Early History, 1000 B.C.-A.D. 1202 For most of its history, the
area known as Bangladesh was a political backwater--an observer
rather than a participant in the great political and military
events of the Indian subcontinent. Historians believe that
Bengal, the area comprising present-day Bangladesh and the
Indian state of West Bengal, was settled in about 1000 B.C. by
Dravidian-speaking peoples who were later known as the Bang.
Their homeland bore various titles that reflected earlier tribal
names, such as Vanga, Banga, Bangala, Bangal, and Bengal. The
first great indigenous empire to spread over most of present-day
India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh was the Mauryan Empire (ca.
320-180 B.C.), whose most famous ruler was Asoka (ca. 273-232
B.C.). Although the empire was well administered and politically
integrated, little is known of any reciprocal benefits between
it and eastern Bengal. The western part of Bengal, however,
achieved some importance during the Mauryan period because
vessels sailed from its ports t