Shashanka was the first independent king of a unified polity in the Bengal region, called the Gauda Kingdom. He reigned in the 7th century, some historians place his rule between circa 600 CE and 636/7 CE, whereas other sources place his reign between 590 and 625 CE.
A painting of Gaudeshwar Shashanka
The Rohtasgarh Fort, built circa 7th century
Coinage of Sasanka Deva. Samatata type. Assam mint.
Coin of Śaśānka-deva, king of Gauda, circa 600–630. Shiva seated facing on bull seated left / Lakshmi seated facing on lotus; being watered by small elephants at either side.
Bengal or endonym Bangla is a historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Bengal proper is divided between modern-day sovereign nation of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal.
Bengal in Asia
Punch-marked coin of the Vanga Kingdom, 400–300 BCE
Atisa of Bikrampur
Coin featuring a horseman issued by the Delhi Sultanate celebrating the Muslim conquest of Lakhnauti