History of India
The
history of India can be traced in fragments to as far back as 9500 years ago. The
Indus Valley Civilization, one of the oldest in the world, dates back to
3300 BCE. This was followed by the
Vedic Civilization. The origin of the
Indo-Aryans is under some dispute. Most scholars today believe in some form of the
Indo-Aryan migration hypothesis, which proposes that the
Aryans, a semi-nomadic people, possibly from
Central Asia or northern
Iran, migrated into the north-west regions of the
Indian subcontinent between
2000 and
1500 BCE, although recent genetic evidence says the opposite occurred. The nature of this migration, the place of origin of the Aryans, and sometimes even the very existence of the Aryans as a separate people are hotly debated. The merger of the Vedic culture with the earlier
Dravidian cultures (presumably of the descendants of the Indus Valley Civilization) apparently resulted in classical
Indian culture, though the exact details of this process are controversial. The births of
Mahavira and
Buddha in the
6th century BCE mark the beginning of well-recorded Indian history. For the next 1500 years,
India produced its classical civilization, and is estimated to have had the largest
economy of the ancient world between the
1st and
15th centuries CE, controlling between one third and one quarter of the world's wealth up to the time of the
Mughals, from whence it rapidly declined during British rule.
Incursions by
Arab and
Central Asian armies in the
8th and
12th centuries were followed by inroads by traders from
Europe, beginning in the late
15th century. The British East India Company was established in 1600 CE. From
1757, the
British East India Company had begun colonising parts of India and by
1858, the British Crown had assumed political control over virtually all of India. Indian armed forces in the British army played a vital role in both the
World Wars.
Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism led, by
Mohandas Gandhi,
Vallabhbhai Patel and
Jawaharlal Nehru brought independence in
1947. The subcontinent was partitioned into the Secular Democratic Republic of
India and the smaller
Islamic Republic of
Pakistan. A war between the two countries in
1971 resulted in
East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of
Bangladesh. In the
21st century, India has made impressive gains in economic investment and output, and stands as the world's largest democracy with a population exceeding one billion, is self sufficient in terms of food, and is a fast-growing, economically strong country, with the fourth largest
economy (PPP) in the world.
Human civilizations in
India are some of the earliest recorded, and were contemporaries of civilizations in ancient
Mesopotamia and
Egypt. India's history essentially includes the entire Indian
subcontinent, including the more recent nations of
Pakistan and
Bangladesh. India is also inalienably linked with the history and heritage of the other
South Asian nations like
Sri Lanka,
Nepal and
Bhutan. Outside of
South Asia,
India's history, culture and politics often overlap with neighbouring countries. India's culture, economy and politics has had an influence on the history and culture of the nations in
South East Asia,
East Asia and
Central Asia, such as
Indonesia,
Cambodia,
Thailand,
China,
Tibet,
Afghanistan,
Iran and
Turkestan over thousands of years. After
Arab incursions into India during the early part of the second millennium CE, similar quests for access to India's fabled wealth strongly influenced the history of
medieval Europe, after the landing of
Vasco Da Gama.
Christopher Columbus discovered
America whilst searching for a new route to
India, and the
British Empire gained much of its resources after the incorporation of India as the 'Jewel in the Crown', from the late
18th century to
1947.
Stone Age civilization in the Indian subcontinent started with the beggining of human settlement, and progressed towards farming, and the development of tools derived from natural objects, or crafted from raw material. The
Mehrgarh community represents the earliest stage of agriculture in the subcontinent, and led to the emergance on Bronze Age culture of the Indus Valley.
The Paleolithic era
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 [
1]. The precise date of these remains is unclear, and archaeologists put it anywhere between 200,000 to 500,000 years BCE [
2]. The fossils are the earliest human remains found in
South Asia. Recent finds include a
quarry along the
Malaprabha and
Ghataprabha rivers in the Kaladgi Basin in
Karnataka.
The Mesolithic era
The
Mesolithic period in the Indian subcontinent covered a timespan of around 25,000 years, starting around 30,000 BCE, where the earliest discovered sites of Mesolithic culture has been unearthed in Sri Lanka. Other settlements have also been found as far north as the caves of the
Hindu Kush, which seem to be a direct progression from upper Paleolithic art. Cave paintings of game animals and human activity such as hunting, have been found at Mesolithic sites, and early forms of religious activity seem to have been found at some sites. Overall there is a great proliferation of Mesolithic culture throughout India, suggesting widespread habitation. Hunting, gathering, fishing, and other forms of
hunter-gatherer subsistence seem to have dominated the period, however early forms of herding and small scale farming have been detected.
Modern humans seem to have settled the subcontinent towards the end of the last
Ice Age about 12,000 years ago.
The Neolithic era
The first confirmed permanent settlements appeared 9,000 years ago in
Bhimbetka in modern
Madhya Pradesh. By
5100 BC, people in the
Indus Valley were farming and harvesting einkorn, a primitive form of wheat. Early
Neolithic culture in South Asia is represented by the
Mehrgarh findings (
7000 BCE onwards), in
Balochistan,
Pakistan. The Mehrgarh community was mostly
pastoral, lived in mud houses, wove baskets and tended to
goats and their farms. By
5500 BCE, pottery began to appear and later
chalcolithic implements began to appear. By
2000 BCE, the settlement was abandoned.
Traces of a
Neolithic culture have been found submerged in the
Gulf of Khambat in
2002 [
3]. Many of the finds recovered from the area have been
radiocarbon dated to
7500 BCE. Late Neolithic cultures sprang up in the Indus Valley region between 6000 and 2000 BCE (see
below), and in southern India between 2800 and 1200 BCE.
Bronze Age civilizations in the Indian subcontinent laid the foundations for modern Indian civilization, including urban settlements and the development of
Vedic beliefs, which form the core of Hinduism. Many historians claim that the rise, and eventual decline of the
Indus Valley Civilization, and the
migration of nomadic peoples from Central Asia into the Indian subcontinent shaped its history during this period.
