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History of India
History of India
The history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago, or with
earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago.[1] The Indus Valley Civilization, which
spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from c. 3300 to 1300 BCE, was the first
major civilization in India.[2] A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture developed in the Mature
Harappan period, from 2600 to 1900 BCE.[3] This Bronze Age civilization collapsed before the end of the second
millennium BCE and was followed by the Iron Age Vedic Civilization, which extended over much of the
Indo-Gangetic plain and which witnessed the rise of major polities known as the Mahajanapadas. In one of these
kingdoms, Magadha, Mahavira and Gautama Buddha were born in the 6th or 5th century BCE and propagated their
śramanic philosophies.
Almost all of the subcontinent was conquered by the Maurya Empire during the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE. It
subsequently became fragmented, with various parts ruled by numerous Middle kingdoms for the next 1,500 years.
This is known as the classical period of Indian history, during which India has sometimes been estimated to have had
the largest economy of the ancient and medieval world, controlling between one third and one fourth of the world's
wealth up to the 18th century.
Much of northern and central India was once again united in the 4th century CE, and remained so for two centuries
thereafter, under the Gupta Empire. This period, witnessing a Hindu religious and intellectual resurgence, is known
among its admirers as the "Golden Age of India". During the same time, and for several centuries afterwards,
southern India, under the rule of the Chalukyas, Cholas, Pallavas, and Pandyas, experienced its own golden age.
During this period, aspects of Indian civilization, administration, culture, and religion (Hinduism and Buddhism)
spread to much of Asia.
The southern state of Kerala had maritime business links with the Roman Empire from around 77 CE. Islam was
introduced in Kerala through this route by Muslim traders. Muslim rule in the subcontinent began in 712 CE when
the Arab general Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Sindh and Multan in southern Punjab in modern day Pakistan,[4]
setting the stage for several successive invasions from Central Asia between the 10th and 15th centuries CE, leading
to the formation of Muslim empires in the Indian subcontinent such as the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire.
Mughal rule came from Central Asia to cover most of the northern parts of the subcontinent. Mughal rulers
introduced Central Asian art and architecture to India. In addition to the Mughals and various Rajput kingdoms,
several independent Hindu states, such as the Vijayanagara Empire, the Maratha Empire, and the Ahom Kingdom,
flourished contemporaneously in southern, western, and northeastern India respectively. The Mughal Empire
suffered a gradual decline in the early 18th century, which provided opportunities for the Afghans, Balochis, Sikhs,
and Marathas to exercise control over large areas in the northwest of the subcontinent until the British East India
Company gained ascendancy over South Asia.[5]
Beginning in the mid-18th century and over the next century, India was gradually annexed by the British East India
Company. Dissatisfaction with Company rule led to the Indian Rebellion of 1857, after which India was directly
administered by the British Crown and witnessed a period of both rapid development of infrastructure and economic
decline. During the first half of the 20th century, a nationwide struggle for independence was launched by the Indian
National Congress and later joined by the Muslim League. The subcontinent gained independence from the United
Kingdom in 1947, after being partitioned into the dominions of India and Pakistan.
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History of India
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Pre-Historic era
Stone Age
Further information: Mehrgarh, Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka, and Edakkal Caves
Isolated remains of Homo erectus in Hathnora in the Narmada
Valley in central India indicate that India might have been
inhabited since at least the Middle Pleistocene era, somewhere
between 500,000 and 200,000 years ago.[6] [7]
Tools crafted by proto-humans that have been dated back two
million years have been discovered in the northwestern part of the
subcontinent.[8] [9] The ancient history of the region includes some
of South Asia's oldest settlements[10] and some of its major
civilizations.[11] [12] The earliest archaeological site in the
subcontinent is the palaeolithic hominid site in the Soan River
valley.[13] Soanian sites are found in the Sivalik region across
what are now India, Pakistan, and Nepal.[14]
Bhimbetka rock painting, Madhya Pradesh, India
(c. 30,000 years old)
The Mesolithic period in the Indian subcontinent was followed by
the Neolithic period, when more extensive settlement of the
subcontinent occurred after the end of the last Ice Age
approximately 12,000 years ago. The first confirmed
semipermanent settlements appeared 9,000 years ago in the
Bhimbetka rock shelters in modern Madhya Pradesh, India.
Early Neolithic culture in South Asia is represented by the
Mehrgarh findings (7000 BCE onwards) in present-day
Stone age (5000 BC) writings of Edakkal Caves in
Balochistan, Pakistan.[15] Traces of a Neolithic culture have been
Kerala, India.
alleged to be submerged in the Gulf of Khambat in India,
[16]
radiocarbon dated to 7500 BCE.
However, the one dredged
piece of wood in question was found in an area of strong ocean currents. Neolithic agriculture cultures sprang up in
the Indus Valley region around 5000 BCE, in the lower Gangetic valley around 3000 BCE, and in later South India,
spreading southwards and also northwards into Malwa around 1800 BCE. The first urban civilization of the region
began with the Indus Valley Civilization.[17]
History of India
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Bronze Age
The Bronze Age in the Indian subcontinent
began around 3300 BCE with the early
Indus Valley Civilization. It was centered on
the Indus River and its tributaries which
extended into the Ghaggar-Hakra River
valley,[11] the Ganges-Yamuna Doab,[18]
Gujarat,[19]
and
southeastern
[20]
Afghanistan.
The docks of ancient Lothal as they appear today.
The civilization is primarily located in
modern-day India (Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab
and Rajasthan provinces) and Pakistan
(Sindh, Punjab, and Balochistan provinces).
Historically part of Ancient India, it is one
of the world's earliest urban civilizations,
along with Mesopotamia and Ancient
Egypt.[21] Inhabitants of the ancient Indus
river valley, the Harappans, developed new
techniques in metallurgy and handicraft
(carneol products, seal carving), and
produced copper, bronze, lead, and tin.
