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History of India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search 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. "Indian history" redirects here. For other uses, see Native American history.
Part of a series on the

History of India

Chronology of Indian history Ancient India Prehistoric India and Vedic India
Religions, Society, Mahajanapadas

Mauryan Period
Economy, Spread of Buddhism, Chanakya, Satavahana Empire

The Golden Age

Discoveries, Aryabhata, Ramayana, Mahabharata

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

British Indian Empire

Hindu reforms, Bengal Renaissance, Independence struggle, Mahatma Gandhi

v t e

Outline of South Asian history History of Indian subcontinent

Stone age (70003000 BC)[show] Bronze age (30001300 BC)[show] Iron age (120026 BC)[show] Classical period (11279 AD)[show] Late medieval age (12061596 AD)[show] Early modern period (15261858 AD)[show] Other states (11021947 AD)[show] Colonial period (15051961 AD)[show] Kingdoms of Sri Lanka[show] Nation histories[show] Regional histories[show] Specialised histories[show]

v t e

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 in present-day Pakistan and northwest India, was the first major civilization in South Asia.[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 ramanic philosophies.

Most of the subcontinent was conquered by the Maurya Empire during the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE. It 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 time India has sometimes been estimated to have had the largest economy of the ancient and medieval world, with its huge population generating between one fourth and one third of the world's income up to the 18th century. Much of northern and central India was united in the 4th century CE, and remained so for two centuries, under the Gupta Empire. This period, witnessing a Hindu religious and intellectual resurgence, is known as the "Golden Age of India". From this 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. Kingdoms in southern India had maritime business links with the Roman Empire from around 77 CE. Muslim rule in the subcontinent began in 8th century 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, Eastern Ganga Empire and the Ahom Kingdom, flourished contemporaneously in southern, western, eastern 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, large areas of India were annexed by the British East India Company. Dissatisfaction with Company rule led to the Indian Rebellion of 1857, after which the British provinces of India were 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 the British provinces were partitioned into the dominions of India and Pakistan and the princely states all acceded to one of the new states.

Contents

1 Prehistoric 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 Kushan Empire o 3.3 Roman trade with India o 3.4 Gupta rule 4 Late Middle Kingdoms The Late-Classical Age 5 The Islamic Sultanates

5.1 Delhi Sultanate 6 Early modern period o 6.1 Mughal Empire o 6.2 Post-Mughal period 6.2.1 Maratha Empire 6.2.2 Sikh Empire (North-west) 6.2.3 Other kingdoms 7 Colonial era o 7.1 Company rule in India o 7.2 The rebellion of 1857 and its consequences 8 British Raj o 8.1 Reforms o 8.2 Famines o 8.3 The Indian independence movement 9 Independence and partition 10 Historiography 11 See also 12 References 13 Sources 14 Further reading o 14.1 Historiography 15 Online sources
o

16 External links

Prehistoric era
Stone Age
Main article: South Asian Stone Age Further information: Mehrgarh, Bhimbetka rock shelters, and Edakkal Caves

Bhimbetka rock painting, Madhya Pradesh, India (c. 30,000 years old)

Stone age (5000 BC) 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.[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] 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 Bhirrana findings (7500 BCE)in Haryana, India & Mehrgarh findings (7000 BCE onwards) in Balochistan, Pakistan.[15][16] Traces of a Neolithic culture have been alleged to be submerged in the Gulf of Khambat in India, radiocarbon dated to 7500 BCE.[17] 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.[18]

Bronze Age
Main article: Indus Valley Civilization See also: Economic history of India and Timeline of the economy of India

The docks of ancient Lothal as they appear today.

"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,[11] the GangesYamuna Doab,[19] Gujarat,[20] and southeastern Afghanistan.[21] 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.[22] 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 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 in India[23] 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,[24] laying the foundations of Hinduism and other cultural aspects of early Indian society. In terms of culture, many regions of the subcontinent transitioned from the Chalcolithic to the Iron Age in this period.[25] Historians have analysed the Vedas to posit a Vedic culture in the Punjab region and the upper Gangetic Plain.[25] Most historians also consider this period to have encompassed several waves of Indo-Aryan migration into the subcontinent from the north-west.[26][27] Vedic people believed in the transmigration of the soul, and the peepul tree and cow were sanctified by the time of the Atharva Veda.[28] Many of the concepts of Indian philosophy espoused later like Dharma, Karma etc. trace their root to the Vedas.[29]

The swastika is a major element of Hindu iconography.

Early Vedic society consisted of largely pastoral groups, with late Harappan urbanization having been abandoned. [30] 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.[31] The Mahabharata remains, today, the longest single poem in the world.[32] The events described in the Ramayana are from a later period of history than the events of the Mahabharata.[33] The early Indo-Aryan presence probably corresponds, in part, to the Ochre Coloured Pottery culture in archaeological contexts.[34] The Kuru kingdom[35] 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 yma ayas, literally "black metal." The Painted Grey Ware culture spanned much of northern India from about 1100 to 600 BCE.[34] 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 Phalgu in Bodh Gaya, Bihar. Detail of a leaf with, The Birth of Mahavira (the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism), from the Kalpa Sutra, c.1375-1400.

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. Main articles: Mahajanapadas and Haryanka dynasty Main articles: History of Hinduism, History of Buddhism, and History of Jainism See also: Adi Shankara, Gautama Buddha, 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