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History of India
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This article is about the history of the Indian subcontinent prior to the partition of India
in 1947. For the modern Republic of India, see History of the Republic of India. For
Pakistan and Bangladesh, see History of Pakistan and History of Bangladesh. For South
India, see History of South India.
Part of a series on the
The history of India begins with evidence of human
activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago,
History of India
or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus
from about 500,000 years ago. 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. A sophisticated and technologically advanced
urban culture developed in the Mature Harappan
period, from 2600 to 1900 BCE. This Bronze Age
civilization collapsed before the end of the second
Chronology of Indian history
millennium BCE and was followed by the Iron Age
Ancient India
Vedic Civilization, which extended over much of the
Prehistoric India and Vedic India
Religions, Society, Mahajanapadas
Indo-Gangetic plain and which witnessed the rise of
Mauryan Period
major polities known as the Mahajanapadas. In one of
Economy, Spread of Buddhism,
Chanakya, Satavahana Empire
these kingdoms, Magadha, Mahavira and Gautama
The Golden Age
Buddha were born in the 6th or 5th century BCE and
Discoveries, Aryabhata,
propagated their śramanic philosophies.
Ramayana, Mahabharata
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.
Medieval India
The Classical Age
Gurjara-Pratihara
Pala Empire
Rashtrakuta Empire
Art, Philosophy, Literature
Islam in India
Delhi Sultanate, Vijayanagara Empire,
Music, Guru Nanak
Mughal India
Architecture,
Maratha Confederacy
Modern India
Company Rule
Zamindari system, Warren Hastings,
Mangal Pandey, 1857
Much of northern and central India was once again
British Indian Empire
united in the 4th century CE, and remained so for two
Hindu reforms, Bengal Renaissance,
Independence struggle, Mahatma Gandhi
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
2
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,[1] 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 to cover most of the northern parts of the subcontinent. Mughal rulers
introduced Middle Eastern 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.[2]
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.
Contents
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1 Pre-Historic era
o 1.1 Stone Age
o 1.2 Bronze Age
2 Early historic period
o 2.1 Vedic period
o 2.2 Mahajanapadas
o 2.3 Persian and Greek conquests
o 2.4 Maurya Empire
3 Early Middle Kingdoms — The Golden Age
o 3.1 Northwestern hybrid cultures
o 3.2 Roman trade with India
o 3.3 Gupta rule
4 Late Middle Kingdoms — The Classical Age
3
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5 The Islamic Sultanates
o 5.1 Delhi Sultanate
6 The Mughal era
7 Post-Mughal period
8 Colonial era
o 8.1 The British Raj
o 8.2 The Indian Independence movement
9 Independence and Partition
10 See also
11 References
12 Further reading
13 External links
Pre-Historic era
Stone Age
Main article: South Asian Stone Age
Further information: Mehrgarh, Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka, and Edakkal Caves
Bhimbetka rock painting, Madhya
Pradesh, India.
Alleged Stone age writings of Edakkal Caves in
Kerala, India.
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.[3][4] Recent finds in Tamil Nadu (at
c. 75,000 years ago, before and after the explosion of the Toba volcano) indicate the
presence of the first anatomically modern humans in the area.
Tools crafted by proto-humans that have been dated back two million years have been
discovered in the northwestern part of the subcontinent.[5][6] The ancient history of the
region includes some of South Asia's oldest settlements[7] and some of its major
civilizations.[8][9] The earliest archaeological site in the subcontinent is the palaeolithic
hominid site in the Soan River valley.[10] Soanian sites are found in the Sivalik region
across what are now India, Pakistan, and Nepal.[11]
4
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 Balochistan, Pakistan.[12] Traces of a Neolithic culture have been
alleged to be submerged in the Gulf of Khambat in India, radiocarbon dated to 7500
BCE.[13] 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.[14]
Bronze Age
Main article: Indus Valley Civilization
See also: Economic history of India and Timeline of the economy of India
Ancient Lothal as envisaged by the Archaeological Survey of India.
