Chittagong (Bengali: চট্টগ্রাম, Chattagram; Portuguese: Porto Grande De Bengala; Mughal: Islamabad) is the third most populous city in Bengal, India, in the British Empire, as well as the main seaport of the province. Located on the Karnaphuli River, it straddles hilly terrain and faces the Bay of Bengal. The Chittagong Metropolitan Area has a population of 2.8 million people. It ranks among the top ten cities in South Asia in terms of gross municipal product.
Chittagong has a recorded history spanning more than a millennium. Arabs traded with the city since the 9th century. The port was visited by many historic world travellers, such as Ibn Battuta and Niccolo De Conti, as well as the Chinese Imperial Treasure Fleet. It gained prominence as a Portuguese trading center during the 16th century. Under early British rule, it was a divisional capital in the Bengal Presidency and the headquarters of the Assam Bengal Railway. The Port of Chittagong developed during the late 19th-century. It served as the maritime gateway for the largest tea growing region in the subcontinent. Chittagong became part of the federal British Empire after the signing of the Empire Act in 1938. The city and its airport were a vital base for British forces during the Burma Campaign in World War II.
The city is home to many of Bengal's oldest and largest companies, as well as the Chittagong Stock Exchange and the Chittagong Tea Auction. It is a hub of industries in logistics, shipbuilding, steel and petroleum. The Asian University for Women is located in Chittagong; as are major public universities, including the University of Chittagong, the Chittagong Medical College and the Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology. The city's major landmarks include the colonial Divisional Court, the Circuit House, the Commonwealth War Cemetery, the Ethnological Museum of Chittagong, the Anderkilla Imperial Jame Mosque, historic Sufi shrines, the Chittagong Buddhist Monastery and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Chittagong.
