History of Uttar Pradesh
All you want to know about History of Uttar Pradesh
The history of Uttar Pradesh, an Indian State, can be divided into five periods:
(1) the prehistory & Early Vedic Period(up to c. 600 BC),
(2) the Buddhist-Hindu period (c. 600 BC to c. AD 1200),
(3) the Muslim period (c. 1200 to c. 1857),
(4) the British period (c. 1857 to 1947), and
(5) the postindependence period (1947 to the present).
Prehistoric Period
Paleolithic period
Homo Sapiens period
Finds from the Belan, in southern Uttar Pradesh, have been dated to 18-17 tya by C14 dating method.
Neolithic period
One of the earliest Neolithic sites in India is Lahuradewa, at Middle Ganges region, C14 dated around 7th millennium BC.[1]. Recently another site near the confluence of Ganges and Yamuna rivers called Jhusi yielded a C14 dating of 7100 BC for its Neolithic levels.[2]
Neolithic site and tradition in South Asia of Lahuradewa from ca. 6200 BC in the Ganges valley of the Indian subcontinent. Earlier-dated finds (ca. 8000 BC) of charcoal in some Lahuradewa sites provide indications of slash and burn cultivation techniques present in the area (National Seminar on the Archaeology of Ganga Plain, December 2004, Lucknow, India).
"The results of excavations during 2005-6 at Lahuradewa have attested some of the conclusions drawn in the light of earlier excavations. Taken together the available evidence, it becomes certain that the first settlers at Lahuradewa were growing rice during circa 7th millennium BC. They were using mostly coarse variety of handmade red and black-and- red ware from the very beginning and residing in wattle- and-daub dwellings, having clay plastered reed or bamboo screens. Aquatic fauna formed a considerable proportion in their diet. The presence of beads made of steatite and semiprecious stones from the lowest levels shows long- distance interaction. The appearance of copper arrowhead and fishing hook, dish-on-stand, barley, wheat and pulses, abundant number of steate and other beads, spouted and pedestal vessels, a few painted potsherds, improvement in ceramic industries, etc., provide a new evidence to apprehend what was happening in the cultural advancement in this part of the country, 3rd millennium BC onwards. The granary extended over a considerable area shows surplus agricultural production around 2000 BC. The ancient site of Lahuradewa continued to be inhabited during the NBPW and subsequent periods up to the early centuries AD. It has emerged as a site of its own kind for the study of early agriculture in the Middle Ganga Basin." Tewari et al acknowledge their interactions with Prof. Peter Bellwood, ANU and Dr. Dorian Fuller, Institute of Archaeology, Univ. College, London, Drs. Jarrige, Museue De Game, Paris, Dr. Weber,Vancouver and many others including Prof. VD Misra. The article adds a note: For more details please see Second Preliminary Report of the excavations at Lahuradewa District Sant Kabir Nagar, UP 2002-3-4 and 2005-6 in Pragdhara 16. Also presented are colour plates showing 9 charred rice grains (sub-period 1A).[3][4]
Ochre Coloured Pottery culture
The Ochre Coloured Pottery culture (OCP), is a 3rd millennium BC Bronze Age culture of the Ganga-Yamuna plain. It is a contemporary to, and a successor of the Indus Valley Civilization. The OCP marks the last stage of the North Indian Bronze Age and is succeeded by the Iron Age black-and-red ware and painted-gray ware cultures. Early specimens of the characteristic ceramics found near Jodhpura, Jaipur, Rajasthan date to the 3rd millennium, (Jodhpura is not to be confused with the Jodhpur), and the culture reaches the Gangetic plain in the early 2nd millennium.
H. C. Bharadwaj in his work Aspects of Ancient Indian Technology, Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi 1979 had established that copper hoards, being found in the same layers as Ochre Coloured Pottery by B. B. Lal, belonged to 1100-800 BC, but K.N. Dikshit in: Essays in Indian Protohistory, 1979 suggested a date from 2650 to 1180 BC based on thermoluminescent method.
There are even a claim of earlier dates by M. D. N. Sahi: "...settlements of the OCP-Copper Hoards culture, datable between 3700-3000 B.C., as discussed by the present author elsewhere, are found existing in the districts of Allahabad (Sringaverapura and Mirapatti) and Varanasi (Kamauli)." (Sahi's paper "Neolithic Syndrome of the Ganga Valley" at National Seminar on the Archaeology of the Ganga Valley, December 2004).
