The ancient archeological site of Mahasthangarh is believed to date back as far as 700 BC and appears to have been occupied right up to the 1700s. Mahasthangarh is located in the Shibganj Upzila (subdistrict) of the Bogra District of Bangladesh, near the village of Mahasthan. It is the oldest urban-style fortified settlement discovered in Bangladesh to date, and includes a temple with the tomb of Shah Sultan Balkhi Mahisawar, a dervish (Muslim saint) of royal lineage who traveled to the area in the 14th century with the aim of converting the locals to the Islamic religion
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The name of the site is taken from the words Mahasthan meaning a place of exceptional sacredness, and garh, meaning fort. Later discoveries have led researchers to the conclusion that the name of the area was initially Paundravardhanapura or Pundranagara, referring to the Pundra Kingdom in Indian epic literature, which was said to rule over an area stretching from West Bengal, to Bangladesh and into the area of India now known as Bihar.
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