The Mature Indus civilization flourished
from about 2600 to 1900 BCE, marking the
"Priest King" of Indus
beginning of the urban civilization on the
Valley Civilization
subcontinent. The civilization included
urban centers such as Dholavira,
Kalibangan, Rupar, Rakhigarhi, and Lothal in modern-day India, and Harappa, Ganeriwala, and Mohenjo-daro in
modern-day Pakistan. The civilization is noted for its cities built of brick, roadside drainage system, and multistoried
houses.
Early historic period
Vedic period
History of India
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The Vedic period is characterized by Indo-Aryan
culture associated with the texts of Vedas, sacred to
Hindus, which were orally composed in Vedic Sanskrit.
The Vedas are some of the oldest extant texts in
India[22] and next to some writings in Egypt and
Mesopotamia are the oldest in the world. The Vedic
period lasted from about 1500 to 500 BCE[23] , laying
the foundations of Hinduism and other cultural aspects
of early Indian society. The Aryans established Vedic
civilization all over north India, particularly in the
Gangetic Plain. This period succeeded the prehistoric
Late Harappan, during which immigrations of
Map of North India in the late Vedic period.
Indo-Aryan-speaking tribes overlaid the existing
civilizations of local people whom they called Dasyus. The Aryans, originally came from the Caspian Sea area of
Asia.[24] Settling first in Bactria and then in the Hindu-Kush area of India, before settling in the Ganges and Yamuna
River valleys.[25]
Many scholars throughout history have maintained that the Aryans subjugated the "backward aboriginies" that had
previously lived in northern India.[26] However, discoveries of advanced civilizations in the Indus River valley,
caused many scholars to change their theories in this regard. The Aryans may have received as much from the
neighboring cultures of northern India as they contributed. Indeed when the Aryans moved into India, they were
semi-nomadic pastoralists[27] , their clothing was simple[28] , they had no regular legal institutions[29] and their
religion was a very basic form of animism. The basis of the Aryan economy had always been centered around cattle
raising.[30] During this period of time, the cow began to be venerated in Aryan society. Thus, the origins of the later
Hindu belief in India that cows are sacred may have started during this time.[31]
Early Vedic society consisted of largely pastoral groups, with late Harappan
urbanization having been abandoned.[32] After the time of the Rigveda, Aryan
society became increasingly agricultural and was socially organized around
the four varnas, or social classes. In addition to the Vedas, the principal texts
of Hinduism, the core themes of the Sanskrit epics Ramayana and
Mahabharata are said to have their ultimate origins during this period.[33] The
Mahabharata remains, today, the longest single poem in the world.[34] The
events described in the shorter, Ramayana are from a later period of history
than the events of the Mahabharata.[35] The early Indo-Aryan presence
probably corresponds, in part, to the Ochre Coloured Pottery culture in
archaeological contexts.[36]
The swastika is a major element of Hindu
heiiconography.
The Kuru kingdom[37] corresponds to the Black and Red Ware and Painted
Grey Ware cultures and to the beginning of the Iron Age in northwestern India, around 1000 BCE, as well as with
the composition of the Atharvaveda, the first Indian text to mention iron, as śyāma ayas, literally "black metal." The
Painted Grey Ware culture spanned much of northern India from about 1100 to 600 BCE.[36] The Vedic Period also
established republics such as Vaishali, which existed as early as the 6th century BCE and persisted in some areas
until the 4th century CE. The later part of this period corresponds with an increasing movement away from the
previous tribal system towards the establishment of kingdoms, called mahajanapadas.
History of India
5
Mahajanapadas
Further information: Upanishads, Indian Religions, Indian
philosophy, and Ancient universities of India
Gautama Buddha undertaking extreme ascetic practices
before his enlightenment on the bank of river Falgu in
Bodh Gaya, Bihar.
In the later Vedic Age, a number of small kingdoms or city states
had covered the subcontinent, many mentioned in Vedic, early
Buddhist and Jaina literature as far back as 1000 BCE. By 500
BCE, sixteen monarchies and "republics" known as the
Mahajanapadas — Kasi, Kosala, Anga, Magadha, Vajji (or Vriji),
Malla, Chedi, Vatsa (or Vamsa), Kuru, Panchala, Matsya (or
Machcha), Surasena, Assaka, Avanti, Gandhara, and Kamboja —
stretched across the Indo-Gangetic Plain from modern-day
Afghanistan to Bengal and Maharastra. This period saw the second
major rise of urbanism in India after the Indus Valley Civilization.
Many smaller clans mentioned within early literature seem to have
been present across the rest of the subcontinent. Some of these
kings were hereditary; other states elected their rulers. The
educated speech at that time was Sanskrit, while the languages of
the general population of northern India are referred to as Prakrits.
Many of the sixteen kingdoms had coalesced to four major ones by
500/400 BCE, by the time of Gautama Buddha. These four were
Vatsa, Avanti, Kosala, and Magadha.[38]
Detail of a leaf with, The Birth of Mahavira (the 24th
Tirthankara of Jainism), from the Kalpa Sutra,
c.1375-1400.
Hindu rituals at that time were complicated and conducted by the
priestly class. It is thought that the Upanishads, late Vedic texts
dealing mainly with philosophy, were composed in the later Vedic
Age and early in this period of the Mahajanapadas (from about
600 to 400 BCE). The Upanishads had a substantial effect on
Indian philosophy and were contemporary with the development
of Buddhism and Jainism, indicating a golden age of thought in
this period.
According to Buddhism, Gautama Buddha attained the state of
"enlightenment" and became known as Buddha "Enlightened" c.
537 BCE. Around the same time, Mahavira (the 24th Tirthankara in Jainism) propagated a similar theology that was
to later become Jainism.[39] However, Jain orthodoxy believes the teachings of the Tirthankaras predates all known
time and scholars believe Parshva, accorded status as the 23rd Tirthankara, was a historical figure. The Vedas are
believed to have documented a few Tirthankaras and an ascetic order similar to the shramana movement.[40]
The Buddha's teachings and Jainism had doctrines inclined toward asceticism, and they were preached in Prakrit,
which helped them gain acceptance amongst the masses. They have profoundly influenced practices that Hinduism
and
Indian
spiritual
orders
are
History of India
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associated with, including vegetarianism, prohibition of animal
slaughter and ahimsa (non-violence). While the geographic impact
of Jainism was limited to India, Buddhist nuns and monks
eventually spread the teachings of Buddha to Central Asia, East
Asia, Tibet, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.
