Waters before time: prehistoric life and the Bay’s origins
The sea, in its vastness, has always been both a physical and spiritual source of renewal. The ancient Greeks saw the sea not only as a source of trade and sustenance but also as a symbol of cleansing the human condition—its expanse reminding humans of the limits and possibilities of life. Later civilizations across Asia, Africa, and Europe reached similar conclusions: maritime worlds were not secondary but central to the development of human societies. The sea, then, is simultaneously a healer, a sustainer, and a stage for history.
This episode explores how seas, rivers, and coastlines have shaped civilizations, showcasing why the Bengal Delta—now the core of Bangladesh—is a prime example of this maritime-human link. To understand this, one must consider both global history and regional details, connecting philosophy, anthropology, and geography. This episode sets the stage to shift from the broad concept of the sea to the more personal world of rivers and sediments in Episode Two.
The sea as cradle of civilizations
Human history has a strong maritime element. Fernand Braudel's The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World (1949) demonstrated how seas connect diverse peoples into shared cultural and economic networks. Likewise, David Abulafia's The Great Sea (2011) shows that the Mediterranean was not a barrier but a connecting fabric of civilizations, echoing Plato's view of the sea as a source of renewal and unity. These ideas are equally applicable to the Indian Ocean, which for thousands of years served as a cultural corridor linking East Africa, Arabia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, according to the "Trade and Civilisation in the Indian Ocean", a book by KN Chaudhuri published in 1985.
Bangladesh's maritime history closely mirrors this global story. The Bay of Bengal has never been isolated; it has always been a vital part of the Indian Ocean network. Roman coins found in Wari-Bateshwar, according to Banglapedia, suggest ancient trade dating back to before the Common Era. Ships from Bengal carried rice, textiles, and salt, and returned with horses, metals, and religious ideas. Just as Plato's sea offered "cure," these voyages helped Bengal adapt, absorb, and renew its cultural energies.
Anthropology and the Delta
Anthropology emphasizes the maritime aspect of civilization development. Claude Lévi-Strauss (1966) famously described rivers and seas as "axes of civilization," guiding migration and trade. The Bengal Delta exemplifies this process: it is both a gift and a challenge, supporting dense human settlements with fertile silt while demanding constant adaptation to floods and cyclones.
Rahul Sankrityayan's From Volga to Ganga (1943) creatively traces the development of societies from Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent, illustrating how migrations, rivers, and seas shaped culture and economy. Although partly fictional, Sankrityayan's broad narrative emphasizes that human history is deeply connected to water routes. His portrayal of South Asia's civilizational growth highlights the importance of river deltas, especially the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) system, as vibrant landscapes where geography and people constantly interact.
Indeed, the delta's anthropological importance cannot be overstated. As the world's largest delta, the GBM is home to over 160 million people, symbolizing both resilience and vulnerability (Encyclopedia Britannica 2024). The sediments that create fertility also require ongoing engineering, from ancient Pala embankments to modern coastal management efforts. The people of Bengal became skilled at negotiating water as part of their fate, turning rivers and seas into partners rather than foes.
Historical continuities
History offers further evidence. The Pala Empire (8th–12th century) expanded trade via sea routes linking Bengal to Southeast Asia, especially to Srivijaya in present-day Indonesia (Ray 2012). The Chola expeditions (11th century), often viewed as naval conquests, also included cultural and commercial exchanges across the Bay of Bengal (Sastri 1955). These interactions placed Bengal within a cosmopolitan maritime world long before Europeans arrived.
Islamic expansion added another layer. Arab merchants introduced not only goods but also new worldviews, embedding Bengal in the Islamic maritime oecumene—inhabited world (Hourani 1995). Later, the Portuguese in the 16th century used Chittagong and Satgaon as ports, integrating Bengal into the global economy. Each era has reinforced Plato's timeless claim: the sea not only sustains but also renews and transforms societies.