Indus Valley Civilization
The irrigation of the Indus Valley, which provided enough resources to support major urban centers such as
Harappa and
Mohenjo-daro around
2500 BC, marked the beginning of the Harappan Civilization. This period marked the beginning of the earliest urban society in India, known as the
Indus Valley Civilization (or, the
Harappan Civilization), which thrived between 2500 and
1900 BCE. It was centred onthe
Indus River and its tributaries, including the
Ghaggar-
Hakra River, and extended into the
Ganges-Yamuna Doab,
Gujarat, and northern
Afghanistan.
The civilization is noted for its cities built of brick, road-side drainage system and multi-storeyed houses. The earliest historic references to India may be those to the
Meluhha in Sumerian records, possibly referring to the Indus Valley Civilization. When compared to the contemporary civilizations of
Egypt and
Sumeria, the Indus Civilization possessed unique urban planning techniques, covered the largest geographical area, and may have been a single state, as suggested by the amazing uniformity of its measurement systems.
The
Mohenjo-daro ruins were once the centre of this ancient society. Indus Civilization settlements spread as far south as present-day
Bombay, as far east as
Delhi, as far west as the
Iranian border, and as far north as the
Himalayas. Among the settlements were the major urban centres of
Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, as well as
Dholavira,
Ganweriwala,
Lothal,
Kalibanga and
Rakhigarhi. At its peak, some archaeologists are of the opinion that the Indus Civilization may have had a population of well over five million. To date, over 2,500 cities and settlements have been found, mainly in the general region to the east of the Indus River in Pakistan. It is thought by some that geological disturbances and climate change, leading to a gradual deforestation may ultimately have contributed to the civilization's downfall.
Archaeological resources suggest that the diverse geography of ancient India was increasing in the amount and specialization of faunal remains around 2400 to
1500 BCE. This specialization suggests that the Indus Valley Civilizations were dependent upon the alluvial soils of the rivers, which produced high yield crops. By 2600 BCE, the presence of a state level society is evident, complete with hierarchical rule and large scale public works. These include accomplishments such as irrigation, warehouses for grain, public streets, and brick-lined drainage systems for sanitation. Around the middle of the second millennium BCE, the region of the Indus River basin, in which approximately two-thirds of currently known sites were located dried up, and the sites were abandoned.
Vedic Civilization
The Vedic Civilization is the
Indo-Aryan culture associated with the
Vedas, which are some of the oldest extant texts, orally composed in
Vedic Sanskrit. The exact connection between the genesis of this civilization and the Indus Valley Civilization on one hand, and a possible
Indo-Aryan migration on the other hand, is the subject of dispute. Early Vedic society was largely
pastoral. After the Rigveda, Aryan society became increasingly
agricultural, and was organized around the four
Varnas, or classes. Several small kingdoms and tribes merged to form a few large ones, such as the
Kuru and
Pançala, some of which were often at war with each other.
In addition to the principal texts of Hinduism (the
Vedas), the great Indian epics (the
Ramayana and
Mahabharata) including the famous stories of
Rama and
Krishna are said to have their ultimate origins during this period, from an oral tradition of unwritten bardic recitation. The
Bhagavad Gita, another primary text of Hinduism well-known for its philosophical nature, is contained in the Mahabharata.
Early Indo-Aryan presence probably corresponds, in part, to the presence of
Ochre Coloured Pottery in archaeological findings. The kingdom of the
Kurus corresponds to the
Black and Red Ware culture and the beginning of the
Iron Age in Northwestern India, around
1000 BCE (This date is most likely, contemporaneous with the composition of the
Atharvaveda).
Painted Grey Ware cultures spanning much of Northern India marks the Middle Vedic period, followed by a wave of urbanization that occurred across the Indian sub-continent, from
Afghanistan to
Bengal, in the
6th century BCE. A number of
kingdoms and oligarchies, often called
republics, emerged across the
Indo-Gangetic plain and the northern part of the
Deccan during this period. 16 of these
Republics, called
Mahajanapadas (great lands), are referred to in the ancient literature of the period.
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The Mahajanapadas were the sixteen most powerfull kingdoms and republics of the era, located mainly across the fertile Gangetic plains, however there were a number of smaller kingdoms stretching the length and breadth of India |
During the iron age, a number of small kingdoms or city states covered the subcontinent, many mentioned during Vedic literature as far back as
1000 BCE. By
500 BCE, sixteen monarchies and 'republics' known as the
Mahajanapadas stretched across the
Indo-Gangetic plains from modern-day Afghanistan to
Bangladesh, and many smaller clans mentioned within early literature seem to have been present across the rest of the subcontinent. The largest of these nations were
Magadha,
Kosala,
Kuru and
Gandhara. The right of a king to his throne, no matter how it was gained, was usually legitimized through religious right and genealogies concocted by priests who ascribed divine origins to the rulers. There is some controversy about how closely the political entities of this period can be represented by those mentioned in the
Vedas, and ancient epics of India. The educated speech at that time was
Sanskrit, while the dialects of the general population of northern India were referred to as
Prakrits.
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 incipient philosophy, were first composed early in this period. They had a huge effect on Indian philosophy, and were contemporary to the development of
Buddhism and
Jainism, indicating a golden age of thought in this period, similar to that in ancient Greece. It was in
537 BCE, that
Gautama Buddha gained enlightenment and founded
Buddhism, which was initially intended as a supplement to the existing Vedic
dharma. Around the same time period, in mid-6th century BCE,
Mahavira founded
Jainism. Both religions had a simple doctrine, and were preached in Prakrit, which helped it gain acceptance amongst the masses. While the geographic impact of Jainism was limited, Buddhist nuns and monks eventually spread the teachings of Buddha to
Central Asia,
East Asia,
Tibet,
Sri Lanka and
South East Asia.