"Priest King" of Indus Valley Civilization
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,[8] the Ganges-Yamuna Doab,[15] Gujarat,[16] and
southeastern Afghanistan.[17]
5
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.[18] 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
beginning of the urban civilization on the 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
Main article: Vedic Civilization
See also: Vedas and Indo-Aryans
Map of North India in the late Vedic period.
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, next to those of Egypt and Mesopotamia. The Vedic
period lasted from about 1500 to 500 BCE, laying the foundations of Hinduism and other
cultural aspects of early Indian society. The Aryas established Vedic civilization all over
north India, particularly in the Gangetic Plain. This period succeeded the prehistoric Late
Harappan, during which immigrations of Indo-Aryan-speaking tribes overlaid the
existing civilizations of local people whom they called Dasyus.
6
The swastika is a major element of Hindu iconography.
Early Vedic society consisted of largely pastoral groups, with late Harappan urbanization
having been abandoned.[19] 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.[20] The early Indo-Aryan presence probably corresponds, in part, to the Ochre
Coloured Pottery culture in archaeological contexts.[21]
The Kuru kingdom[22] 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.[21] 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.
Mahajanapadas
Gautama Buddha undertaking extreme ascetic practices before his enlightenment on the
bank of river Falgu in Bodh Gaya, Bihar.
Detail of a leaf with, The Birth of Mahavira (the 24th Jain Tirthankara), from the Kalpa
Sutra, c.1375-1400.
7
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 University 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.
Main articles: Mahajanapadas and Magadha Empire
Main articles: History of Hinduism, History of Buddhism, and History of Jainism
See also: Adi Shankara, Siddhartha Gautama, and Mahavira
Further information: Upanishads, Indian Religions, Indian philosophy, and Ancient
universities of India
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 Siddhartha
Gautama. These four were Vatsa, Avanti, Kosala, and Magadha.[23]
8
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.
It is believed that in 537 BCE, that Siddhartha Gautama attained the state of
"enlightenment" and became known as the "Buddha" - the enlightened one. Around the
same time, Mahavira (the 24th Jain tirthankar according to Jains) propagated a similar
theology that was to later become Jainism.[24] However, Jain orthodoxy believes it
predates all known time. The Vedas are believed to have documented a few Jain
tirthankars and an ascetic order similar to the sramana movement.[25]
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
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.
Persian and Greek conquests
See also: Achaemenid Empire, Greco-Buddhism, Alexander the Great, Nanda
Empire, and Gangaridai
Asia in 323 BCE, the Nanda Empire and Gangaridai Empire in relation to Alexander's
Empire and neighbors.
Much of the northwestern subcontinent (present-day eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan)
came under the rule of the Persian Achaemenid Empire in c. 520 BCE, during the reign
of Darius the Great, and remained so for two centuries.[26] In 326 BCE, Alexander the
Great conquered Asia Minor and the Achaemenid Empire, reaching 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.[27]
9
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
Main article: Maurya Empire
Further information: Chandragupta Maurya, Bindusara, and Ashoka the Great
Maurya Empire under Ashoka the Great
Ashokan pillar at Vaishali, 3rd century BCE.
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 and flourished under Ashoka the Great.
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 Chandragupta and Bindusara, but it excluded extensive
unexplored tribal and forested regions near Kalinga which were subsequently taken by
Ashoka. Ashoka propagated Buddhism and established many Buddhist monuments.
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
10
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
Main article: Middle Kingdoms of India
Kharavela 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 BC.
Satakarni, the sixth ruler of the Satvahana dynasty, defeated the Sunga Empire of north
India. Afterwards, Kharavela, the warrior king of Kalinga,[28] ruled a vast empire and was
responsible for the propagation of Jainism in the Indian subcontinent.[28] 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
11
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 founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom, Demetrius I "the Invincible" (205–171 BCE).