Maritime imagination and security
For modern Bangladesh, this historical maritime inheritance holds strategic importance. Contemporary security experts, such as Barry Buzan and Ole Wæver (1998), suggest that states define their survival through processes of "securitization"—framing specific issues as existential threats that require immediate action. In Bangladesh's case, maritime security offers both opportunities and risks. The Bay provides fisheries, hydrocarbons, and trade routes but also faces piracy, climate vulnerabilities, and geopolitical disputes. The healing sea, therefore, has its own ailments.
However, rather than viewing security solely through a military lens, a civilizational perspective is necessary. Clausewitz (1832) reminds us that war is an extension of politics; in maritime terms, naval power extends the economic and cultural potential of a nation. Bangladesh's struggle to articulate a National Security Strategy reflects a more profound ambivalence about how to align its ancient maritime inheritance with modern statecraft. This episode suggests that understanding Bangladesh's place in history is the first step toward a coherent strategy.
Toward the Delta's embrace
The movement from the sea to the rivers reflects both geography and storytelling. Seas nourish civilizations in theory, but deltas bring them to life in reality. The next episode, "The Delta's Embrace: Rivers, Sediments, and Human Habitation," will focus more closely on the GBM system. Here, the philosophical sea of Plato meets the anthropological rivers of Sankrityayan, creating a uniquely Bengali story of settlement, adaptation, and cultural growth. Just as Clarke reminded us that the planet is more ocean than land, Bengal reminds us that civilization is more water than soil. The delta is not just a geographical feature—it is destiny.
Prehistory and the Bay's origins
Geologists suggest that the Bay of Bengal is a relatively young formation, emerging in its current shape after the last Ice Age, about 10,000–12,000 years ago, when melting glaciers caused sea levels to rise significantly (Encyclopedia Britannica 2024). The Himalayan uplift, driven by tectonic collisions, supplied large amounts of sediments through the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna (GBM) rivers. This process created the fertile delta that remains the lifeblood of Bengal. Therefore, the Bay was not only a birthplace of marine connectivity but also a key geological architect of civilization.
Archaeological evidence supports the deep history of human presence along the Bay. Excavations at coastal and river sites in Bengal have uncovered shell middens, stone tools, and pottery shards dating to the Neolithic period (Banglapedia, 2023). These artifacts indicate that prehistoric communities adapted early to estuarine environments, practicing mixed economies of fishing, salt harvesting, and floodplain farming. Their boats, probably dugout canoes, were simple yet revolutionary technologies that allowed them to travel across rivers and tidal flats.
These communities were not isolated. The monsoon system, predictable though formidable, functioned as a natural "calendar" of exchange. By the late Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods, Bengal was part of a wider trading circuit, exchanging shells, beads, and salt for stone, metals, and grains from upland regions (Chakrabarti 2005). In these encounters, we glimpse the earliest "Bay of Bengal world system"—a foreshadowing of later maritime empires.
The anthropological lens
From an anthropological viewpoint, the Bay exemplifies "cultural ecology" — the way the environment and society influence each other. Julian Steward's (1955) theory suggests that human cultures adapt to their surroundings through technological and social changes. In Bengal, this is seen in stilt houses, flood-resistant farming practices, and rituals focused on rivers and storms.
Rahul Sankrityayan's From Volga to Ganga establishes a literary and philosophical parallel. Although partly fictional, the narrative highlights how human groups migrating across landscapes adapted to rivers and deltas, where water shaped economic activity and cosmology. His portrayal strongly connects with Bengal: here, water is not just a resource but a destiny. This view underscores that studying Bangladesh's history without considering its rivers and seas misses its very foundation.
