Now the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka was the seat of the Mughal Viceroy of Bengal from 1608. A large city on the banks of the Buriganga (Old River), a branch of the Ganges, Dhaka is in the centre of the of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra river deltas. These flood during the annual monsoon season, making the surrounding region extremely fertile.
Army surgeon James Atkinson wrote: “Dacca is one of the most delightful stations in India, its climate being healthy and agreeable, its bazaars abundantly supplied … and each commodity the most excellent of its kind.” This vignette, from a drawing by George Chinnery, makes a feature of the contrast between the elegance of an ancient ruined mosque and native rustic architecture. It is adapted from plate 1 of Charles D’Oyly’s “Antiquities of Dacca”.
—-British Library Online Gallery
City Album 