See also: Indo-Greek kingdom, Indo-Scythians, Indo-Parthian Kingdom, and IndoSassanids
The northwestern hybrid cultures of the subcontinent included the Indo-Greeks, the IndoScythians, the Indo-Parthians, and the Indo-Sassinids. The first of these, the Indo-Greek
kingdom 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 IndoScythians were a branch of the Indo-European Sakas (Scythians) who migrated from
southern Siberia, first into Bactria, subsequently into Sogdiana, Kashmir, Arachosia, and
Gandhara, and finally into India. Their kingdom lasted 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 Pakistan, where the mingling of
Indian culture and the culture of Iran gave birth to a hybrid culture under the IndoSassanids.
Roman trade with India
Main article: Roman trade with India
12
Coin of the Roman emperor Augustus found at the Pudukottai, South 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.[29]), 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?"
—Pliny, Historia Naturae 12.41.84.[30]
These trade routes and harbour are described in detail in the 1st century CE Periplus of
the Erythraean Sea.
Gupta rule
Main article: Gupta Empire
See also: Chandra Gupta I, Samudragupta, Chandra Gupta II, Kumaragupta I, and
Skandagupta
Further information: Kalidasa, Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Vishnu
Sharma, and Vatsyayana
Further information:
Meghadūta, Abhijñānaśākuntala, Kumārasambhava, Panchatantra, Aryabhatiya, Indian
numerals, and Kama Sutra
13
Kalidasa's Sanskrit play Abhijñānaśākuntala is one of the Legacy of the Gupta Empire.
The Classical Age refers to the period when much of the Indian subcontinent was
reunited under the Gupta Empire (ca. 320–550 CE).[31][32] This period has been called the
Golden Age of India[33] 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.[34] The decimal numeral system, including the concept of zero, was invented in
India during this period.[35] The peace and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas
enabled the pursuit of scientific and artistic endeavors in India.[36]
The high points of this cultural creativity are magnificent architecture, sculpture, and
painting.[37] The Gupta period produced scholars such as Kalidasa, Aryabhata,
Varahamihira, Vishnu Sharma, and Vatsyayana who made great advancements in many
academic fields.[38] 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 (ca. 319–335), Samudragupta (ca. 335–376), and Chandragupta
II (ca. 376–415) —brought much of India under their leadership.[39] 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.[40] However, much of the Deccan and southern India were largely unaffected
by these events in the north.[41][42]
14
Late Middle Kingdoms — The Classical Age
Main article: Middle Kingdoms of India
Pala Empire under
Dharmapala
Pala Empire under Devapala
Chola Empire under Rajendra Chola c. 1030 C.E.
Badami Chalukya Empire
15
The Kanauj Triangle was the focal point of empires - the Rashtrakutas of Deccan, the
Gurjara Pratiharas of Malwa, and the Palas of Bengal.
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[43][44] 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.
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.
16
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,[45] 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 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.[46][47] 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
Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur, has the second largest pre-modern dome in the world after the
Byzantine Hagia Sophia.
Main article: Islamic Empires in India
See also: Bahmani Sultanate and Deccan Sultanates
After conquering Persia, the Islamic Caliphate incorporated parts of what is now Pakistan
around 720 CE. The Muslim rulers were keen to invade India,[48] which was a rich
region,[49] with a flourishing international trade and the only known diamond mines in the
world. After several wars over three centuries between various north Indian kingdoms
and the Caliphate, short-lived Islamic kingdoms (sultanates) were established across the
northern 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
17
and Christianity, often in puritanical form. Later, the Bahmani Sultanate and Deccan
sultanates flourished in the south.
Delhi Sultanate
Qutub Minar is the world's tallest brick minaret, commenced by Qutb-ud-din Aybak of
the Slave dynasty.