Copper Hoard Culture
The Copper Hoard Culture flourished around 2000 BCE around Western and Central Uttar Pradesh. Recent discovery of copper hoard in district Auraiya of Uttar Pradesh. The site of the discovery is located to the south of village Udaipurwa near the Rind river which is a small tributary of river Yamuna. Area of site is 1.5 to 2-acre (8,100 m2) and is under cultivation.[5]
Since 1822, when a copper hoard was discovered in Bithoor around a 100 more copper hoards have been found in different places mainly in western UP, Haryana and Rajasthan. Red ware potsherds have also been found on the surface of most of these find-spots. Some of them such as Bahadarabad in district Saharanpur, Busauli in Badaun, Rajpur Parsu in Bijnore, Baharia in Shajahanpur and Saipai in Etawah have been subjected to archaeological soundings.
Painted Grey Ware culture
The Painted Grey Ware culture (PGW) is an Iron Age culture of Gangetic plain, lasting from roughly 1100 BC to 350 BC. It is contemporary to, and a successor of the Black and red ware culture. It probably corresponds to the late Vedic civilization. It is succeeded by Northern Black Polished Ware from ca. 500 BC.
B.B. Lal associated Hastinapura, Mathura, Ahichatra, Kampilya, Barnawa, Kurukshetra and other sites with the PGW culture, the (post-) Mahabharata period and the Aryans in the 1950s. Furthermore, he pointed out that the Mahabharata mentions a flood and a layer of flooding debris was found in Hastinapura. However, B.B. Lal considered his theories to be provisional and based upon a limited body of evidence, and he later reconsidered his statements on the nature of this culture. (Kenneth Kennedy 1995).
Cemetery H culture
The Cemetery H culture developed out of the northern part of the Indus Valley Civilization around 1900 BCE. It was named after a cemetery found in "area H" at Harappa.
The Cemetery H culture is one of three cultural phases that developed in the Localization Era of the Indus Valley Tradition.[6][7]
The distinguishing features of this culture include:
- cremation of human remains with the bones stored in painted pottery burial urns. As opposed to the Indus civilization where bodies were buried in wooden coffins. The urn burials and the "grave skeletons" were nearly contemporaneous.[8]
- Reddish pottery, painted in black with antelopes, peacocks etc., sun or star motifs, with different surface treatments to the earlier period.
- Expansion of settlements into the east.
- Rice became a main crop.
- Apparent breakdown of the widespread trade of the Indus civilization, with materials such as marine shells no longer used.
- Continued use of mud brick for building.
The Cemetery H culture also "shows clear biological affinities" with the earlier population of Harappa.[9]
The archaeologist Kenoyer noted that this culture "may only reflect a change in the focus of settlement organization from that which was the pattern of the earlier Harappan phase and not cultural discontinuity, urban decay, invading aliens, or site abandonment, all of which have been suggested in the past."[10]
Remains of the culture date from 1900 BCE to 1300 BCE. Together with the Gandhara grave culture and the Ochre Coloured Pottery culture, it is considered by some scholars a nucleus of Vedic civilization.
Vedic Period(1500-500 BC)
Early Vedic Period
The Vedic period (or Vedic Age) is the period in the history of India when the Vedic Sanskrit texts such as the four Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads were composed. The associated culture, sometimes referred to as Vedic civilization, was centered on the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Based on literary evidence, scholars place the Vedic period in the 2nd and 1st millennia BCE, continuing up to the 6th century BCE. This civilization is the foundation of Hinduism and the associated Indian culture that is known today.
In its late phase (from ca. 700 BCE), it saw the rise of the Mahajanapadas, and was succeeded by the golden age of Hinduism and classical Sanskrit literature, the Maurya Empire (from ca. 320 BCE) and the Middle kingdoms of India.
The later Vedic period
The transition from the early to the later Vedic period was marked by the emergence of agriculture as the dominant economic activity and a corresponding decline in the significance of cattle rearing. Several changes went hand in hand with this. For instance, several large kingdoms arose because of the increasing importance of land and its protection. The late Vedic period from ca. 500 BCE more or less seamlessly blends into the period of the Middle kingdoms of India known from historical sources.