The Mahajanapadas were the sixteen most powerful
kingdoms and republics of the era, located mainly
across the fertile Indo-Gangetic plains, however there
were a number of smaller kingdoms stretching the
length and breadth of Ancient India.
Nalanda is considered one of the first great universities
in recorded history. It was the center of Buddhist
learning and research in the world from 450 to 1193
CE.
Persian and Greek conquests
In 530 BCE Cyrus, King of the Persian
Achaemenid
Empire
crossed
the
Hindu-Kush mountains to seek tribute from
the tribes of Kamboja, Gandhara and the
trans-India region.[41] By 520 BCE, during
the reign of Darius I of Persia, much of the
northwestern subcontinent (present-day
eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan) came
under the rule of the Persian Achaemenid
Empire. The area remained under Persian
control for two centuries.[42] During this
time India supplied mercenaries to the
Persian army then fighting in Greece.[43]
Asia in 323 BCE, the Nanda Empire and Gangaridai Empire in relation to
Alexander's Empire and neighbors.
History of India
Under Persian rule the famous city of Takshashila became a center where both Vedic and Iranian learning were
mingled.[44] The impact of Persian ideas was felt in many areas of Indian life. Persian coinage and rock inscriptions
were copied by India. However, Persian ascendency in northern India ended with Alexander the Great's conquest of
Persia in 327 BCE.[45]
By 326 BCE, Alexander the Great had conquered Asia Minor and the Achaemenid Empire and had reached the
northwest frontiers of the Indian subcontinent. There he defeated King Porus in the Battle of the Hydaspes (near
modern-day Jhelum, Pakistan) and conquered much of the Punjab.[46] Alexander's march east put him in
confrontation with the Nanda Empire of Magadha and the Gangaridai Empire of Bengal. His army, exhausted and
frightened by the prospect of facing larger Indian armies at the Ganges River, mutinied at the Hyphasis (modern
Beas River) and refused to march further East. Alexander, after the meeting with his officer, Coenus, was convinced
that it was better to return.
The Persian and Greek invasions had important repercussions on Indian civilization. The political systems of the
Persians were to influence future forms of governance on the subcontinent, including the administration of the
Mauryan dynasty. In addition, the region of Gandhara, or present-day eastern Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan,
became a melting pot of Indian, Persian, Central Asian, and Greek cultures and gave rise to a hybrid culture,
Greco-Buddhism, which lasted until the 5th century CE and influenced the artistic development of Mahayana
Buddhism.
Maurya Empire
Further information: Chandragupta Maurya, Bindusara, and Ashoka the Great
The Maurya Empire (322–185 BCE), ruled by the
Mauryan dynasty, was a geographically extensive and
powerful political and military empire in ancient India.
The empire was established by Chandragupta Maurya
in Magadha what is now Bihar.[47] The empire
flourished under the reign of Ashoka the Great.[48] At
its greatest extent, it stretched to the north to the natural
boundaries of the Himalayas and to the east into what is
now Assam. To the west, it reached beyond modern
Pakistan, annexing Balochistan and much of what is
now Afghanistan, including the modern Herat and
Kandahar provinces. The empire was expanded into
India's central and southern regions by the emperors
Maurya Empire under Ashoka the Great
Chandragupta and Bindusara, but it excluded extensive
unexplored tribal and forested regions near Kalinga
which were subsequently taken by Ashoka. Like every state, the Maurya Empire needed to have a unified
administrative apparatus. Ashoka ruled the Maurya Empire for 37 years from 268 BCE until he died in 232 BCE.[49]
During that time, Ashoka pursued an active foreign policy aimed at setting up a unified state.[50] However, Ashoka
became involved in a war with the state of Kalinga which is located on the western shore of the Bay of Bengal.[51]
This war forced Ashoka to abandon his attempt at a foreign policy which would unify the Maurya Empire.[52]
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History of India
8
Slavery had begun in India during the Vedic era.
However, during the Mauryan Empire slavery
developed much more rapidly.[53] The Mauryan Empire
was based on a modern and efficient economy and
society. However, the sale of merchandise was closely
regulated by the government.[54] Although there was no
banking in the Mauryan society, usury was customary
with loans made at the recognized interest rate of 15%
per annum.
Ashoka's reign propagated Buddhism. In this regard
Ashoka established many Buddhist monuments.
Indeed, Ashoka put a strain on the economy and the
Ashokan pillar at Vaishali, 3rd century BCE.
government by his strong suport of Buddhism. towards
the end of his reign he "bled the state coffers white with
his generous gifts to promote the promulation of Buddha's teaching.[55] As might be expected, this policy caused
considerable opposition within the government. This opposition rallied around Sampadi, Ashoka's grandson and heir
to the throne.[56] Religious opposition to Ashoka also arose among the orthodox Brahmanists and the adherents of
Jainism--a religion based on non-violence toward all living beings.[57]
Chandragupta's minister Chanakya wrote the Arthashastra, one of the greatest treatises on economics, politics,
foreign affairs, administration, military arts, war, and religion produced in Asia. Archaeologically, the period of
Mauryan rule in South Asia falls into the era of Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW). The Arthashastra and the
Edicts of Ashoka are primary written records of the Mauryan times. The Lion Capital of Asoka at Sarnath, is the
national emblem of India.
Early Middle Kingdoms — The Golden Age
Kharavela Empire
Gupta Empire
Ancient India during the rise of Sunga
Empire and Satavahana Empire.
Kushan Empire and Western Satraps of
Ancient India in the north along with
Pandyans and Early Cholas in southern
India.
