Type Settlement
Scripts চিটাগাং(Bengali)
Other Forms FormsPort City of Bangladesh, Chattogram, Chatigaon, Chatigam, Chattagrama, Islamabad, Chattala, Chaityabhumi, Porto Grande De Bengala
Meaning & History
The etymology of Chittagong is uncertain. One explanation credits the first Arab traders for shatt ghangh, where shatt means "delta" and ghangh stood for the Ganges. The Arakanese chronicle states that a king named Tsu-la-taing Tsandaya, after conquering Bengal, set up a stone pillar as a trophy or memorial at the place since called Tst-ta-gaung as the limit of conquest. This king ascended the throne in Arakan year 311 corresponding to 952 A.D. He conquered this place two years later. The stone pillar with the inscription Tset-ta-gaung meaning "to make war is improper" cannot be a myth. Another legend dates the name to the spread of Islam, when a Muslim lit a lamp at the top of a hill in the city and called out for people to come to prayer. This is the English name of a major coastal city and financial centre in southeastern Bangladesh. It is also the second-largest city in the country and has been known by various names in history.