Recorded history from this period of fragmented states is sparse, up until the advent of
Buddhism and
Jainism but the Mahajanapadas were roughly equivalent to the
ancient Greek city-states of the same period in the
Mediterranean, producing philosophy which would eventually form the basis of much of the eastern world's beliefs, just as ancient Greece would produce philosophy that much of the western world's subsequent beliefs were based on. The period effectively ended with the onset of
Persian and
Greek invasion, and the subsequent rise of a single Indian empire from the kingdom of Magadha.
Kuru kingdom
The location of the Kuru kingdom was in the area of modern
Haryana state in India, and their capital was
Indraprastha, which may have been the most powerfull city in India, prior to the rise of the Magadhan city of
Pataliputra. The Kuru kingdom figures prominantly in the list of Mahajanapadas. At the time of Buddha, the Kuru realm was only three hundred leagues in extent, but was a cultural hub. The kingdom corresponds in name to the Kuru dynasty mentioned in the Indian epic
Mahabharata.
Gandhara kingdom
The location of the Gandhara kingdom was in the area of what is today northern Paksitan and southern Afghanistan, and major cities included
Peshawar and
Taxila, the latter of which is where
Panini formulated his complete Sanskrit grammar around 500 BCE, marking the transition from
Vedic Sanskrit to
Classical Sanskrit. It was one of the most powerfull of the Mahajanapadas, and also appeared in the
Mahabharata epic, as an ally of the Kuru kingdom. The name Gandhara only dissappeared 1500 years later, as part of the conquests of the controversial
Mahmood of Ghazni.
Kosala kingdom
The location of the Kosala kingdom was in the area of
Oudh in
Uttar Pradesh state in India, and their capital was
Ayodhya. Like Kuru, Magadha and Gandhara, they represented one of the most powerfull post-Vedic states in India, but were eventually weakened and absorbed by the growing Magadhan Empire during the
Haryanka dynasty, and subsiquent dynasties. The area featured prominantly in epic Sanskrit literature such as the
Ramayana, and was visited by
Buddha and
Mahavira.
Anga kingdom
The location of the Anga kingdom was in the area of
Bhagalpur and
Monghyr in
Bihar state of India. Their capital was said in the Indian epics to be the city of Malini, known later as Champa. Their terrotory may have at some point extended to the sea, and their capital was known as a center of commerce, perhaps trading as far away as modern Vietnam.
Kalinga kingdom
Main article: Kalinga
Kalinga was one of the many kingdoms throughout India at the time that were not one of the Mahajanapadas, however, they would play an important role in one of ancient India's most famous events - the conquest of their kingdom by the Emperor Asoka Maurya. Located in modern
Orissa, the Kalinga kingdom may have begun the cultural link between India and the islands that would later become Indonesia that persisted throughout history.
Around the 5th century BCE, the northern Indian subcontinent was invaded by the
Achaemenid Empire and the Greeks of
Alexander's army. This had important repercussions for Indian Civilization, as the political systems of the Persians would have an influence on later Indian political philosophy, including the administration of the
Mauryan dynasty, and a melting pot of Indian, Persian, Central Asian and Greek culture was created in the modern region of Afghanistan, producing a unique hybrid culture.
Achaemenid Empire
Much of the northwestern
Indian Subcontinent (present day Eastern
Afghanistan and most of
Pakistan) was ruled by the Persian
Achaemenid Empire from c.
520 BCE during the reign of
Darius the Great, up until its conquest by
Alexander. Lands in present-day Punjab, the Indus River from the borders of Gandhara down to the Arabian Sea, and some other parts of the Indus plain, became a satrapy of Alexander's empire. According to
Herodotus of
Halicarnassus, it was the most populous and richest of all the twenty satrapies of the empire. Achaemenid rule lasted about 186 years. The Achaemenids used the
Aramaic script for the Persian language. After the end of Achaemenid rule, the use of Aramaic in the Indus plain diminished, although we know from inscriptions from the time of
Emperor Asoka that it was still in use two centuries later. Other scripts, such as
Kharosthi (a script derived from Aramaic) and
Greek became more common after the arrival of
Alexander.
Alexander`s Empire
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Alexander's conquests reached the northernmost edge of India, around the Indus river in modern day Pakistan, which was slightly further than the Achaemenid Empire |
The interaction between Hellenistic Greece and Buddhism began when Alexander the Great conquered Asia Minor and the
Achaemenid Empire, reaching the north-west frontiers of the Indian subcontinent in 334 BCE. There, he defeated King
Puru in the
Battle of the Hydaspes (near modern-day Jhelum, Pakistan) and conquered much of the Punjab. However, Alexander's troops refused to go beyond the Beas River, and he was forced to march his army southwest.
Alexander created garrisons for his troops in his new territories, and founded several cities in the areas of the
Oxus,
Arachosia, and
Bactria, and Macedonian/Greek settlements in Gandhara (see
Taxila) and the Punjab. The regions included the
Khyber Pass â€" a geographical passageway south of the Himalayas and the
Hindu Kush mountains â€" and the Bolan Pass, on a trade route connecting
Drangiana, Arachosia and other Persian and Central Asian kingdoms to the lower Indus plain. It is through these regions that most of the interaction between South Asia and Central Asia took place, generating intense cultural exchange and trade.
Greco-Buddhist period
Greco-Buddhism, sometimes spelled Græco-Buddhism, is the cultural syncretism between the culture of Classical Greece and Buddhism, which developed over a period of close to 800 years in the area corresponding to modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan, between the 4th century BCE and the 5th century CE. Greco-Buddhism especially influenced the artistic development of
Mahayana Buddhism, before it was adopted by Central and Northeastern Asia from the 1st century CE, ultimately spreading to China, Korea, and Japan. It was mainly centred about the area of
Gandhara, or modern Afghanistan, the area of the subcontinent that had most been influenced by Persian and Greek contact. Gandhara was roughly contemporary to the other Mahajanapada kingdoms elsewhere in India.
Amongst the sixteen Mahajanapadas, the kingdom of
Magadha rose to prominence under a number of dynasties that peaked in power under the reign of
Asoka Maurya, one of India's most legendary and famous emperors. The kingdom of Magadha had emerged as a major power following the subjugation of two neighbouring kingdoms, and possessed an unparalleled military.
