Mughal conquest of Chittagong refers to the conquest of Chittagong in 1666. On 27 January 1666 AD, the Arakan

Kingdom of Mrauk U The Kingdom of Mrauk-U (Arakanese language, Arakanese: မြောက်ဦး ဘုရင့်နိုင်ငံတော်) was a kingdom that existed on the Arakan coastal plain from 1429 to 1785. Based in the capital Mrauk-U, near t ...

was defeated by the Mughal forces under the command of Buzurg Ummed Khan, the son of Mughal Subedar

Shaista Khan Mirza Abu Talib (b. 22 November 1600 – d. 1694), better known as Shaista Khan, was a general and the Subahdar of Mughal Bengal. He was maternal uncle to the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, and acted as a key figure during his reign. Shaista Khan ini ...

. The conquest ended centuries of fragmented authority under the Arakanese Kingdom and various local powers. By incorporating Chittagong into the Mughal Empire, the Mughals established a centralized governance system across the region. This administrative restructuring standardized revenue collection, fortified local defenses, and reduced the frequent conflicts and piracy that had long destabilized the area. Most importantly, it permanently abolished the slave trade. The new administrative order not only consolidated Mughal power but also laid the groundwork for regional integration that would shape governance from the British colonial period to modern Bangladesh.

Background

The

was established in

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

region of Bengal for about a hundred years in the medieval period after overthrowing the

Sultans of Bengal The Bengal Sultanate ( Middle Bengali: , Classical Persian: ) was a late medieval sultanate based in the Bengal region in the eastern South Asia between the 14th and 16th century. It was the dominant power of the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, ...

. Since this victory,

has never been outside the administrative and political sphere of Bengal.

has always been associated with Bengal, as the entry point to Bengal, regardless of who ruled this land: Mughals, British, Pakistan, independent Bangladesh. The Portuguese helped Arakanese or Mogs in various anarchy situations. The Mogs also had business relations with the Dutch, which was known as the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

(VOC). Historians have described the atrocities of the Portuguese and the Mogs as "Both the Mogs of Arakanese and the Portuguese pirates constantly plundered Bengal (Dhaka to Chittagong region). They pierced the palms of the hands of all the Hindus and Muslims they could capture, inserted thin cane ribbons through the holes, and tied them up. Hung together below the ship's deck. Every morning they threw some uncooked rice to the prisoners from above, as food is thrown to birds. They were sold to Dutch, English and French merchants in the Deccan ports. Sometimes they brought their captives to

Tamluk Tamluk (), is a town and a municipality in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities of the world and the headquarter ...

and

Balasore Balasore, also known as Baleswar, is a city in the state of Odisha, about from the state capital Bhubaneswar and from Kolkata, in eastern India. It is the administrative headquarters of Balasore district and the largest city as well as heal ...

to sell them at high prices. Only the Portuguese sold their captives, but the Mogs employed the captives in

Arakan Arakan ( or ; , ), formerly anglicised as Aracan, is the historical geographical name for the northeastern coastal region of the Bay of Bengal, covering present-day Bangladesh and Myanmar. The region was called "Arakan" for centuries. It is ...

in agriculture and other occupations or as domestic servants and concubines". Historians, however, call this Arakanese reign a golden age of commercial prosperity. With the help of the Portuguese and their strong navy, the Arakanese were formidable enough to resist any attempts to overthrow them. Poet Alaol describes the Arakan (

) king's power-symbol fleet in his epic Sikandarnama (published in full in 1673): In 1657,

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

defeated his other brothers in a fratricidal war between the four sons of

Shah Jahan Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...

for the Mughal throne. One of the rival brothers of

(Alamgir) was Shah Shuja. Shah Shuja was

Subahdar Subahdar, also known as Nazim, was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty, Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, and the Mughal era who was alternately designated as Sahib- ...

of Bengal for about 20 years from 1640 to 1660. After the defeat in the fratricidal war, Shah Shuja hoped to sail from Noakhali to Mecca or Istanbul by sea. However, as the rainy season came, it did not happen any more. Meanwhile, Emperor Aurangzeb's forces are constantly looking for Shah Shuja. To escape from

, Shah Shuja sought political asylum in the neighboring state of Arakan with a large amount of treasures (approx 23 tons). In August 1660, the once mighty Bengal

Shah Shuja settled in Arakan State. But after six months, Shah Shuja was killed by the Arakan King. The daughters of Shah Shuja's family were abused, and the sons were imprisoned. This sad news of the Mughal Prince soon reached the Emperor of Delhi, who was Suja's brother

. The Mughal Emperor

sent two emissaries in succession to the Arakan royal court asking for the return of his brother Shah Shuja's children and treasures. The Arakanese captured and enslaved the first messenger. The second emissary was received by the royal court of Arakan, but all the children had already been killed, and their wealth confiscated, so there was no reply.

