The Pala Empire: Bengal's First Empire

Heard of Bengal’s very own and first Empire? That’s right, we had one! Also, is your surname Pala, Pal, or Paul? Ok there’s no historical evidence to prove this but the question itself is so interesting. Are you by any chance a descendent of the Pala dynasty? Imagine how better history lesson in our schools would be if we were taught this!

This follows on from our previous exploring the past post on the Kingdom of Gauda, where the notion of a United Bengal began.

So, take a look at our slides and have a renewed look into the Bengal’s so called ‘Golden Age’ and find out more about Bengal’s first Empire. It involves the spread of the word of the Buddha, magnificent structures, and the development of our mother tongue: Bengali.

• Cover: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IndianBuddha11.JPG

• image 2: http://coinindia.com/Dharmapala-545.01.jpg

• Image 3: Google Earth screenshot

• Image 4: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pala_Empire#/media/File:Indian_Kanauj_triangle_map.svg

• Image 5: https://www.alamy.com/the-pla-empire-one-of-the-major-middle-kingdoms-of-india-existed-from-7501174-ce-it-was-ruled-by-a-buddhist-dynasty-from-bengal-in-the-eastern-region-of-the-indian-subcontinent-all-the-rulers-bearing-names-ending-with-the-suffix-pala-modern-bengali-pl-which-means-protector-the-palas-were-often-described-by-opponents-as-the-lords-of-gauda-the-palas-were-followers-of-the-mahayana-and-tantric-schools-of-buddhism-gopala-was-the-first-ruler-from-the-dynasty-he-came-to-power-in-750-in-gaur-by-a-democratic-election-this-event-is-recognized-as-one-of-the-first-democratic-elections-image344240958.html

• Image 6: Post on Kingdom of Gauda

• Image 7: https://www.burmese-art.com/blog/mahayana-buddhism

• Image 8: Picture taken at Paharpur, Bangladesh by Amit Dev

• Image 9: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/39600

• General information on the Pala Empire: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pala_Empire