Haryanka dynasty
According to tradition, the Haryanka dynasty founded the
Magadha Empire in
684 BCE, whose capital was Rajagriha, later
Pataliputra, near the present day
Patna. This dynasty was succeeded by the Shishunaga dynasty.
Shishunaga dynasty
This period saw the development of two of India's major religions.
Gautama Buddha in the
6th or
5th century BCE was the founder of
Buddhism, which later spread to
East Asia and
South-East Asia, while
Mahavira founded
Jainism. This dynasty lasted till
424 BCE, when it was overthrown by the
Nanda dynasty.
Nanda dynasty
The
Nanda dynasty was established by an illegitimate son of the king
Mahanandin of the previous
Shishunaga dynasty.
Mahapadma Nanda died at the age of 88, ruling the bulk of this 100-year dynasty. The Nandas were followed by the
Maurya dynasty. It is said that rumors of the huge size of the Nanda army was in part responsible for the retreat of Alexander from India.
Maurya dynasty
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The Buddhist stupa at Sanchi, built during the Mauyran period |
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Map depicting the largest extent of the Mauryan Empire in dark blue, and allied or friendly areas in light blue |
In
321 BCE, exiled general
Chandragupta Maurya founded the
Maurya dynasty after overthrowing the reigning king
Dhana Nanda to establish the
Maurya Empire. During this time, most of the subcontinent was united under a single government for the first time. Capitalising on the destabilization of northern India by the Persian and Greek incursions, the Mauryan empire under Chandragupta would not only conquer most of the Indian subcontinent, but also push its boundaries into
Persia and
Central Asia, conquering the
Gandhara region. Chandragupta was succeeded by his son
Bindusara, who expanded the kingdom over most of present day India, barring the extreme south and east, which may have held tributary status.
The kingdom was inherited by his son
Ashoka The Great who initially sought to expand his kingdom. In the aftermath of the carnage caused in the invasion of
Kalinga, he renounced bloodshed and pursued a policy of
non-violence or ahimsa after converting to Buddhism. The
Edicts of Ashoka are the oldest preserved historical documents of India, and from Ashoka's time, approximate dating of dynasties becomes possible. The Mauryan dynasty under
Ashoka was responsible for the proliferation of
Buddhist ideals across the whole of
East Asia and
South-East Asia, fundamentally altering the history and development of Asia as a whole.
Ashoka the Great has been described as one of the greatest rulers the world has seen.
Shunga dynasty
The Sunga dynasty was established in 185 BCE, about fifty years after Ashoka's death, when the king
Brihadratha, the last of the Mauryan rulers, was brutally murdered by the then commander-in-chief of the Mauryan armed forces, Pusyamitra Sunga, while he was taking the Guard of Honour of his forces.
Pusyamitra Sunga then ascended the throne.
Kanva dynasty
The Kanva dynasty replaced the Shunga dynasty, and ruled in the eastern part of India from 71 BCE to 26 BCE. The last ruler of the Sunga dynasty was overthrown by Vasudeva of the Kanva dynasty in 75 BC. The Kanva ruler allowed the kings of the Sunga dynasty to continue to rule in obscurity in a corner of their former dominions. Magadha was ruled by four Kanva rulers. In 30 BC, the southern power swept away both the Kanvas and Sungas and the province of Eastern Malwa was absorbed within the dominions of the conqueror. Following the collapse of the Kanva dynasty, the
Satavahana dynasty of the
Andhra kindgom replaced the Magandhan kingdom as the most powerful Indian state.
The middle period, especially which associated with the Gupta dynasty, is known as India's Golden Age, a time of unparalleled cultural development. The
Kushanas invaded north-western India about the middle of the 1st century CE, from
Central Asia, and founded an empire that eventually stretched from
Peshawar to the middle
Ganges and, perhaps, as far as the
Bay of Bengal. It also included ancient Bactria (in the north of modern Afghanistan) and southern
Tajikistan. Their power also extended into
Turkestan and helped spread Buddhism to
China. In
South India, several kingdoms emerged. The earliest of these is the
Pandya kingdom in southern Tamil Nadu, with its capital at
Madurai. Around the same time in southern India, the
Pandyan kingdom began to take shape. An important source for the geography and history of that period is the Greek historian
Arrian. This period lasted roughly from the rise of the Satavahanas in
200 BCE as the Mauryans declined, to the end of the Guptas, around the middle of the first millennium CE, a span of 700 years, and ended with the onset of Huna invasion.
Satavahana empire
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An aniconic representation of Mara's assault on the Buddha, 2nd century CE, Amaravati. |
The
Satavahanas, also known as the Andhras, were a dynasty which ruled in Southern and Central India starting from around 230 BCE. Although there is some controversy about when the dynasty came to an end, the most liberal estimates are of about 450 years. Long before that their kingdom had disintegrated into
successor states. Conflict with the
Sakas and the rising ambitions of their feudatories, led to their decline. Several dynasties divided the lands of the kingdom among themselves.
Kuninda kingdom
The Kuninda kingdom is noteworthy for being a small Himalayan state that survived for almost 500 years, and like many other small kingdoms of the era, were related to states contemporary to the Mahajanapadas, and mentioned in the epics. It was documented from around the 2nd century BCE, and lasted until roughly the 3rd century CE.
Pandyas, Cholas and Cheras
While not powerfull at the time, three different kingdoms, the
Pandyas,
Cholas and
Cheras, dominated the southern tip of the Indian peninsula, and eventually, due to the destabalisation of the large northern empires, caused by the onset of invasion from West Asia and Central Asia, would replace the fertile lands of the Indo-Gangelitic plains as the centre of classical Indian art and culture, even forming overseas empires that stretched across South East Asia. In the time period leading up to this, the kingdoms mainly warred with each other and Deccan states, for domination of the south.
Kushan empire
The Kushan Empire (c.