The middle period was a time of notable cultural development. The Satavahana dynasty, also known as the Andhras,
ruled in southern and central India after around 230 BCE. Satakarni, the sixth ruler of the Satvahana dynasty,
History of India
defeated the Sunga Empire of north India. Afterwards, Kharavela, the warrior king of Kalinga,[58] ruled a vast
empire and was responsible for the propagation of Jainism in the Indian subcontinent.[58] The Kharavelan Jain
empire included a formidable maritime empire with trading routes linking it to Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand,
Vietnam, Cambodia, Borneo, Bali, Sumatra, and Java. Colonists from Kalinga settled in Sri Lanka, Burma, as well
as the Maldives and the Malay Archipelago. The Kuninda Kingdom was a small Himalayan state that survived from
around the 2nd century BCE to roughly the 3rd century CE. The Kushanas migrated from Central Asia into
northwestern India in the middle of the 1st century CE and founded an empire that eventually stretched from
Tajikistan to the middle Ganges. The Western Satraps (35-405 CE) were Saka rulers of the western and central part
of India. They were the successors of the Indo-Scythians and contemporaries of the Kushans who ruled the northern
part of the Indian subcontinent and the Satavahana (Andhra) who ruled in central and southern India.
Different dynasties such as the Pandyans, Cholas, Cheras, Kadambas, Western Gangas, Pallavas, and Chalukyas,
dominated the southern part of the Indian peninsula at different periods of time. Several southern kingdoms formed
overseas empires that stretched into Southeast Asia. The kingdoms warred with each other and the Deccan states for
domination of the south. The Kalabras, a Buddhist dynasty, briefly interrupted the usual domination of the Cholas,
Cheras, and Pandyas in the south.
Northwestern hybrid cultures
The northwestern hybrid cultures of the subcontinent included the Indo-Greeks, the
Indo-Scythians, the Indo-Parthians, and the Indo-Sassinids. The first of these, the
Indo-Greek Kingdom, was founded when the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius
invaded the region in 180 BCE, extending his rule over various parts of present-day
Afghanistan and Pakistan. Lasting for almost two centuries, the kingdom was ruled
by a succession of more than 30 Greek kings, who were often in conflict with each
other. The Indo-Scythians were a branch of the Indo-European Sakas (Scythians)
who migrated from southern Siberia, first into Bactria, subsequently into Sogdiana,
The founder of the Indo-Greek
Kashmir, Arachosia, and Gandhara, and finally into India. Their kingdom lasted
Kingdom, Demetrius I "the
Invincible" (205–171 BCE).
from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century BCE. Yet another
kingdom, the Indo-Parthians (also known as the Pahlavas), came to control most of
present-day Afghanistan and northern Pakistan, after fighting many local rulers such as the Kushan ruler Kujula
Kadphises, in the Gandhara region. The Sassanid empire of Persia, who was contemporaneous with the Gupta
Empire, expanded into the region of present-day Balochistan in Pakistan, where the mingling of Indian culture and
the culture of Iran gave birth to a hybrid culture under the Indo-Sassanids.
Kushan Empire
The Kushan Empire expanded out of what is now Afghanistan into the northwest of the subcontinent under the
leadership of their first emperor, Kujula Kadphises, about the middle of the 1st century CE. By the time of his
grandson, Kanishka, (whose era is thought to have begun c. 127 CE), they had conquered most of northern India, at
least as far as Saketa and Pataliputra, in the middle Ganges Valley, and probably as far as the Bay of Bengal.[59]
They played an important role in the establishment of Buddhism in India and its spread to Central Asia and China.
By the 3rd century, their empire in India was disintegrating; their last known great emperor being Vasudeva I (c.
190-225 CE).
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History of India
10
Roman trade with India
Roman trade with India started around 1 CE, during the reign of Augustus and
following his conquest of Egypt, which had been India's biggest trade partner in the
West.
The trade started by Eudoxus of Cyzicus in 130 BCE kept increasing, and according
to Strabo (II.5.12.[60] ), by the time of Augustus, up to 120 ships set sail every year
from Myos Hormos on the Red Sea to India. So much gold was used for this trade,
and apparently recycled by the Kushans for their own coinage, that Pliny the Elder
(NH VI.101) complained about the drain of specie to India:
"India, China and the Arabian peninsula take one hundred million sesterces
from our empire per annum at a conservative estimate: that is what our
luxuries and women cost us. For what percentage of these imports is intended
for sacrifices to the gods or the spirits of the dead?"
Coin of the Roman emperor
Augustus found at the
Pudukottai, South India.
—Pliny, Historia Naturae 12.41.84.[61]
The maritime (but not the overland) trade routes, harbours, and trade items are described in detail in the 1st century
CE Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.
Gupta rule
Further information: Kalidasa, Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Vishnu
Sharma, and Vatsyayana
Further
information:
Meghadūta, Abhijñānaśākuntala, Kumārasambhava, Panchatantra, Aryabhatiya, Indian
numerals, and Kama Sutra
Gupta Empire (240 to 550 AD)
History of India
11
The Classical Age refers to the period when much of the Indian
subcontinent was reunited under the Gupta Empire (c. 320–550
CE).[62] [63] This period has been called the Golden Age of
India[64] and was marked by extensive achievements in science,
technology, engineering, art, dialectic, literature, logic,
mathematics, astronomy, religion, and philosophy that
crystallized the elements of what is generally known as Hindu
culture.[65] The decimal numeral system, including the concept
of zero, was invented in India during this period.[66] The peace
and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas enabled the
pursuit of scientific and artistic endeavors in India.[67]
The high points of this cultural creativity are magnificent
architecture, sculpture, and painting.[68] The Gupta period
Queen Kumaradevi and King Chandragupta I, depicted on
produced scholars such as Kalidasa, Aryabhata, Varahamihira,
a coin of their son Samudragupta, 335–380 CE.
Vishnu Sharma, and Vatsyayana who made great advancements
in many academic fields.[69] Science and political
administration reached new heights during the Gupta era. Strong trade ties also made the region an important cultural
center and established it as a base that would influence nearby kingdoms and regions in Burma, Sri Lanka, the Malay
Archipelago, and Indochina.
