Sylhet (
Sylheti ????
Silôt,
Bengali ?????
Silet), is a major city in north-eastern
Bangladesh. It is the capital of
Sylhet Division and
Sylhet District, and was granted
metropolitan city status in March 2009.
[1] Sylhet is located on the banks of the
Surma River and is surrounded by the
Jaintia,
Khasi and
Tripura hills. The city has a high population density, with nearly 500,000 people. It is one of the largest cities in Bangladesh. The Sylhet region is well known for its
tea gardens and
tropical forests, the city however is currently known for its business boom — being one of the richest cities in Bangladesh, with new investments of hotels, shopping malls and luxury housing estates, brought mainly by
expatriates living in the United Kingdom.
[4][5]Sylhet has a history of conquests and heritage from different types of cultures. The city is described as a City of Saints, with the mausoleum of the great saint Hazrat Shah Jalal, who brought Islam to Bengal during the 14th century, being located here.[6] During the next few centuries it was part of the state of Assam during the rule of British India, after independence between India and Pakistan, Sylhet was then part of East Pakistan based on a referendum, and is part of Bangladesh as of today, which also played a major role in the Bangladesh Liberation War during the 1970s. The 1980-90s was the period where mass migration started from Sylhet mainly to the United Kingdom and the United States. The 21st century sees the economic growth of the city.
Historians believe that Sylhet was an expanded commercial center from the ancient period, which explains its original namesake. During this time, Sylhet was probably inhabited by Indo-Aryan Brahmins, though ethnically the population would also have traces of Assamese. It has also been suggested that the Ancient Kingdom of Harikela was situated in modern Sylhet.[7][8]
In the ancient and early medieval period, Sylhet was ruled primarily by local chieftains as viceroy of the kings of Pragjyotishpur.[9] There is evidence to suggest that the Maharaja Sri Chandra, of northern Bengal, conquered Bengal in the 10th century, although this is a much disputed topic amongst Bangladeshi historians and archaeologists. This was a period of relative prosperity and there is little evidence to suggest this was marred by wars or feuds. Sylhet was certainly known by the rest of India, and is even referred to in the ancient Hindu sacred Tantric text, the Shakti Sangama Tantra, as 'Silhatta'. The last chieftain to reign in Sylhet was Govinda of Gaur.[10] Sylhet was previously a Hindu kingdom, controlled by the Rajas. One of the most renowned Bengali warriors was Shaikh Jalal of Sylhet, who entered Sylhet to battle against Raja Gaur Govind, with 313 followers, but the Raja had 100,00 men, which led to a hostile battle leading the Raja to be defeated, and the entire region falling to Shaikh Jalal (d. 1357).[11]