1st–
3rd centuries) was a state that at its height, about
105–
250, stretched from
Tajikistan to the
Caspian Sea to
Afghanistan and down into the
Ganges river (Ganga) valley. The empire was created by
Tocharians from modern
East Turkestan,
China, but was culturally dominated by north India. They had diplomatic contacts with
Rome,
Sassanian Persia and China, and for several centuries were at the centre of exchange between the East and the West, spreading Buddhism through trade with China.
Western Kshatrapas
The Western Kshatrapas, or Western Satraps, (35-405 CE) were
Saka rulers of the western and central part of India (
Saurashtra and
Malwa: modern
Gujarat,
Maharashtra,
Rajasthan and
Madhya Pradesh states). They were contemporaneous with the Kushans who ruled the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, and the Satavahana (Andhra) who ruled in Central India. Altogether, there were 27 independent Kshatrapa rulers during a period of about 350 years. The word Kshatrapa stands for satrap, and its equivalent in Persian Ksatrapavan, which means viceroy or governor of a province.
Gupta dynasty
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Coins of the Gupta period |
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Famous ancient fresco from the Ajanta caves, made during the Gupta period |
In the
4th and
5th centuries, the
Gupta Dynasty unified northern India. During this period, known as India's
Golden Age,
Hindu culture, science and political administration reached new heights. After the collapse of the Gupta Empire in the
6th century, India was again ruled by numerous regional kingdoms. The Gupta 'golden age' marked a period of significant cultural development.
Their origins are largely unknown; however the Chinese traveller
I-tsing provides the first evidence of the Gupta kingdom in
Magadha. The Vedic
Puranas are also thought to have been written around this period. The empire came to an end with the attack of the
Huns from central Asia. A minor line of the Gupta clan continued to rule
Magadha after the disintegration of the empire. These Guptas were ultimately ousted by the Vardhana king
Harsha, who established an empire in the first half of the seventh century that, for a brief time, rivalled that of the Guptas in extent.
White Hun invasion
The White Huns, (sometimes known as Alchon, and inaccurately potrayed as the
Indo-Hephthalites), seem to have been part of the
Hephthalite group, who established themselves in Afghanistan by the first half of the fifth century, with their capital at
Bamiyan. They were responsible for the downfall of the Gupta dynasty, and thus brought an end to what historians consider a golden age in northern India. However, much of the
Deccan and southern India were largely unaffected by this state of flux in the north.
The
Gupta Emperor
Skandagupta repelled a Hun invasion in 455 CE, but they continued to pressure India's northwest frontier (present day Pakistan), and broke through into northern India by the end of the fifth century, thereby hastening the disintegration of the Gupta Empire. After the end of the sixth century, little is recorded in India about the Huns, and their ultimate fate is unclear; some historians surmise that the remaining Huns were assimilated into northern India's population. Certain historians, such as
Romila Thapar, have suggested that the Huns are the ancestors of the Rajputs. Many Rajputs themselves however have hotly rejected this suggestion.
Kalabhras
In the south, a Buddhist kingdom, the Kalabhras, briefly interrupted the usual domination of the Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas, imposing the only known Buddhist dynasty to have ever ruled there. However between the 3rd and the 6th century CE, they would succeed in uniting the south.
A series of hybrid cultures formed in the region of northwestern India, around modern Afghanistan and Pakistan, due to remant kingdoms left by Persian and Greek conqests, who were later supplanted by invading nomads from central asia. These unique cultures often dominated the area of the
silk route where trade and culture from India, China and Persia met, gaining influence from cultures throughout the world, and spreading Indian developments to other countries connected along the trade route. Their rulers adopted Buddhism and Hinduism, and their culture influenced north Indian styles.
Indo-Greeks
The
Indo-Greek Kingdom (or sometimes Greco-Indian Kingdom) covered various parts of northwest and northern
India from 180 BCE to around
10 CE, and was ruled by a succession of more than thirty Greek kings, often in conflict with each other. The kingdom was founded when the
Greco-Bactrian king
Demetrius invaded India in 180 BCE, ultimately creating an entity which seceded from the powerful
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom centred in
Bactria (today's northern
Afghanistan).
Indo-Scythians
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Coin of the Indo-Scythian "King of Kings" Azes II (c. 35-12 BCE). |
The
Indo-Scythians are a branch of the Indo-European
Sakas (
Scythians), who migrated from southern
Siberia into
Bactria,
Sogdiana,
Kashmir and finally into
Arachosia and then
India from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century BCE. They displaced the Indo-Greeks and ruled in northern India from
Gandhara to
Mathura.
Indo-Parthians
The Indo-Parthian Kingdom was established during the
1st century CE, by a
Parthian leader named
Gondophares, in an area covering today's
Afghanistan,
Pakistan and Northern
India. The Parthians ended up controlling all of
Bactria and extensive territories in Northern India, after fighting many local rulers such as the
Kushan Empire ruler
Kujula Kadphises,in the
Gandhara region. They were known in India as
Pahlava.
Indo-Sassanians
The
Sassanian empire of
Persia, who were close contemporaries of the
Guptas, began to expand into the north-western part of ancient
India (now
Pakistan), where they established their rule. The mingling of
Indian and
Persian cultures in this region gave birth to the
Indo-Sassanian culture, which flourished in the western part of the
Punjab and the areas now known in
Pakistan as the
North West Frontier Province and
Balochistan. The last Hindu kingdom in this region, the
Shahi dynasty, also may have arisen from this culture.
Later during the middle period, the
Chola kingdom emerged in northern
Tamil Nadu, and the
Chera kingdom in
Kerala. The ports of southern India were involved in the
Indian Ocean trade, chiefly involving
spices, with the
Roman Empire to the west and
Southeast Asia to the east. In the north, the first of the
Rajputs, a series of kingdoms which managed to survive in some form for almost a millennium until Indian independence from the British. This period produced some of India's finest art, considered the epitomy of classical development, and the main spiritual and philosophical systems of India continued to be
Hinduism,
Buddhism and
Jainism. This period began with the resurgance of the north during Harsha's conquests around the 7th century, and ended with the fall of the Vijaynagar Empire in the South, due to pressure from the invaders to the north in the 13th century.