Main article: Delhi Sultanate
In the 12th and 13th centuries, Turks and Pashtuns invaded parts of northern India and
established the Delhi Sultanate in the former Rajput holdings.[50] 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.[51]
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.[52]
18
The Mughal era
Taj Mahal, built by the Mughals
Extent of the Mughal Empire in 1700.
Main article: Mughal Empire
See also: Babur, Humayun, Akbar the Great, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Aurangzeb
In 1526, Babur, a Timurid descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan, swept across the
Khyber Pass and established the Mughal Empire.[53] 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 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,
which at its peak occupied an area similar to the ancient Maurya 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
19
Battle of Karnal. After this victory, Nader captured and sacked Delhi, carrying away
many treasures, including the Peacock Throne.[54]
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 nonMuslims. 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 nonpluralistic policies on the general population, which often inflamed the majority Hindu
population.
Post-Mughal period
Main articles: Maratha Empire, Kingdom of Mysore, Hyderabad State, Sikh Empire,
Rajputs, and Durrani Empire
See also: History of Sikhism
Further information: Shivaji, Tippu Sultan, Nizam, Ranjit Singh, and Ahmad Shah Abdali
The Maratha Empire in 1760. The last
Hindu empire of India.
Harmandir Sahib or The Golden Temple is
culturally the most significant place of worship
for the Sikhs.
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
20
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 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.
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
Main article: Colonial India
Vasco da Gama's maritime success to discover for Europeans a new sea route to India in
1498 paved the way for direct Indo-European commerce.[55] 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[56] 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 were to control various coastal regions of
southern and eastern India during the ensuing century, they would eventually lose 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.
The British Raj
Main article: British Raj
21
The British East India Company had been given permission by the Mughal emperor
Jahangir in 1617 to trade in India.[57] 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.[58] The Nawab of Bengal Siraj Ud Daulah, the de facto ruler of the
Bengal province, opposed British attempts to use these permits. This led to the Battle of
Plassey in 1757, in which the 'army' of East India Company, led by Robert Clive,
defeated the Nawab's forces. This was the first 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.[59] 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. After the Battle of Buxar
in 1764, the Company acquired the civil rights of administration in Bengal from the
Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II; it marked the beginning of its formal rule, which was to
engulf eventually most of India and extinguish the Moghul rule and dynasty itself in a
century.[60] 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 (See Zamindar) in Bengal. 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.
The first major movement against the British Company's high handed rule resulted in the
Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as the "Indian Mutiny" or "Sepoy Mutiny" or the
"First War of Independence". 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 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.[61]
22
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[62] and the Indian famine of 1899–1900, in which
1.25 to 10 million people died.[62] 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.[63] Despite persistent diseases and famines, however, the
population of the Indian subcontinent, which stood at about 125 million in 1750, had
reached 389 million by 1941.[64]
The Indian Independence movement
Main articles: Indian independence movement and Pakistan Movement
See also: Mahatma Gandhi and Freedom fighters of India
Rabindranath Tagore is Asia's first Nobel laureate and composer of national anthems of
both India and Bangladesh.
Gandhi and Nehru in 1937.
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.[65]
23
In this environment of Hindu-Muslim disunity, the first step toward Indian independence
and western-style democracy was taken with the appointment of Indian councilors to
advise the British viceroy,[66] and with the establishment of provincial Councils with
Indian members; the councillors' participation was subsequently widened in legislative
councils.[67] From 1920 leaders such as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi began highly
popular mass movements to campaign against the British Raj, using largely peaceful
methods. Some other revolutionaries adopted militant approach; revolutionary activities
against the British rule took place throughout the Indian sub-continent. The profound
impact Gandhi had on India and his ability to gain independence through a totally nonviolent mass movement made him lead by example, wearing a minimum of homespun
clothes to weaken the British textile industry and orchestrating a march to the sea, where
demonstrators proceeded to make their own salt in protest against the British monopoly.
