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History of India

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This article is about the history of the IndianSubcontinent prior to the Partition of India in 1947. For the history of the modern Republic of India, see History of the Republic of India.For the histories of Pakistan and Bangladesh see History of Pakistan and History of Bangladesh. Also for South India see History of South India.

The

history of India

begins with evidence of humanactivity of

Homo sapiens

as long as 75,000 years ago(Tamil Nadu) and hominids (Homo Erectus) fromabout 500,000 years ago. TheIndus ValleyCivilization, which spread and flourished in the north-western part of theIndian subcontinentfrom c. 3300to 1300 BCE, was the first major civilization in India. A sophisticated and technologically advanced urbanculture developed in the Mature Harappanperiod, from 2600 to 1900 BCE. ThisBronze Agecivilizationcollapsed at the beginning of the second millenniumBCE and was followed by theIron Age Vedic Civilization, which extended over much of theIndo-Gangetic plainsand which witnessed the rise of major polities known as the Mahajanapadas.In one kingdom,Magadha, Mahaviraand Gautama Buddhawere born in the 6th or 5th century BCE, who propagated their Shramanicphilosophies.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 bynumerous Middle kingdomsfor the next 1,500 years. This is known as the classical period of India, during which India is estimated to have had the largest economyof the ancient and medieval world, controlling between one third and one fourth of the world'swealth up to the 18th century.Much of Northern and Central India was once again united in the 4th century CE, andremained so for two centuries thereafter, under the Gupta Empire.This period, of 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 theChalukyas,Cholas,Pallavasand Pandyas, experienced its own golden age. During this period aspects of Indian civilization, administration, culture, and religion(HinduismandBuddhism

) spread to much of Asia.

Part of a serieson the

History of India

Chronology of Indian history

Ancient India

Prehistoric Indiaand Vedic India

,Ramayana, Mahabharata

Medieval India

The Classical Age

Art, Philosophy, Literature

Islam in India

Delhi Sultanate

, Vijayanagara Empire

Modern India

, 1857

British Indian Empire

Hindu reforms

, Bengal Renaissance

,Independence struggle

, Mahatma Gandhi

The southern state of Keralahad maritime business links with the Roman Empire fromaround 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 binQasimconquered SindhandMultanin southernPunjab,

[1]

setting the stage for severalsuccessive invasions between the 10th and 15th centuries CE from Central Asia, leadingto the formation of Muslim empires in theIndian subcontinentsuch as theDelhi Sultanateand theMughal Empire. Mughal rule came to cover most of the northern parts of the subcontinent. Mughal rulersintroduced middle-eastern art and architecture to India. In addition to the Mughals andvarious Rajputkingdoms, several independentHindu states, such as the Vijayanagara Empire, theMaratha Empire and theAhom Kingdom, flourished contemporaneously in Southern, Westernand North-EasternIndia respectively. The Mughal Empire suffered a gradual decline in the early eighteenth century, which provided opportunities for theAfghans,BalochisandSikhsto exercise control over large areas in the northwest of the subcontinent until theBritish East India Companygained ascendancy over South Asia.

[2]

Beginning in the mid-18th century and over the next century, India was graduallyannexed by theBritish East India Company.Dissatisfaction with Company rule led to the First War of Indian Independence, after which India was directly administered by theBritish Crownand witnessed a period of both rapid development of infrastructureand economic decline. During the first half of the 20th century, a nationwide struggle for independencewas launched by the Indian National Congress,and later joined by the Muslim League. The subcontinent gained independence from the United Kingdomin 1947, after being partitionedinto the dominions of India andPakistan.

] Pre-Historic Era

Stone Age

Main article:South Asian Stone Age

Further information:Mehrgarh , Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka , and Edakkal Caves

Bhimbetka rock painting,MadhyaPradesh, India. Alleged Stone agewritings of Edakkal Cavesin Kerala, India.

Isolated remains of

Homo erectus

in Hathnora in the Narmada ValleyinCentral India indicate that India might have been inhabited since at least the Middle Pleistoceneera, somewhere between 200,000 to 500,000 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.TheMesolithicperiod in the Indian subcontinent was followed by the Neolithic period,when more extensive settlement of the subcontinent occurred after the end of the last IceAge, or approximately 12,000 years ago. The first confirmed semi-permanent settlementsappeared 9,000 years ago in theRock Shelters of Bhimbetkain modern Madhya Pradesh, India.Early Neolithicculture in South Asia is represented by theMehrgarhfindings (7000 BCE onwards) in present dayBalochistan, Pakistan. Traces of a Neolithic culture have been alleged to be submerged in theGulf of Khambatin India,radiocarbon dated to 7500 BCE.

[5]

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 regionaround 5000 BCE, in the Lower Gangetic valley around 3000 BCE, and in later SouthIndia, spreading southwards and also northwards into Malwa around 1800 BCE.Tools crafted by proto-humans have been discovered in the north-western part of thesubcontinent that have been dated back two million years.

[6][7]

The ancient history of theregion includes some of South Asia's oldest settlements

[8]

and some of its major civilizations.

[9][10]

The earliest archaeological site in the Subcontinent is the palaeolithic hominidsite in the Soan River valley.

[11]

Village life is first attested at the Neolithic site of Mehrgarh,

[12]

while the first urbancivilization of the region began with theIndus Valley Civilization.

[13]

Bronze Age