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Bronzes of the Chola period |
Harsha's empire
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
Pratiharas of
Malwa and later Kannauj; the
Palas of
Bengal, and the
Rashtrakutas of the Deccan.
The Chalukyas and Pallavas
The
Vishnukundina dynasty was located around the area of Kalinga or Orissa, starting around the 6th century, and would eventually become part of the Chalukya holdings. The
Chalukya Empire ruled parts of southern and central India from 550 to 750 from
Badami,
Karnataka and again from 970 to 1190 from
Kalyani, Karnataka. The
Pallavas of Kanchi were their contemporaries to the south. Over a period of roughly a century, the two kingdoms fought a series of low-intensity wars, each conquering the other's capitals at various points. The kings of
Sri Lanka and the Keralan
Cheras rendered support to the
Pallavas, while the
Pandyas rendered support to the
Chalukyas. Whilst the northern concept of a pan-Indian empire had collapsed at the end of Harsha's empire, the ideal instead shifted to the south. The two dynasties were responsible for some of the greatest examples of both rock-cut and free-standing temples.
Chola empire
The
Cholas emerged as the most powerful empire in the south in the 9th century and retained their pre-eminent position until the 12th century when the
Hoysala empire was founded in Karnataka. The Cholas, like the
Chalukyas and
Pallavas before them, and the
Hoysala and
Vijayanagar after them, were responsible for some of India's finest monuments, and being located on the south tip of the peninsula, ruled
Sri Lanka, and culturally dominated most of
South East Asia, where the Hindu
Srivijaya and
Khmer empires of
Indonesia and
Cambodia used south Indian temple design. The Chola Navy was the most powerful for its time having conquered the neighbouring island of Lanka and other areas across the
Bay of Bengal. One perticular medieval Chola ruler,
Raja Raja the Great, is known as one of India's greatest Emperors, having initiated a massive building programme, that produced some of the finest temple archutecture in the subcontinent.
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Rashtrakuta architecture, The rock cut Ellora caves |
Pratiharas, Palas, and Rashtrakutas
The
Pratiharas, also called the Gurjara-Pratiharas were an Indian dynasty who ruled kingdoms in
Rajasthan and northern India from the sixth to the eleventh centuries. The
Pala Empire controlled
Bihar and
Bengal, from the 8th to the 12th century. The
Rashtrakutas of
Malakheda (Karnataka) were a dynasty which ruled the
Deccan during the 8th-10th centuries after the end of
Chalukya rule. Each three kingdoms vied for north Indian domination around the same time that the
Cholas were flourishing in the south. The
Sena dynasty would later assume control of the Pala kingdom, and the Pratiharas fragmented into various Rajput states.
The Rajputs
The first recorded
Rajput kingdoms emerged in
Rajasthan in the
6th century, and Rajput dynasties later ruled much of northern India, including
Mewar (
Sisodias),
Gujarat (
Solankis),
Malwa (
Paramaras),
Bundelkhand (
Chandelas), and
Haryana (
Tomaras). The
Pallava dynasty of
Kanchipuram ruled southeastern India from the
4th century to the
9th century. The
Pratihara ruled northern India before the Rajputs. Various other dynasties such as the
Sena and
Pala controlled various empires of their own. One Rajput of the
Chauhan dynasty,
Prithviraj Chauhan, was known for bloody conflicts against the encroaching Islamic Sultanates, and the Rajputs in general, due to their location in the north of India, bore the brunt of this assult for centuries, successfully maintaining their kingdoms.
Hoysala, Kakatiya, southern Kalachuri, Seuna dynasties
With the decline of the Kalyani Chalukya empire, their feudatories,
Hoysalas of
Halebidu,
Kakatiya of Warangal,
Seuna dynasty of Devagiri and a southern branch of the
Kalachuri divided the vast Chalukya empire amongst themselves around the middle of 12th. century. Litearture in local vernaculars and spectacular architecture flourished till about the begining of the 14th century when southern expeditions of the sultan of Delhi took their toll on these kingdoms. By
1343 A.D., all these kingdoms had siezed to exist giving rise to the
Vijayanagar empire that rose to power in the domains of the Hoysalas and Kakatiya.
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Vijaynagar architecture, Stone chariot in Vittala temple, Karnataka |
Shahi kingdom
The Shahi dynasty ruled portions of eastern
Afghanistan, northern
Pakistan, and
Kashmir from the mid-seventh century to the early eleventh century. They are split into two eras the Buddhist
Turk Shahis and the Hindu Shahis with the changeover occurring sometime around 870. They were the last Hindu or Buddhist dynasty to rule the area of Gandhara or Afghanistan, prior to the invasions of the Ghaznavids and other Sultanates or warlords.
Vijayanagar empire
The brothers
Harihara and
Bukka founded the
Vijayanagara Empire, in 1336 with its regal capital as
Vijayanagara, which is present day
Hampi in
Karnataka. The
Vijayanagara empire prospered during the reign of
Krishnadevaraya. It suffered a major defeat in 1565 but continued for another century or so in an attenuated form. Southern Indian kingdoms of the time expanded their influence as far as
Indonesia, controlling vast overseas empires in Southeast Asia. The Hindu dynasty came into conflict with Islamic rule (the
Bahmani Kingdom) and the clashing of the two systems, caused a mingling of the indigenous and foreign culture that left lasting cultural influences on each other. The empire contributed greatly to arts, architecture and literature in Kannada, Telugu and Sanskrit. The vast theatre of monuments at
Hampi are testimony to this.
The Vijaynagar Empire eventually declined due to pressure from the first Delhi Sultanates who had managed to establish themselves in the north, centered around the city of Delhi, a former Rajput holding. This marked a new period in Indian history, and the end of the classical culture that had been created in India, and influenced the east, for almost two thousand years.