Maritime cosmopolitanism
By the early historical period, the Bay of Bengal had become a hub of diverse exchanges. Greek and Roman sources mention the Gangetic ports as key points in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. The Periplus of the Erythraean was an ancient Greek travel and trade guide, likely written in the 1st century CE, that provides directions for sailors and merchants navigating the Red Sea, the Horn of Africa, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean, including parts of India and Sri Lanka. Bengal's exports—cotton textiles, sugar, and rice—were highly valued goods. Chinese pilgrims, like Xuanzang in the 7th century CE, documented the growth of Buddhist monasteries near river and maritime routes, connecting Bengal's scholarly life to its trading role (Ray 2012).
This maritime cosmopolitanism had lasting effects. Islam spread mainly through maritime trade rather than through conquest. Sufi saints and merchants worked together to develop a uniquely Bengali Islam—one deeply rooted in river and farm life but also open to a cosmopolitan spirit (Eaton 1993). Once again, Plato's saying about the sea healing ailments takes on a metaphorical meaning: maritime encounters encouraged cultural healing and fusion, creating hybridity that became a core part of Bengal's identity.
Continuities of vulnerability
The sea, however, was never a gentle force. Cyclones, tidal surges, and river floods often destroyed settlements. Historical records—from Mughal chronicles to colonial surveys—describe the Bay as both a source of wealth and a source of destruction (Chaudhuri 1985). These cycles of prosperity and disaster fostered resilience. Communities developed rituals of appeasement, survival strategies, and a cultural fatalism balanced by ingenuity.
The Dutch and British East India Companies, while exploiting Bengal's riches, also feared its waters. Monsoon unpredictability disrupted naval expeditions and trade schedules. This same volatility persists today, making Bangladesh one of the most climate-vulnerable countries. To understand this vulnerability, however, is to understand its historical depth: the Bay has always demanded adaptation.
Toward a strategic reawakening
In modern times, rediscovering Bangladesh's maritime heritage is both a strategic and scholarly priority (Ahmad 2025). The settlement of maritime boundaries with India (2014) and Myanmar (2012) through UNCLOS arbitration granted Bangladesh sovereign rights over 118,813 square kilometers of maritime territory (BIMRAD, 2022). This recognition of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) emphasizes that Bangladesh is not only a deltaic nation but also a maritime power.
This insight aligns with Barry Buzan's Copenhagen School framework, which emphasizes "securitization" as the act of framing issues as vital to survival (Buzan, Wæver, and de Wilde 1998). For Bangladesh, securitizing the maritime domain involves recognizing that fisheries depletion, energy exploration, and climate change are not secondary but crucial to national security. In this way, returning to the sea is both a revival of memory and a step toward the future.
Conclusion: From sea to Delta
The first episode shows that the sea is both a universal origin and a local destination. It places the Bay of Bengal within the larger context of global maritime civilization patterns while also emphasizing its unique influence on Bengal's history, culture, and identity. From Plato's philosophical ideas to Sankrityayan's migration stories, from prehistoric shell middens to Roman coins in Wari-Bateshwar, the evidence indicates that water is the first teacher and the sea is the first healer.
However, the story cannot stay at sea. To fully understand Bangladesh's identity, one must go inland—to the delta, where rivers carry Himalayan silt to meet the tides, and where human settlement becomes a complex dance with floods, fertility, and survival. Therefore, Episode Two, "The Delta's Embrace: Rivers, Sediments, and Human Habitation," will explore how the GBM system created one of the world's most dense human ecologies and how this geography continues to influence Bangladesh's path.
The journey from sea to delta is not a change in subject but a deepening of perspective. Where the sea connects civilizations, the delta anchors them. Where the sea heals the ailments of distance and isolation, the delta heals the ailments of hunger and lack of living space. Together, they tell the long and ongoing story of Bangladesh: a nation born of water, tested by tides, and destined to steer its future through the close bond of river and sea.
Writer: Commodore Syed Misbah Uddin Ahmad, (C), NUP, ndc, afwc, psc, BN (retd), Director General, Bangladesh Institute of Maritime Research and Development (BIMRAD). Email: misbah28686@gmail.com
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