The Gupta period marked a watershed of Indian culture: the Guptas performed Vedic sacrifices to legitimize their
rule, but they also patronized Buddhism, which continued to provide an alternative to Brahmanical orthodoxy. The
military exploits of the first three rulers—Chandragupta I (c. 319–335), Samudragupta (c. 335–376), and
Chandragupta II (c. 376–415) —brought much of India under their leadership.[70] They successfully resisted the
northwestern kingdoms until the arrival of the Hunas, who established themselves in Afghanistan by the first half of
the 5th century, with their capital at Bamiyan.[71] However, much of the Deccan and southern India were largely
unaffected by these events in the north.[72] [73]
Late Middle Kingdoms — The Classical Age
Pala Empire under Dharmapala Pala Empire under Devapala
History of India
The "Classical Age" in India began with the Gupta Empire and the
resurgence of the north during Harsha's conquests around the 7th
century CE, and ended with the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire in
the south in the 13th century, due to pressure from the invaders to
the north. This period produced some of India's finest art,
considered the epitome of classical development, and the
development of the main spiritual and philosophical systems
which continued to be in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. King
Harsha of Kannauj succeeded in reuniting northern India during
his reign in the 7th century, after the collapse of the Gupta
dynasty. His kingdom collapsed after his death.
From the 7th to the 9th century, three dynasties contested for
control of northern India: the Gurjara Pratiharas of Malwa, the
Palas of Bengal, and the Rashtrakutas of the Deccan. The Sena
dynasty would later assume control of the Pala Empire, and the
Gurjara Pratiharas fragmented into various states. These were the
first of the Rajput states, a series of kingdoms which managed to
survive in some form for almost a millennium, until Indian
independence from the British. The first recorded Rajput
kingdoms emerged in Rajasthan in the 6th century, and small
Rajput dynasties later ruled much of northern India. One Gurjar[74]
[75]
Rajput of the Chauhan clan, Prithvi Raj Chauhan, was known
for bloody conflicts against the advancing Islamic sultanates. The
Shahi dynasty ruled portions of eastern Afghanistan, northern
Pakistan, and Kashmir from the mid-7th century to the early 11th
century.
12
Chola Empire under Rajendra Chola c. 1030 C.E.
Badami Chalukya Empire
The Chalukya dynasty ruled parts of southern and central India
from Badami in Karnataka between 550 and 750, and then again
from Kalyani between 970 and 1190. The Pallavas of
Kanchipuram were their contemporaries further to the south. With
the decline of the Chalukya empire, their feudatories, the Hoysalas
of Halebidu, Kakatiyas of Warangal, Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri,
and a southern branch of the Kalachuri, divided the vast Chalukya
empire amongst themselves around the middle of 12th century.
The Chola Empire at its peak covered much of the Indian
subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Rajaraja Chola I conquered all of
peninsular south India and parts of Sri Lanka. Rajendra Chola I's
navies went even further, occupying coasts from Burma (now
Myanmar) to Vietnam,[76] the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the
Lakshadweep (Laccadive) islands, Sumatra, and the Malay
Peninsula in Southeast Asia and the Pegu islands. Later during the
middle period, the Pandyan Empire emerged in Tamil Nadu, as
well as the Chera Empire in Kerala. By 1343, all these dynasties
had ceased to exist, giving rise to the Vijayanagar empire.
The Kanauj Triangle was the focal point of empires the Rashtrakutas of Deccan, the Gurjara Pratiharas of
Malwa, and the Palas of Bengal.
History of India
The ports of south India were engaged in the Indian Ocean trade, chiefly involving spices, with the Roman Empire to
the west and Southeast Asia to the east.[77] [78] Literature in local vernaculars and spectacular architecture flourished
until about the beginning of the 14th century, when southern expeditions of the sultan of Delhi took their toll on
these kingdoms. The Hindu Vijayanagar dynasty came into conflict with the Islamic Bahmani Sultanate, and the
clashing of the two systems caused a mingling of the indigenous and foreign cultures that left lasting cultural
influences on each other. The Vijaynagar Empire eventually declined due to pressure from the first Delhi sultanates
that had managed to establish themselves in the north around the city of Delhi by that time.
The Islamic Sultanates
After conquering Persia, Arab Islamic Caliphate incorporated parts
of what is now Pakistan around 720 CE. The Muslim rulers were
keen to invade India,[79] which was a rich region,[80] with a
flourishing international trade and the only known diamond mines
in the world. In 712 CE an Arab Muslim general called
Muhammad bin Qasim conquered most of the Indus region in
modern day Pakistan, for the Umayyad empire, to be made the
"As-Sindh" province with its capital at Al-Mansurah, 72 km
(45 mi) north of modern Hyderabad in Sindh, Pakistan. After
several wars including the Battle of Rajasthan, where the Hindu
Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur, has the second largest
Rajput clans defeated the Umayyad Arabs, their expansion was
pre-modern dome in the world after the Byzantine
checked and contained to Sindh in Pakistan, many short-lived
Hagia Sophia.
Islamic kingdoms (sultanates) under foreign rulers were
established across the north western subcontinent over a period of a few centuries. Additionally, Muslim trading
communities had flourished throughout coastal south India, particularly in Kerala, where Muslim traders arrived in
small numbers, mainly from the Arabian peninsula. This had marked the introduction of a third Abrahamic Middle
Eastern religion, following Judaism and Christianity, often in puritanical form. Later, the Bahmani Sultanate and
Deccan sultanates founded by Turkic rulers, flourished in the south.
13
History of India
14
Delhi Sultanate
Qutub Minar is the world's tallest brick minaret,
commenced by Qutb-ud-din Aybak of the Slave
dynasty.
In the 12th and 13th centuries, Turks and Afghans invaded parts of
northern India and established the Delhi Sultanate in the former
Rajput holdings.[81] The subsequent Slave dynasty of Delhi
managed to conquer large areas of northern India, approximately
equal in extent to the ancient Gupta Empire, while the Khilji
dynasty was also able to conquer most of central India, but were
ultimately unsuccessful in conquering and uniting the
subcontinent. The Sultanate ushered in a period of Indian cultural
renaissance. The resulting "Indo-Muslim" fusion of cultures left
lasting syncretic monuments in architecture, music, literature,
religion, and clothing. It is surmised that the language of Urdu
(literally meaning "horde" or "camp" in various Turkic dialects)
was born during the Delhi Sultanate period as a result of the
intermingling of the local speakers of Sanskritic Prakrits with
immigrants speaking Persian, Turkic, and Arabic under the
Muslim rulers. The Delhi Sultanate is the only Indo-Islamic
empire to have enthroned one of the few female rulers in India,
Razia Sultana (1236–1240).