The conquest

To avenge the murder of his brother at the hands of the Arakan King, Aurangzeb sent his uncle and long-time political companion

(governor) of Bengal. Fearing an inevitable conflict with the Mughals the Arakanese started preparing for war. In 1664, they attacked Dhaka, the capital of Bengal, with the help of the Portuguese pirates and destroyed about 160 ships. At the behest of the Mughal Emperor

, governor of Bengal

embarked on a war plan to crush the Arakanese. In the winter of 1665,

formed a well-equipped army to fight against the Arakanese. His son, Buzurg Ummed Khan joined this mission of Chittagong recovery as the chief commander. Entrance River Map

In November 1665, the Mughals captured

Sandwip Sandwip (, ) is an island located in the southeastern coast of Bangladesh in the Chittagong District. Along with the island of Urir Char and Bhasan Char, this is part of Sandwip Upazila. Description Sandwip is located in the north-east of the ...

with the assurance of Dutch diplomatic support and military aid. The naval battle took on another dimension when 40 ships under the command of Portuguese Captain Moore, experienced in Bengal's waterways, joined the Mughal fleet. Meanwhile, 6500 Mughal army led by

's son Buzurg Ummed Khan started advancing towards Chittagong across Feni river. Before the Mughal conquest, Chittagong was called a forest of hills and trees. Historians wrote analogies that the forest was so dense that ants had no way to move. A large number of axes were supplied from Dhaka for the Mughal army, with which they cleared the forest and arrived at the outskirts of Chittagong. Historians call this road built by the Mughals the origin of the present Dhaka-Chittagong Trunk Road. On January 27, 1666, Chatgochar Killa or Anderkilla, the Arakanese centre of the region, fell after a three-day siege in a two-pronged attack. According to the information recorded in the Alamgirnama, the son of the former Mrauk U King Sirisudhammaraja is believed to have accompanied the Mughal force, and the Mughals intended to place him as king after conquering Arakan. But due to insufficient logistics and the monsoon, they limited their progress to the banks of the

Naf river The Naf River ( ''Naf Nodi'' ; ; ) is an international river marking part of the Bangladesh–Myanmar border, border of southeastern Bangladesh and northwestern Myanmar. Geography The Naf's average depth is , and maximum depth is . Its width ...

Aftermath

Bujurg Umid Khan renamed Chittagong as Islamabad after capturing Anderkilla and built a mosque on top of the fort the following year, which is now known as Anderkilla Jame Masjid. Above the entrance of the mosque, there are two stone blocks inscribed in Persian. The second one translates as 'O Wise! You tell the people of the world that the second Kaaba has been established in this world today. The date of its establishment is 1078 Hijri.' The Mughals and the Portuguese held sway in the following naval battle. The conquered territory to the western bank of Kashyapnadi (

Kaladan river The Kaladan (, ) or Kissapanadi River (, ), also known as the Beino, Bawinu and Kolodyne, is a river in the eastern Mizoram, Mizoram State of India, and in Chin State and Rakhine State of western Myanmar. The Kaladan River is called the Chhimtuip ...

) was placed under direct imperial administration. The name of Chittagong was changed to Islamabad, and it became the headquarters of a Mughal

faujdar Faujdar under the Mughals was an office that combined the functions of a military commander along with judicial and land revenue functions. The term faujdar contained pre-Mughal origins. During those times, the term referred to a military offic ...

. Khan also re-asserted Mughal control over

Cooch Behar Cooch Behar (), also known as Koch Bihar, is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal and it stands on bank of the Torsa river. The city is the headquarters of the Cooch Behar district. During the British Raj, Cooch Behar was the seat of the ...

and

Kamarupa Kamarupa (; also called Pragjyotisha or Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa), an early state during the Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, was (along with Davaka) the first historical kingdom of Assam. The Kamrupa word first appeared in the ...

. The Arakanese tried hard to recapture this region of Bengal, but they were not successful. Later, the Mughals built buildings, mosques, and temples in Chittagong.

References

{{reflist Battles involving the Mughal Empire Battles involving Portugal Bengal Subah History of Chittagong Division 1660s in the Mughal Empire Kingdom of Mrauk U Wars involving the Mughal Empire Military history of Bangladesh 1666 in Asia History of Rakhine Military history of the Indian Ocean