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 civilization collapsed at the start of the second
millennium BCE and was later followed by the Iron Age Vedic Civilization, which extended over much of
the Indo-Gangetic plain and which witness 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 Shramanic philosophies.
Most of the subcontinent was conquered by the Maurya Empire during the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE.
Various parts of India were ruled by numerous Middle kingdoms for the next 1,500 years, among which
the Gupta Empire stands out. This period, witnessing a Hindu religious and intellectual resurgence, is
known as the classical or "Golden Age of India". During this period, aspects of Indian civilization,
administration, culture, and religion (Hinduism and Buddhism) spread to much of Asia, while kingdoms
in southern India had maritime business links with the Roman Empire from around 77 CE. During this
period Indian cultural influence spread over many parts of Southeast Asia which led to the
establishment of Indianized kingdoms in Southeast Asia.
[4]

7th-11th centuries saw the Tripartite struggle between the Pala Empire, Rashtrakuta Empire, and
Gurjara Pratihara Empire centered around Kannauj. Southern India saw the rule of the Chalukya Empire,
Chola Empire, Pallava Empire, Pandyan Empire, and Western Chalukya Empire. The early medieval
period Indian mathematics influenced the development of mathematics and astronomy in the Arab
world and the Hindu numerals were introduced.
[5]

Muslim rule started in some parts of north India in the 13th century when the Delhi Sultanate was
established in 1206 CE.
[6]
The Delhi Sultanate ruled the major part of northern India in the early 14th
century, but declined in the late 14th century, which saw the emergence of several powerful Hindu
states like the Vijayanagara Empire, Gajapati Kingdom, Ahom Kingdom and Mewar dynasty. In the 16th
century Mughal rule came from Central Asia to cover most of the northern parts of India. The Mughal
Empire suffered a gradual decline in the early 18th century, which provided opportunities for the
Maratha Empire, Sikh Empire and Mysore Kingdom to exercise control over large areas in the
subcontinent.
[7][8]

Beginning in the late 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 stagnation. During the first half of the
20th century, a nationwide struggle for independence was launched with the leading party involved
being the Indian National Congress which was later joined by Muslim League as well.
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 Vedic period (1750 BCE - 500 BCE)
o 2.1 Vedic society
o 2.2 Sanskritization
o 2.3 Sanskrit Epics
3 "Second urbanisation" (800-200 BCE)
o 3.1 Mahajanapadas (600-300 BCE)
o 3.2 Upanishads and Shramana movements
o 3.3 Magadha Empire
o 3.4 Persian and Greek conquests
o 3.5 Maurya Empire (322185 BCE)
4 Epic and Early Puranic Period - Early Classical Period & Golden Age (ca. 200 BCE700 CE)
o 4.1 Southern India
o 4.2 Sunga Empire
o 4.3 Northwestern hybrid cultures
o 4.4 Satavahana Dynasty
o 4.5 Kushan Empire
o 4.6 Roman trade with India
o 4.7 Gupta rule - Golden Age
o 4.8 Vakataka Dynasty
o 4.9 Empire of Harsha
o 4.10 Chalukya Empire
5 Medieval and Late Puranic Period - Late-Classical Age (5001500 CE)
o 5.1 Northern India
o 5.2 Southern India
o 5.3 Rashtrakuta Empire (8th-10th century)
o 5.4 Pala Empire (8th-12th century)
o 5.5 Chola Empire (9th-13th century)
o 5.6 Western Chalukya Empire
o 5.7 The Islamic Sultanates
o 5.8 Delhi Sultanate
o 5.9 Vijayanagara Empire (14th-16th century)
6 Mughal Empire
o 6.1 Post-Mughal period
6.1.1 Maratha Empire
6.1.2 Sikh Empire (North-west)
6.1.3 Other kingdoms
7 Colonial era (1500-1947)
o 7.1 Company rule in India
o 7.2 The rebellion of 1857 and its consequences
o 7.3 British Raj (1858-1947)
7.3.1 Reforms
7.3.2 Famines
o 7.4 The Indian independence movement
8 Independence and partition (1947-present)