Dhaka

Sister cities

• Guangzhou
• Karachi
• Kolkata

History

The history of urban settlements in the area of modern-day Dhaka dates to the first millennium. The region was part of the ancient district of Bikrampur, which was ruled by the Sena dynasty. Under Islamic rule, it became part of the historic district of Sonargaon, the regional administrative hub of the Delhi and the Bengal Sultanates. The Grand Trunk Road passed through the region, connecting it with North India, Central Asia and the south-eastern port city of Chittagong. Before Dhaka, the capital of Bengal was Gour. Even earlier capitals included Pandua, Bikrampur and Sonargaon. The latter was also the seat of Isa Khan and his son Musa Khan, who both headed a confederation of twelve chieftains that resisted Mughal expansion in eastern Bengal during the late 16th century. Due to a change in the course of the Ganges, the strategic importance of Gour was lost. Dhaka was viewed with strategic importance due to the Mughal need to consolidate control in eastern Bengal. The Mughals also planned to extend their empire beyond into Assam and Arakan. Dhaka and Chittagong became the eastern frontiers of the Mughal Empire. ]] ]] in Dhaka in 1789]] Dhaka became the capital of the Mughal province of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa in 1610 with a jurisdiction covering modern-day Bangladesh and eastern India, including the modern-day Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. This province was known as Bengal Subah. The city was founded during the reign of Emperor Jahangir. Emperor Shah Jahan visited Dhaka in 1624 and stayed in the city for a week, four years before he became emperor in 1628. Dhaka became one of the richest and greatest cities in the world during the early period of Bengal Subah (1610–1717). The prosperity of Dhaka reached its peak during the administration of…

Geography

Dhaka is located in central Bangladesh at , on the eastern banks of the Buriganga River. The city lies on the lower reaches of the Ganges Delta and covers a total area of . Tropical vegetation and moist soils characterize the land, which is flat and close to sea level. This leaves Dhaka susceptible to flooding during the monsoon seasons owing to heavy rainfall and cyclones. Due to its location on the lowland plain of the Ganges Delta, the city is fringed by extensive mangroves and tidal flat ecosystems. Dhaka District is bounded by the districts of Gazipur, Tangail, Munshiganj, Rajbari, Narayanganj, and Manikganj. The city of Dhaka is built over a network of rivers. The city’s life is strongly intertwined with the rivers, as they are used for multiple purposes, including transportation. Except Old Dhaka, which is an old bazaar-style neighbourhood, the layout of the city follows a grid pattern with organic development influenced by traditional South Asian as well as Middle Eastern and Western patterns. Growth of the city is largely unplanned and is focused on the northern regions and around the city centre, where many of the more affluent neighbourhoods may be found. Most of the construction in the city consists of concrete high-rise buildings. Middle-class and upper-class housing, along with commercial and industrial areas, occupy most of the city. However, nearly one third of Dhaka's population lives in slums, as of 2016 (see below). Much activity is centred around a few large roads, where road laws are rarely obeyed and street vendors and beggars are frequently encountered. For much of recent history, Dhaka was characterized by roadside markets and small shops that sold a wide variety of goods. Recent years have seen the widespread construction of shopping…

Most-observed species

• House Crow

  Corvus splendens Vieillot, 1817 · Aves
  5,699
• Black Kite

  Milvus migrans (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  5,355
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,279
• Common Myna

  Acridotheres tristis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  4,713
• Asian Pied Starling

  Gracupica contra (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,470
• Red-vented Bulbul

  Pycnonotus cafer (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  4,455
• Oriental Magpie-Robin

  Copsychus saularis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,267
• Rose-ringed Parakeet

  Psittacula krameri (Scopoli, 1769) · Aves
  3,745

Most recent

• M 4.1 — 2025-12-04
  2 km ENE of Dhaka, Bangladesh
• M 4.1 — 2025-11-27
  16 km ENE of Tungi, Bangladesh
• M 4.3 — 2025-11-22
  5 km ENE of Paltan, Bangladesh
• M 5.4 — 2025-11-21
  14 km ESE of Tungi, Bangladesh
• M 5.5 — 2023-12-02
  9 km ENE of Rāmganj, Bangladesh
• M 4.2 — 2023-09-17
  12 km W of Narsingdi, Bangladesh