Translating text into space for mapping the past territory of a city: a study on spatial development of Dhaka during Mughal period

摘要

Abstract Background There is no established methodology for mapping the past territory of cities from text based historic information. As a result, the past territories of cities often remain obscure due to lack of spatial representation. Methods This article proposes a GIS based methodology to study the spatial development of cities in early times. It focuses on ‘historical geography’ which has been evolved as an interdisciplinary field bridging the divide between history and geography. Analyzing different ‘named places’ mentioned in the historical sources it first tries to develop a clear understanding about the physical development of Dhaka during Mughal period, which was then the capital of Bengal. Later it georeferenced those named places and applied GIS based techniques to map the past urban territory. Results The result shows the spatial development of Dhaka in Mughal period and how it undergone changes in pre and post Mughal era. The area of Dhaka in Mughal period was quantified 12.93 km_(2) which was comparable with any other top cities of the world in the 17th century. Application of GIS also extends the scope of the study to explain spatial pattern of the localities and the geological aspects of early urban development of Dhaka. Conclusions Analyzing different historic sources of information (both texts and maps), it has tried to define the past extent of Mughal Dhaka which has been missing till now. The methodological prospects of this study and its application will not only be limited in context of Dhaka, but for other cities as well.