Dhaka District facts for kids

Dacca District (Bengali: ঢাকা জেলা) is a very important area in the middle of Bangladesh. It's part of the Dhaka Division. More than half of this district is taken up by the city of Dhaka. Dhaka is the capital city of both the district and the entire country of Bangladesh.

History of Dhaka District

Lalbagh Fort was built by Shaista Khan.

The area of Dhaka has a very long history. For many centuries, the city was ruled by different kingdoms, first by Buddhist rulers and then by Hindu kings.

After these kingdoms, Dhaka was governed by Turkish and Afghan leaders from the Delhi Sultanate. This was before the powerful Mughals arrived in 1608.

During the Mughal rule, Dhaka District became famous for its amazing cloth products, especially a very fine fabric called Muslin. The first Mughal governor of the city was Islam Khan. He even named the town "Jahangir Nagar," which means City of Jahangir, to honor the Mughal emperor Jahangir. However, this name was not used for long after Jahangir passed away.

The city of Dhaka grew a lot under the Mughal general Shaista Khan. It became quite large, measuring about 19 by 13 kilometres (12 by 8 miles), and had almost a million people living there!

Later, in 1765, after the Battle of Plassey, the city came under the control of the British East India Company. At first, the number of people in Dhaka went down as another city, Kolkata, became more important. But eventually, Dhaka started to develop again. A modern system for water supply was set up in 1874, and electricity started to be supplied in 1878. The Dhaka Cantonment, a base for British and Indian soldiers, was also built near the city.

The Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban is where the national parliament meets.

Images for kids

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  Bashundhara City Shopping Complex

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  Jatiyo Smriti Soudho at Savar, a tribute to the martyrs of the Bangladesh Liberation War