Kingdoms
The late Vedic period was marked by the rise of the sixteen Mahajanapadas referred to in some of the literature. The power of the king greatly increased. Rulers gave themselves titles like ekarat (the one ruler), sarvabhumi (ruler of all the earth) and chakravartin (protector of land). The kings performed sacrifices like rajasuya, (royal consecration) vajapeya (chariot race) and ashvamedha (horse sacrifice). The coronation ceremony was a major social occasion. Several functionaries came into being in addition to the purohita and the senani of earlier times. The participation of the people in the activities of the government decreased.
Buddhist-Hindu period
Mahajanapadas(700-300 BC)
Mahajanapadas (महाजनपद) literally means "Great kingdoms" (from Sanskrit Maha = great, Janapada = foothold of tribe = country). Ancient Buddhist texts like Anguttara Nikaya (I. p 213; IV. pp 252, 256, 261) make frequent reference to sixteen great kingdoms and republics (Solas Mahajanapadas) which had evolved and flourished in the northern/north-western parts of the Indian sub-continent prior to the rise of Buddhism in India.
The political structure of the ancient Indo-Aryans appears to have started with semi-nomadic tribal units called Jana (meaning subjects). Early Vedic texts attest several Janas or tribes of the Aryans, living in semi-nomadic tribal state, fighting among themselves and with other Non-Aryan tribes for cows, sheep and green pastures. These early Vedic Janas later coalesced into Janapadas of the Epic Age. By circa 600 BCE, many of these Janapadas had further evolved into larger political entities by the process of land-grabbing which eventually led to the formation of kingdoms known in Buddhist traditions as the Mahajanapadas or the great nations (Sanskrit: Maha = great, Janapada = country).
The Buddhist and other texts only incidentally refer to sixteen great nations (Solasa Mahajanapadas) which were in existence before the time of Buddha. They do not give any connected history except in the case of Magadha. The Buddhist Anguttara Nikaya, at several places, gives a list of sixteen nations:
- Kasi
- Kosala
- Anga
- Magadha
- Vajji (or Vriji)
- Malla
- Chedi
- Vatsa (or Vamsa)
- Kuru
- Panchala
- Machcha (or Matsya)
- Surasena
- Assaka
- Avanti
- Gandhara
- Kamboja
Another Buddhist text Digha Nikaya mentions only first twelve Mahajanapadas and omits the last four in the above list (Digha Nikaya, Vol II, p 200).
The Jaina Bhagvati Sutra gives slightly different list of sixteen Mahajanapadas viz: Anga, Banga (Vanga), Magadha, Malaya, Malavaka, Accha, Vaccha, Kochcha (Kachcha?), Padha, Ladha (Lata), Bajji (Vajji), Moli (Malla), Kasi, Kosala, Avaha and Sambhuttara. Obviously, the author of Bhagvati has a focus on the countries of Madhydesa and of far east and south only. He omits the nations from Uttarapatha like the Kamboja and Gandhara. The more extended horizon of the Bhagvati and the omission of all countries from Uttarapatha clearly shows that the Bhagvati list is of later origin and therefore less reliable (Political History of Ancient India, 1996, p 86; History & Culture of Indian People, Age of Imperial Unity, p 15-16).
Magadha(545-320 BC)
Magadha (मगध) formed one of the sixteen so-called Mahājanapadas (Sanskrit, 'great country') or regions in ancient India. The core of the kingdom was the portion of Bihar lying south of the Ganges, with its capital at Rajagriha (modern Rajgir). Magadha expanded to include Eastern Uttar Pradesh most of Bihar and Bengal with the conquest of Licchavi and Anga respectively.[11] The ancient kingdom of Magadha is mentioned in Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas, and heavily mentioned in Buddhist and Jaina texts. The first reference to the Magadha occurs in the Atharva-Veda where they are found listed along with the Angas, Gandharis and the Mujavats as a despised people. Two of India's major religions started from Magadha; Two of India's greatest empires, the Maurya Empire and Gupta Empire, along with others, originated from Magadha. They advanced ancient India's science, mathematics, astronomy, religion and philosophy and were considered the Indian "Golden Age". The Magadha kingdom included republican communities such as Rajakumara. Villages had their own assemblies under their local chiefs called Gramakas. Their administrations were divided into executive, judicial and military functions.
