th centuries, serving as a hub for Eurasian traders, including Bengalis, Marwaris, Gujaratis, Armenians, Arabs, Persians, Greeks, Dutchmen, Frenchmen, Englishmen and the Portuguese. The city was a centre of the worldwide muslin industry, with 80,000 skilled weavers.

Modern Dhaka is one of Bangladesh's twin economic centers, along with Chittagong, to which it is connected by the Grand Trunk Road and the Bangladesh Railway. With a daily traffic of over 600,000 cycle rickshaws, Dhaka is nicknamed as the Rickshaw Capital of the World.