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. 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 millennium BCE and was followed by the Iron
Age Vedic Civilization, which extended over much of the Indo-Gangetic plain and which
witnessed the rise of major polities known as the Mahajanapadas. In one of these
kingdoms, Magadha, Mahavira and Gautama Buddha were born in the 6th or 5th century
BCE and propagated their śramanic philosophies.
Almost all of the subcontinent was conquered by the Maurya Empire during the 4th and
3rd centuries BCE. It subsequently became fragmented, with various parts ruled by
numerous Middle kingdoms for the next 1,500 years. This is known as the classical
period of Indian history, during which India has sometimes been estimated to have had
the largest economy of the ancient and medieval world, controlling between one third and
one fourth of the world's wealth up to the 18th century.
Much of northern and central India was once again united in the 4th century CE, and
remained so for two centuries thereafter, under the Gupta Empire. This period, witnessing
a Hindu religious and intellectual resurgence, is known among its admirers as the
"Golden Age of India". During the same time, and for several centuries afterwards,
southern India, under the rule of the Chalukyas, Cholas, Pallavas, and Pandyas,
experienced its own golden age. During this period, aspects of Indian civilization,
administration, culture, and religion (Hinduism and Buddhism) spread to much of Asia.
The southern state of Kerala had maritime business links with the Roman Empire from
around 77 CE. Islam was introduced in Kerala through this route by Muslim traders.
Muslim rule in the subcontinent began in 712 CE when the Arab general Muhammad bin
Qasim conquered Sindh and Multan in southern Punjab in modern day Pakistan,[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 from Central Asia to cover most of the northern parts of the
subcontinent. Mughal rulers introduced Central Asian art and architecture to India. In
addition to the Mughals and various Rajput kingdoms, several independent Hindu states,
such as the Vijayanagara Empire, the Maratha Empire, and the Ahom Kingdom,
flourished contemporaneously in southern, western, and northeastern India respectively.
The Mughal Empire suffered a gradual decline in the early 18th century, which provided
opportunities for the Afghans, Balochis, Sikhs, and Marathas to exercise control over
large areas in the northwest of the subcontinent until the British East India Company
gained ascendancy over South Asia.[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
[hide]

• 1 Pre-Historic era

• 1.1 Stone Age

1.2 Β ρ ο ν ζ ε Αγ ε

• 2 Early historic period

• 2.1 Vedic period

• 2.2 Μ α η α ϕ α ν α π α δ α σ

• 2.3 Π ε ρ σ ι α ν αν δ Γρ ε ε κ χον θ υ ε σ τ σ

2.4 Μ α υ ρ ψ α Εµπ ι ρ ε

• 3 Early Middle Kingdoms — The Golden Age

• 3.1 Northwestern hybrid cultures

• 3.2 Κ υ σ η α ν Εµπ ι ρ ε

• 3.3 Ρ ο µ α ν τρα δ ε ωι τ η Ινδ ι α

3.4 Γ υ π τ α ρυλ ε

• 4 Late Middle Kingdoms — The Classical Age

• 5 Τη ε Ισλαµ ι χ Συλ τ α ν α τ ε σ

• 5.1 Delhi Sultanate

• 6 The Mughal era

• 7 Πο σ τ − Μυ γ η α λ περ ι ο δ

• 8 Χο λ ο ν ι α λ ερα

• 8.1 Company rule in India

• 8.2 Β ρ ι τ ι σ η Ραϕ

8.3 Τ η ε Ι ν δ ι α ν Ινδ ε π ε ν δ ε ν χ ε
µοϖ ε µ ε ν τ

• 9 Independence and Partition

• 10 Σ ε ε αλσ ο
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]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-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]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-
murray-5"[6] The ancient history of the region includes some of South Asia's oldest
settlements[7] and some of its major civilizations.[8]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-asaw-
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]
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]
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.

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 kingdomHYPERLINK \l "cite_note-21"[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.
 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]
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 circa 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]
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