After the Arab-Turkic invasion of India's ancient northern neighbour Persia, expanding forces in that area were keen to invade India, which was the richest classical civilization, with the only known diamond mines in the world. After resistance for a few centuries by various north Indian kingdoms, short lived
Islamic empires invaded and spread across the northern subcontinent over a period of a few centuries. Prior to Turkic invasions, Muslim trading communities flourished throughout coastal
South India, particularly in
Kerala, where they arrived in small numbers through trade links via the
Indian Ocean with the Arabian peninsula, however, this marked the largescale introduction of western religion into the primarily
dharmic culture of India, often in puritanical form.
Delhi sultanate
In the 12th and 13th centuries,
Arabs,
Turks and
Afghans invaded parts of northern India and established the
Delhi Sultanate at the beginning of the 13th century, from former Rajput holdings. The subsequant
Slave dynasty of Delhi managed to conquer large areas of
northern India, approximate to the ancient extent of the
Guptas, while the
Khilji Empire was also able to conquer most of
central India, but were ultimately unsuccessful in conquering most of the subcontinent.
|
Approximate extent of the Mughal dynasty in the 17th century |
During the Mughal era, the dominant political forces consisted of the Mughal Empire, its tributaries, and the rise of its sucessor states, including the Maratha confedracy, who fought an increasingly weak and disfavoured Mughal dynasty.
Mughal empire
In 1526,
Babur, a
Timurid (
Turco-Persian) descendant of
Timur, swept across the
Khyber Pass and established the
Mughal Empire, which lasted for over 200 years. 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. This period marked vast social change in the subcontinent as the Hindu majority were ruled over by the
Mughal emperors, some of whom showed religious tolerance, liberally patroning Hindu culture, and some of whom destroyed historical temples and imposed taxes on non-Muslims. During the decline of the
Mughal Empire, which at its peak occupied an area slightly larger than the ancient
Maurya Empire, several smaller empires rose to fill the power vacuum or themselves were contributing factors to the decline. The Mughals were perhaps the richest single dynasty to have ever existed.
The Mughals, while often employing brutal tactics to subjugate their empire, had a policy of intigration with Indian culture, which is what made them successfull where the short-lived Sultanates of Delhi had failed. This is much the same as how the earliest
Mongols had conquered asia, and then adopted local culture, whether Chinese or Persian.
Akbar the Great was perticularily famed for this. The Mughal Emperors quickly married local royalty, producing sons who were Indian, allied with local Maharajas, and attempted to fuse their Mongol-Persian culture with ancient Indian styles, creating unique Indo-Saracenic architecture. It was the erosion of this tradition coupled with increased brutality and centralisation that played a large part in their downfall after
Aurangzeb, who unlike previous emperors, imposed relatively non-pluralistic policies on the general population, that often enflamed the majority Hindu population.
The post-Mughal era was dominated by the rise of the Maratha confedracy, other regional states, post-Mughal tributary states, and the increasing activities of European powers, leading to the British annexing of Bengal.
The Maratha confederacy
The Maratha Kingdom was founded by
Shivaji in
1674, when he annexed a portion of the
Bijapur Sultanate. After consolidating his hold over his territories in the Deccan, Shivaji declared war on the Mughal Emperor,
Aurangzeb, gaining popular support against his controversial policies. By the 18th century, it had transformed itself into the Maratha Confederacy under the rule of the
Peshwas. By 1760, the Empire had 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 Abdali 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
The Kingdom of Mysore was a kingdom of southern India, which was founded around 1400 CE by the
Wodeyar dynasty. The rule of the Wodeyars was interrupted by
Hyder Ali and his son
Tippu 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 some aid or promise of aid from the
French. After the death of Tippu Sultan in the Fourth War of Mysore in 1799, the Wodeyar dynasty regained limited power as a
Princely State under the British. The Kingdom of Mysore became part of the modern day, Indian state of
Karnataka.
The Punjab
The Punjabi kingdom, ruled by members of the
Sikh religious movement was a political entity that ruled the region of modern day
Punjab. Founded by the ten Gurus of the Sikh faith, it expanded its borders during the reign of Maharaja
Ranjit Singh at the height of the
Sikh Empire to include surrounding areas like
Kashmir,
Peshawar,
Haryana and
Himachal Pradesh, and was among the last areas of the subcontinent that was conquered by the British. The
Anglo-Sikh wars marked the downfall of the Sikh Empire.
Durrani empire
In 1748, the
Afghan leader
Ahmed Shah Durrani crossed the
Indus River on the pretext of waging a
jihad against the "
Hindus". He attacked
Lahore (in present day Pakistan) in 1750, his first Indian target. Subsequentley, he raided the rest of the
Punjab (including
Amritsar),
Kashmir and finally
Delhi. He also fought against the
Marathas frequently. He left
India with numerous treasures, including the
Kohinoor diamond.
Gorkha kingdom
It was around the 18th century that modern Nepal, formerly part of several empires such as the Mauryans, was formed by Gorkha rulers, who conquered the Kathmandu valley. During later colonial rule, Nepal was made a puppet state of
Great Britian, rather than annexed like other princely states, in part due to the use of Gurkhas in the British and British Indian armies.
During the colonial era, India, along with several ancient nations in Asia, Africa and South America, was targeted by expansionist European powers, and was eventually incorporated into the
British Empire. This was a turning point in the development of modern world history. The subsequent freedom struggle began with the First War of Independence, and was later led by figures such as
Mohandas Gandhi.
Company rule
Vasco da Gama's discovery of a new sea route to India in
1498 paved the way for European colonization of India. The Portuguese set up bases in
Goa,
Daman,
Diu and
Bombay. They remained the longest colonial rulers for 500 years till 1962. The
British established their first outpost in South Asia in
1619 at
Surat on the northwestern coast of India, arriving in the wake of
Portuguese and
Dutch visitors. Later in the century, the
British East India Company opened permanent trading stations at
Madras,
Bombay, and
Calcutta, each under the protection of native rulers.