A Turco-Mongol conqueror in Central Asia, Timur (Tamerlane),
attacked the reigning Sultan Nasir-u Din Mehmud of the Tughlaq
Dynasty in the north Indian city of Delhi.[82] The Sultan's army was defeated on December 17, 1398. Timur entered
Delhi and the city was sacked, destroyed, and left in ruins, after Timur's army had killed and plundered for three days
and nights. He ordered the whole city to be sacked except for the sayyids, scholars, and the other Muslims,; 100,000
war prisoners, mostly Hindus, were put to death in one day.[83]
The Mughal era
In 1526, Babur, a Timurid descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan
from Fergana Valley(modern day Uzbekistan), swept across the
Khyber Pass and established the Mughal Empire, covering modern day
Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.[84] However, his son
Humayun was defeated by the Afghan warrior Sher Shah Suri in the
year 1540, and Humayun was forced to retreat to Kabul. After Sher
Shah's death, his son Islam Shah Suri and the Hindu king Samrat Hem
Chandra Vikramaditya, who had won 22 battles from Punjab to Bengal
and had established a secular Hindu Raj, ruled North India from Delhi
till 1556, when Akbar's forces defeated and killed Hemu in the Second
Battle of Panipat on 6 November 1556.
The Mughal dynasty ruled most of the Indian subcontinent by 1600; it
went into a slow decline after 1707 and was finally defeated during the
Indian Rebellion of 1857, also called the 1857 War of Independence.
This period marked vast social change in the subcontinent as the Hindu
majority were ruled over by the Mughal emperors, most of whom
Extent of the Mughal Empire in 1700.
History of India
Taj Mahal, built by the Mughals
15
showed religious tolerance, liberally patronising Hindu culture. The
famous emperor Akbar, who was the grandson of Babar, tried to
establish a good relationship with the Hindus. However, later emperors
such as Aurangazeb tried to establish complete Muslim dominance,
and as a result several historical temples were destroyed during this
period and taxes imposed on non-Muslims. During the decline of the
Mughal Empire, several smaller states rose to fill the power vacuum
and themselves were contributing factors to the decline. In 1739, Nader
Shah, emperor of Iran, defeated the Mughal army at the huge Battle of
Karnal. After this victory, Nader captured and sacked Delhi, carrying
away many treasures, including the Peacock Throne.[85]
The Mughals were perhaps the richest single dynasty to have ever existed. During the Mughal era, the dominant
political forces consisted of the Mughal Empire and its tributaries and, later on, the rising successor states - including
the Maratha confederacy - which fought an increasingly weak Mughal dynasty. The Mughals, while often employing
brutal tactics to subjugate their empire, had a policy of integration with Indian culture, which is what made them
successful where the short-lived Sultanates of Delhi had failed. Akbar the Great was particularly famed for this.
Akbar declared "Amari" or non-killing of animals in the holy days of Jainism. He rolled back the jizya tax for
non-Muslims. The Mughal emperors married local royalty, allied themselves with local maharajas, and attempted to
fuse their Turko-Persian culture with ancient Indian styles, creating a unique Indo-Saracenic architecture. It was the
erosion of this tradition coupled with increased brutality and centralization that played a large part in the dynasty's
downfall after Aurangzeb, who unlike previous emperors, imposed relatively non-pluralistic policies on the general
population, which often inflamed the majority Hindu population.
Post-Mughal period
Further information: Shivaji, Tippu Sultan, Nizam, Oudh, Ranjit Singh, and Ahmad Shah Abdali
The post-Mughal era was dominated by the rise of the Maratha
suzerainty as other small regional states (mostly late Mughal
tributary states) emerged, and also by the increasing activities of
European powers (see colonial era below). The Maratha kingdom
or confederacy was founded and consolidated by Shivaji. By the
18th century, it had transformed itself into the Maratha Empire
under the rule of the peshwas (prime ministers). By 1760, the
domain of the Marathas stretched across practically the entire
subcontinent. This expansion was brought to an end by the defeat
of the Marathas by an Afghan army led by Ahmad Shah Durrani at
the Third Battle of Panipat (1761). The last peshwa, Baji Rao II,
was defeated by the British in the Third Anglo-Maratha War.
The Kingdom of Mysore in southern India was founded around
1400 CE by the Wodeyar dynasty. The rule of the Wodeyars was
interrupted
by
Hyder
Ali
and
his
son
Maratha Empire (orange) in 1758- The last Hindu
empire of India
History of India
16
Tipu Sultan. Under their rule, Mysore fought a series of
wars sometimes against the combined forces of the
British and Marathas, but mostly against the British,
with Mysore receiving some aid or promise of aid from
the French.
Hyderabad was founded by the Qutb Shahi dynasty of
Golconda in 1591. Following a brief Mughal rule, Asif
Jah, a Mughal official, seized control of Hyderabad and
declared himself Nizam-al-Mulk of Hyderabad in 1724.
It was ruled by a hereditary Nizam from 1724 until
1948. Both Mysore and Hyderabad became princely
states in British India.
Harmandir Sahib or The Golden Temple is culturally the most
significant place of worship for the Sikhs.
The Punjabi kingdom, ruled by members of the Sikh
religion, was a political entity that governed the region
of modern-day Punjab. This was among the last areas of the subcontinent to be conquered by the British. The first
and second Anglo-Sikh war marked the downfall of the Sikh Empire.
Around the 18th century, the modern state of Nepal was formed by Gurkha rulers.