Indians gave him the name Mahatma, or Great Soul, first suggested by the Bengali poet
Rabindranath Tagore. Subash Chandra Bose, a great freedom fighter, had organised a
formidable army to fight against the British rule. Bhagat Singh was another Indian
freedom fighter, considered to be one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian
independence movement; he is often referred to as Shaheed Bhagat Singh (the word
shaheed means "martyr"). These movements succeeded in bringing Independence to the
Indian sub-continent in 1947. One year later, Gandhi was assassinated. However, he did
live long enough to free his homeland and is thus recognised as the father of his nation.
Independence and Partition
Main articles: Partition of India, History of the Republic of India, History of Pakistan,
and History of Bangladesh
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.[68] 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).[68] In
1971, Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan and East Bengal, seceded from Pakistan. The
histories of each of these modern nations can be found on the respective pages shown
above.
See also
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History of South Asia
History of the Republic of India
History of Pakistan
History of Bangladesh
Indianized kingdom
Contributions of Indian Civilization
Economic history of India
Religion in India
Indian Religions
History of Buddhism
History of Hinduism
History of Jainism
History of Sikhism
Indian philosophy
Science and technology in ancient India
List of Indian inventions and discoveries
Indian maritime history
Military history of India
Kingdoms of Ancient India
Timeline of Indian history
Timeline of the economy of India
Historic figures of ancient India
Indian nationalism
Harappan mathematics
Negationism in India - Concealing the Record of Islam
Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent
The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period
(Book)
Imperialism in Asia#British in India
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(Boston: Ginn and Co., 1904-1906), Vol. II: From the opening of the Protestant
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58. ^ "KOLKATA (CALCUTTA) : HISTORY". Calcuttaweb.com.
http://www.calcuttaweb.com/history.shtml. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
59. ^ Rickard, J. (1 November 2000). "Robert Clive, Baron Clive, 'Clive of India',
1725-1774". Military History Encyclopedia on the Web. historyofwar.org.
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/people_cliveofindia.html. Retrieved 200705-07.
60. ^ Prakash, Om. "The Transformation from a Pre-Colonial to a Colonial Order:
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61. ^ Kashmir: The origins of the dispute, BBC News, January 16, 2002
62. ^ a b Davis, Mike. Late Victorian Holocausts. 1. Verso, 2000. ISBN 1-85984-7390 pg 7
63. ^ Plague. World Health Organization.
64. ^ Reintegrating India with the World Economy. Peterson Institute for
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65. ^ The Partition of India
66. ^ Mohsin, K.M.. "Canning, (Lord)". Banglapedia. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/C_0035.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-07. "Indian
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67. ^ "Minto-Morley Reforms". storyofpakistan.com. Jin Technologies. June 1, 2003.
http://www.storyofpakistan.com/articletext.asp?artid=A119. Retrieved 2007-0507.
68. ^ a b Symonds, Richard (1950). The Making of Pakistan. London: Faber and
Faber. p. 74. ASIN B0000CHMB1. OCLC 1462689. "at the lowest estimate, half
a million people perished and twelve million became homeless"
Further reading
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Daniélou, Alain. A Brief History of India (2003) 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. London: Trübner and Co.
Basham, A. L. (1954), The wonder that was India, Sidgwick and Jackson, London
Singhal, D.P. (1983), A History of the Indian People, Methuen, London
Keay, John. India: A History (2001)
Kulke, Hermann and Dietmar Rothermund. A History of India. 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.
Sharma, R.S., India's Ancient Past, Oxford University Press
Mcleod, John. The History of India (2002)
Rothermund, Dietmar. An Economic History of India: From Pre-Colonial Times
to 1991 (1993)
Smith, Vincent. The Oxford History of India (1981)
Spear, Percival. The History of India Vol. 2 (1990)
Thapar, Romila. Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300 (2004)
Wolpert, Stanley. A New History of India 6th ed. (1999)
External links

History of India at the Open Directory Project
30
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