The French set up base along with the British in the 17
th century. They occupied large parts of southern India. However subsequent wars with the British, led to the loss of almost all their territory. They however retained the colonies of
Pondicherry - (Pondicherry, Karaikal, Yanam, and Mahé.) and Chandernagore. Pondicherry was ceded to India in 1950.
The Dutch did not have a major presence in India. They ruled the towns of
Travancore; however they were more interested in
Ceylon (now
Sri Lanka) and their prize of the Dutch East Indies (now
Indonesia). They were responsible for training the military of the princely state of
Kerala. In 1845, the Danish colony of
Tranquebar was sold to the
United Kingdom.
The British Raj
|
The extent of the British Raj, with India and Burma shown in purple |
The British established a foothold in
Bengal when the British soldiers, funded by the
East India Company, and led by
Robert Clive, defeated
Nawab Siraj Ud Daulah in the
Battle of Plassey in
1757 and plundered the Bengali treasure.
Bengal became a protectorate, and then directly went under the rule of
East India Company. The British East India Company monopolized the trade of Bengal. The Bengali craftsmen were inevitably fixed at foreign posts of the Company, where they were obliged to render their labour at minimal compensation while their collective tax burden increased harshly. The result was the
famine of 1769 to 1773 in which 10 million Bengalis died, followed almost a century later by the catastrophic Great Calamity period, resulting in part from an extension of similar policies, in which up to 40 million Indians perished from
famine amidst the collapse of India's native industries and skilled workforce.
By the
1850s Britain controlled most of the Indian sub-continent, which included present-day
Pakistan and
Bangladesh. From 1830, the defeat of the
Thugs played a part in securing establishing greater control of diverse Indian provinces for the British.
The
Indian rebellion of 1857 in the north, led by mutinous Indian soldiers, was crushed by the British. In the aftermath all political power was transferred from the East India Company to the
Crown, which began administering most of India directly. It controlled the rest through
local rulers.
The independence movement
In the late
19th century "British India" took its first steps toward self-government with the appointment of Indian councillors to advise the British
viceroy, and the establishment of provincial Councils with Indian members; the British subsequently widened participation in legislative councils. Beginning in
1920, Indian leaders such as
Mohandas K. Gandhi (also known as
Mahatma (Great Soul) Gandhi and
Subhas Chandra Bose transformed the
Indian National Congress into a mass movement to campaign against British colonial rule. The movement eventually succeeded in bringing independence to the people of the Indian subcontinent, by means of parliamentary action and
non-violent resistance and non-cooperation. Following the division of India into the secular
Republic of India and the
Islamic Republic of Pakistan in August
1947, rioting broke out between Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims in several parts of India, including Punjab, Bengal and Delhi, leaving some 200,000 dead. Also, this period saw the largest mass migration ever recorded in modern history, with a total of 12 million Hindus and Muslims moved between the newly created dominions of India and Pakistan.
Main articles: Political Integration of India and History of the Republic of India |
India before and after 1947 |
Since independence, India has fought a number of wars against its neighbours, most notably
four wars against Pakistan, and one
against China. It also detonated a nuclear device in
1974 and became a
declared nuclear state in
1998 following a series of tests. From a socialist-inspired economy to the early
1990s, India continued to make slow progress away from the state the British had left the country in, however, it was only after extensive economic reforms in the early 90s (initiated by Present Prime minister of India
Manmohan Singh) that India's economy began to grow at a high rate. Today, in the
21st century, India is considered an emerging economic
superpower,
and is currently the tenth largest economy in terms of gross
GDP, and 4th largest when accounting for
purchasing power parity.
Since independence, India has fought three major wars and one minor war with
Pakistan (see
Indo-Pakistani Wars). The
Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 started over the control of
Kashmir. The
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was also fought over
Kashmir. In
1971, India hosted refugees from erstwhile
East Pakistan and helped the Bangladeshi freedom fighters (
Mukti Bahini) with resources and training during the
Bangladesh Liberation War. During the final stages of that war, India became directly involved in the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, which ultimately resulted in Pakistan's defeat and the independence of
Bangladesh. India also fought a border war with
China in
1962 (see
Sino-Indian War).
As well as being a declared nuclear state, India has an advanced
space program designed to benefit the country economically, rather than merely create prestige. In the 1990s, following economic reform from the socialist-inspired economy of post-independence India, the country began to experience rapid
economic growth, as markets opened for international competition and investment. In the 21st century, India is an
emerging economic power and labelled as a modern
great power. with vast human and natural resources, and a huge knowledge base. Economists predict that by 2050, India will be among the top three economies of the world. [
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The Cambridge Shorter History of India (1934)
*
Chandavarkar, Raj. The Origins of Industrial Capitalism in India: Business Strategies and the Working Class in Bombay 1900-1940 (1994)
* Cohen, Stephen P.
India: Emerging Power (2002)
* Daniélou, Alain.
A Brief History of India (2003)
* Das, Gurcharan.
India Unbound : The Social and Economic Revolution from Independence to the Global Information Age (2002)
* Keay, John.
India: A History (2001)
* Kishore, Prem and Anuradha Kishore Ganpati.
India: An Illustrated History (2003)]
* Kulke, Hermann and Dietmar Rothermund.
A History of India. 3rd ed. (1998)
*
Majumdar, R. C., H.C. Raychaudhuri, and Kaukinkar Datta.
An Advanced History of India London: Macmillan. 1960. ISBN 033390298x
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Majumdar, R. C. The History and Culture of the Indian People New York: The Macmillan Co., 1951.
* 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)
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Economic history of India*
Economy of India*
Historical maps of India*
History of Buddhism*
History of Hinduism*
History of sex in India*
History of South Asia*
India*
Indian maritime history*
Indian mathematics*
Kingdoms of Ancient India*
List of Indian Monarchs*
List of Indians*
Military history of India*
Timeline of Indian history*
Central Oregon Community College:India Timeline*
Sources of Early Indian History*
A Tribute to Hinduism*
A Concise History of India*
A Timeline of Indian History