Colonial era
In 1498, Vasco da Gama successfully discovered a new sea route from Europe to India, which paved the way for
direct Indo-European commerce.[86] The Portuguese soon set up trading posts in Goa, Daman, Diu and Bombay. The
next to arrive were the Dutch, the British—who set up a trading post in the west coast port of Surat[87] in 1619—and
the French. The internal conflicts among Indian kingdoms gave opportunities to the European traders to gradually
establish political influence and appropriate lands. Although these continental European powers controlled various
coastal regions of southern and eastern India during the ensuing century, they eventually lost all their territories in
India to the British islanders, with the exception of the French outposts of Pondicherry and Chandernagore, the
Dutch port of Travancore, and the Portuguese colonies of Goa, Daman, and Diu.
History of India
17
Company rule in India
In 1617 the British East India Company was given permission by
Mughal Emperor Jahangir to trade in India.[88] Gradually their
increasing influence led the de-jure Mughal emperor Farrukh Siyar to
grant them dastaks or permits for duty free trade in Bengal in 1717.[89]
The Nawab of Bengal Siraj Ud Daulah, the de facto ruler of the Bengal
province, opposed British attempts to use these permits.
The First Carnatic War extended from 1746 until 1748 and was the
result of colonial competition between France and Britain, two of the
countries involved in the War of Austrian Succession. Following the
capture of a few French ships by the British fleet in India, French
troops attacked and captured the British city of Madras located on the
east coast of India on September 21, 1746. Among the prisoners
captured at Madras was Robert Clive, himself. The war was eventually
ended as part of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle which ended the War of
Austrian Succession in 1748.
In 1749, the Second Carnatic War broke out as the result of a war
between a son, Nasir Jung, and a grandson, Muzaffer Jung, of the
deceased Nizam-ul-mulk of Hyderabad to take over Nizam's thone in
Hyderabad. The French supported Muzaffer Jung in this civil war.
Consequently, the British supported Nasir Jung in this conflict.
Map of India in 1857 at the end of Company rule.
Meanwhile, the conflict in Hyderabad, however, provided Chanda Sahib with an opportunity to take power as the
new Nawab of the territory of Arcot. In this conflict, the French supported Chandra Sahib in his attempt to become
the new Nawab of Arcot. The British supported the son of the deposed incumbent Nawab, Anwaruddin Muhammad
Khan against Chanda Sahib. In 1751, Robert Clive led a British armed force and captured Arcot to reinstate the
incumbent Nawab. The Second Carnatic War finally came to an end in 1854 with the Treaty of Pondicherry.
In 1756, the Seven Years War broke out between the great powers of the world, i.e. Britain and Prussia on one side
and France, Austria and Russia on the other side.[90] The Seven Years War was really "world war" with theaters of
operations in Europe, the Caribbean, North America and India. Indeed Winston Churchill called the Seven Years
War "the first world war."
England and France fought each other in these theaters throughout the world. In the Indian theater operations, the
Seven Years War became known as the Third Carnatic War. Early in this war, armed forces under the French East
India Company captured the British base Calcutta in Northeastern India. However, later armed forces under Robert
Clive recaptured Calcutta and later pressed on to capture the French settlement of Chandannagar in 1757. This led to
the Battle of Plassey on June 23, 1757, in which the 'army' of East India Company, led by Robert Clive, defeated the
French-supported Nawab's forces. This was the first real political foothold with territorial implications that the
British acquired in India. Clive was appointed by the company as its first 'Governor of Bengal' in 1757.[91] This was
combined with British victories over the French at Madras, Wandiwash and Pondicherry that, along with wider
British successes during the Seven Years War, reduced French influence in India. Thus as a result of the three (3)
Carnatic Wars, the British East India Company gained exclusive control over the entire, Carnatic region of India.[92]
Following the British suppression of a revolt against the British East India Company in Bengal in 1863, the
Company also gained exclusive economic control of the Bihar region of India along the Ganges River.[92] Also in
1863, the British completed the conquest of several feudal principalities in the Orissa region of southern Bengal.[93]
Thus, the British East India Company extended its control over the whole of Bengal. In 1763, the Treaty of Paris
(1763) ended the Anglo-French hostilities part of the Seven Years War.
History of India
18
After the Battle of Buxar in 1764, the company acquired the civil rights of administration in Bengal from Mughal
Emperor Shah Alam II; it marked the beginning of its formal rule, which engulfed most of India and extinguished
the Moghul rule and dynasty within the next century.[94] The East India Company monopolized the trade of Bengal.
They introduced a land taxation system called the Permanent Settlement which introduced a feudal-like structure in
Bengal, often with zamindars set in place. By the 1850s, the East India Company controlled most of the Indian
sub-continent, which included present-day Pakistan and Bangladesh. Their policy was sometimes summed up as
Divide and Rule, taking advantage of the enmity festering between various princely states and social and religious
groups.
British Raj
The first major movement against the British Company's high handed
rule resulted in the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After a year of turmoil
and reinforcement of the East India Company's troops with British
soldiers, the company overcame the rebellion. The nominal leader of
the uprising, the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled
to Burma, his children were beheaded, and the Moghul line was
abolished. In the aftermath all power was transferred from the East
India Company to the British Crown, which began to administer most
of India as a colony; the company's lands were controlled directly and
the rest through the rulers of what it called the Princely states. There
were 565 princely states when the Indian subcontinent gained
independence from Britain in August 1947.[95]
The British Indian Empire at its greatest extent
(in a map of 1909)
During the British Raj, famines in India, often attributed to failed government policies, were some of the worst ever
recorded, including the Great Famine of 1876–78 in which 6.1 million to 10.3 million people died[96] and the Indian
famine of 1899–1900 in which 1.25 to 10 million people died.[96] The Third Plague Pandemic started in China in the
middle of the 19th century, spreading plague to all inhabited continents and killing 10 million people in India
alone.[97] Despite persistent diseases and famines, the population of the Indian subcontinent, which stood at about
125 million in 1750, had reached 389 million by 1941.[98]
The Indian Independence movement
The physical presence of the British in India was not significant. Yet
the British were able to rule two-thirds of the subcontinent directly and
exercise considerable leverage over the princely states that accounted
for the remaining one-third. The British employed "Divide and Rule"
in British India as a means of preventing an uprising against the
Raj.[99]
In this environment of Hindu-Muslim disunity, the first step toward
Indian independence and western-style democracy was taken with the
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Muhammad
appointment of Indian councilors to advise the British viceroy,[100] and
Ali Jinnah, Bombay, 1944.
