Ancient India

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Ancient India had a long-lived civilization and culture. It covered several countries including India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

[edit] Main events

[edit] Chronology

Image:Mohenjodaro computergeneratedimage1.jpg
A computer-generated reconstruction has brought a small area of Mohenjo-daro back to life. (Lost Civilizations by Austen Atkinson, p. 179 - 188)
Standing Buddha, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE, Musée Guimet.
Standing Buddha, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE, Musée Guimet.
  • 3000 BC – 1000 BC: Harappan civilization
  • 2000 BC - C1500 BC: Advent of Indo-Aryan peoples (see Indo-Aryan migration for discussion)(It is now disputed that an invasion by any race called ARYANS ever happened. The issue is yet to be sorted in a satisfactory manner)
  • 1500 BC – 600 BC: Composition of the Vedas and the Brahmana
  • 700 BC – 300 BC: Composition of the Upanishads
  • 527 or 526 BC: Death of Mahavira, the historical founder of Jainism
  • Late 6th century: Darius, the Persian king, conquers parts of Ancient India
  • 486 BC: Death of Buddha; Chinese tradition records 483 BC
  • 400 BC: Panini composes first Sanskrit grammar
  • 4th century BC – 4th century BC: Composition of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata
  • 327 BC – 25 BC: Alexander the Great invades India.
  • 321 BC – 181 BC: Chandragupta Maurya founded Gupta dynasty
  • 300 BC: Megasthenes (Greek ambassador) visits the Maurya king
  • 300 BC: Composition of the Arthashastra, though some scholars date the work to 100 AD
  • 268 BC – 233: BC Reign of Ashoka the Great
  • 185 BC – 75 BC: Shunga dynasty reigns over central India
  • 2nd century BC – 3rd century BC: Buddhism and Jainism influences in India at its peak
  • 1st Century BC – 1st century AD: Shakas, Parthians and Kushana invade India
  • 1st Century BC – 2nd Century AD: Satavahana rule
  • 58 BC – 57 BC: Vikrama Samvat era begins
  • 78 AD: Beginning of the Shaka era
  • 1st – 3rd century: Reign of the Kushan dynasty; first depiction of Jaina tirthankara and muti-armed Hindu deities
  • 4th-5th century: Vaktaka rule over central India and the Deccan
  • 4th - 6th century: Gupta period in northern and central India
  • 500 AD: Ajanta completed
  • 5th – 7th century: Spread of Vaishnavism, especially Krishan cult; emergence of worship of local deities; emergence of Tantrism
  • 5th – 6th century: Invasion of Huns
  • 6th century: Kalachuri dynasty rules the western coast of India
  • 6th - 8th century: Pallava dynasty in southern India; rock-cut architecture begins in the south; temple building flourishes at Mamallapurama and Kanchipuram
  • 6th-10th century: Tamil devotional poetry
  • 7th – 8th century: Decline of Buddhism in northern India; revival of Hinduism
  • 7th – 10th century: Rashtrakuta dynasty rules over northern part of the Deccan
  • Early 8th century: Arab merchants settle on the coast of Sindh (currently, a part of Pakistan) and the Indian state of Gujarat
  • 8th – 12th century: Pala dynasty rules in Bihar, Bengal and large part of eastern India
  • 788 – 820 AD: Life of Adi Shankaracharya
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