Before the 10th century most of the land around Sylhet was covered with dense tropical jungle with rivers flowing through them. Inscriptions on ancient copper plates found around Sylhet describe the area as inhabitable but full of wild animals and poisonous reptiles. The Kamarupa Kings gave forest land to Brahmans to cultivate and civilise the tribal people and a millenium later the Mughals gave the land to muslims to do the same. The indigenous tribal people moved further north to escape the change and established their rule there, creating the natural divide that still exists today between Sylhet and Meghalaya.
According to inscriptions and Hindu holy scriptures, Sylhet was called Sreehatta in ancient times (Sanskrit for prosperous market place). One of the greatest explorers of all time, Ibn Batuta sailed down the Surma in 1346 and wrote about the villages, gardens, water wheels and orchards on the river bank in his travel journals, but he did not mention any market places as he did with other places he visited. The Moroccan explorer, Ibn Batuta, also met with the saint Hazrat Shah Jalal and described his commanding stature, yogic discipline, and miraculous deeds in his writings.
Sylhet is situated on the banks of the river Surma, one of the biggest rivers descending from high mountains of Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur, and Assam. According to Sylheti folklore, the Surma river which flows through Sylhet, was once a canal dug from the Barak River by the 12th century King Karthapal. It is said that the king named the river after his beautiful wife Surama.
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