with the establishment of provincial Councils with Indian members,
the councilors' participation was subsequently widened in legislative councils.[101] From 1920 leaders such as
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi began highly popular mass movements to campaign against the British Raj using
largely peaceful methods. Some others adopted a militant approach that sought to overthrow British rule by armed
struggle; revolutionary activities against the British rule took place throughout the Indian sub-continent. The Gandhi
led independence movement opposed the British rule using non-violent methods like non-cooperation, civil
History of India
disobedience and economic resistance. These movements succeeded in bringing independence to the Indian
sub-continent in 1947.
Independence and Partition
Along with the desire for independence, tensions between Hindus and Muslims had also been developing over the
years. The Muslims had always been a minority, and the prospect of an exclusively Hindu government made them
wary of independence; they were as inclined to mistrust Hindu rule as they were to resist the foreign Raj, although
Gandhi called for unity between the two groups in an astonishing display of leadership. The British, extremely
weakened by the World War II, promised that they would leave and participated in the formation of an interim
government. The British Indian territories gained independence in 1947, after being partitioned into the Union of
India and Dominion of Pakistan. Following the controversial division of pre-partition Punjab and Bengal, rioting
broke out between Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims in these provinces and spread to several other parts of India, leaving
some 500,000 dead.[102] Also, this period saw one of the largest mass migrations ever recorded in modern history,
with a total of 12 million Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims moving between the newly created nations of India and
Pakistan (which gained independence on 15 and 14 August 1947 respectively).[102] In 1971, Bangladesh, formerly
East Pakistan and East Bengal, seceded from Pakistan.
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edu/ Thayer/ E/ Roman/ Texts/ Strabo/ 2E1*. html)
[61] "minimaque computatione miliens centena milia sestertium annis omnibus India et Seres et paeninsula illa imperio nostro adimunt: tanti
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20
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Further reading
• Bannerjee, Dr. Gauranganath (1921). India as known to the ancient world (http://www.archive.org/stream/
indiaasknowntoan00banerich#page/n3/mode/2up). Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, London.
• Basham, A. L. (1954), The wonder that was India. Sidgwick and Jackson, London.
• Daniélou, Alain (2003). A Brief History of India ISBN 0-89281-923-5
• Elliot, Henry Miers; John Dowson (1867–77). The History of India, as told by its own historians. The
Muhammadan Period (http://persian.packhum.org/persian/main?url=pf?file=80201010&ct=0). London:
Trübner and Co.
• Keay, John (2000). India: A History (http://books.google.com/books?id=3aeQqmcXBhoC). New York, USA:
Grove Press. ISBN 0802137970.
• Kulke, Hermann and Dietmar Rothermund. A History of India (http://books.google.com/
books?id=V73N8js5ZgAC). 3rd ed. (1998)
• R.C. Majumdar, H.C. Raychaudhuri, and Kaukinkar Datta. An Advanced History of India. London: Macmillan.
1960. ISBN 0-333-90298-X
• R.C. Majumdar, The History and Culture of the Indian People, New York: The Macmillan Co., 1951.
• Mcleod, John. The History of India (http://books.google.com/books?id=DAwmUphO6eAC) (2002)
• Rothermund, Dietmar. An Economic History of India: From Pre-Colonial Times to 1991 (http://books.google.
com/books?id=7cZ_oJGWWK0C) (1993)
• Sharma, R.S., India's Ancient Past, Oxford University Press
• Sims-Williams, Nicholas and J. Cribb (1995-1996) "A new Bactrian inscription of Kanishka the Great", in Silk
Road Art and Archaeology No. 4, 1995-1996.
• Singhal, D.P. (1983), A History of the Indian People. Methuen, London.
• Smith, Vincent. The Oxford History of India (1981)
• Spear, Percival. The History of India Vol. 2 (1990)
• Tavernier, Jean Baptiste - Baron of Aubonne; Ball, Valentine (tr. from the Org French Ed. 1676) (1899). Travels
in India (Vol. 1) (http://www.archive.org/stream/travelsinindia00unkngoog#page/n8/mode/2up). Macmillan
& Co., London.
• Tavernier, Jean Baptiste; Ball, Valentine (tr. from the Org French Ed. 1676) (1899). Travels in India (Vol. 2)
(http://www.archive.org/details/travelsinindia00tavegoog). Macmillan & Co., London.
• Thapar, Romila. Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300 (http://books.google.com/
books?id=-5irrXX0apQC) (2004)
• Wolpert, Stanley. A New History of India. 6th ed. (1999)
• Chirol, Valentine Indian Unrest and India Old and New London 1910
• Ghosh, Aurobindo, Bankim, Tilak Dayanand Calcutta 1947
• K.C.Yadav & Arya K.S. Arya Samaj and Freedom Movement, Manohar Publications Delhi 1988
22
History of India
•
•
•
•
Kohn Hans A History of Nationalism in the East, New York 1929
Lajpat Rai, India's Will to Freedom Madras 1921
Macdonald, J Ramsay The Awakening of India, London 1910
Romain Rolland, The Prophets of New India London 1930
External links
• History of India (http://www.dmoz.org/Regional/Asia/India/Society_and_Culture/History//) at the Open
Directory Project
23
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the speller, ChrisHodgesUK, CiteCop, Civil Engineer III, Cmdrjameson, Codex Sinaiticus, Colinobino, CommonsDelinker, ConfuciusOrnis, Conscious, Conversion script, Copana2002,
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Mattisse, Matveims, Mav, Maximilli, Maximus Rex, MaximvsDecimvs, Mboverload, Mdmday, Mel Etitis, Mereda, Michael Hardy, MichaelMaggs, Mightymrt away, Mimihitam, Mjklin,
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