Nanda
The Nanda dynasty ruled Magadha during the 5th and 4th centuries BC. It is said to have been established by an illegitimate son of the king Mahanandin of the previous Shishunaga dynasty. Mahapadma Nanda died at the age of 88 and, therefore, he ruled the bulk of the period of this dynasty, which lasted 100 years. At its greatest extent, the Nanda Empire extended from Bihar to Bengal in the west.[12] The Nanda Empire was later conquered by Chandragupta Maurya, who founded the Maurya Empire.
The first Nanda, the Mahapadma Nanda has been described as the destroyer of all the Kshatriyas. He defeated the Ikshvaku dynasty, Panchalas, Kasis, Haihayas, Kalingas, Asmakas, Kurus, Maithilas, Surasenas, Vitihotras, etc. He expanded his territory till south of Deccan. The last of the Nandas was Dhana Nanda (called Xandrames or Aggrammes in ancient Greek and Latin sources). Plutarch tells that Chandragupta Maurya had stated that he was able to overthrow Dhana Nanda as he was hated and despised by his subjects on account of the wickedness of his disposition:
- "Sandrocottus, when he was a stripling, saw Alexander himself, and we are told that he often said in later times that Alexander narrowly missed making himself master of the country, since its king was hated and despised on account of his baseness and low birth."[13]
Maurya(322-185 BC)
The Maurya Empire (322–185 BCE), ruled by the Mauryan dynasty, was a geographically extensive and powerful political and military empire in ancient India.
Originating from the kingdom of Magadha in the Indo-Gangetic plains (modern Uttar Pradesh,Bihar and Bengal) in the eastern side of the sub-continent, the empire had its capital city at Pataliputra (near modern Patna). The Empire was founded in 322 BCE by Chandragupta Maurya, who had overthrown the Nanda Dynasty and began rapidly expanding his power westwards across central and western India taking opportunistic advantage of the disruptions of local powers in the wake of the withdrawal westward by Alexander the Great's Macedonian and Persian armies. By 316 BCE the empire had fully occupied Northwestern India, defeating and conquering the satraps left by Alexander.
At its greatest extent, the Empire stretched to the north along the natural boundaries of the Himalayas, and to the east stretching into what is now Assam. To the west, it reached beyond modern Pakistan and significant portions of what is now Afghanistan, including the modern Herat and Kandahar provinces. The Empire was expanded into India's central and southern regions by Emperor Bindusara, but it excluded a small portion of unexplored tribal and forested regions near Kalinga.
The Mauryan Empire was perhaps the largest empire to rule the Indian subcontinent until the arrival of the British. Its decline began fifty years after Ashoka's rule ended, and it dissolved in 185 BCE with the foundation of the Sunga Dynasty in Magadha.
Sunga(185-73 BC)
The Sunga Empire (or Shunga Empire) is a Magadha dynasty that controlled North-central and Eastern India as well as parts of the northwest (now Pakistan) from around 185 to 73 BCE. It was established after the fall of the Indian Mauryan empire. The capital of the Sungas was Pataliputra. Later kings such as Bhagabhadra also held court at Vidisa, modern Besnagar in Eastern Malwa. [14] The Sunga Empire is noted for its numerous wars with both foreign and indigenous powers. Although very much isn't known, the Mathura school of art and the works of Patanjali colored North India during this empire.
The Sunga dynasty was established in 185 BCE, about 50 years after Ashoka's death, when the king Brhadrata, the last of the Mauryan rulers, was assassinated by the then commander-in-chief of the Mauryan armed forces, Pusyamitra Sunga [15], while he was taking the Guard of Honour of his forces. Pusyamitra Sunga then ascended the throne.
Pushyamitra Sunga became the ruler of the Magadha and neighbouring territories. The kingdom of Pushyamitra was extended up to Narmada in the south, and controlled Jalandhar and Sialkot in the Punjab in the north-western regions, and the city of Ujjain [16] in central India. The Kabul Valley and much of the Punjab passed into the hands of the Indo-Greeks and the Deccan to the Satavahanas.
Pushyamitra died after ruling for 36 years (187-151 BCE). He was succeeded by son Agnimitra. This prince is the hero of a famous drama by one of India's greatest playwrights, Kalidasa. Agnimitra was viceroy of Vidisha when the story takes place. The power of the Sungas gradually weakened. It is said that there were ten Sunga kings.
The Sungas were succeeded by the Kanva dynasty around 73 BCE in East and Kushan Empire in West.
Indo-Scythians(80 BCE–20 CE)
The Indo-Scythians are a branch of the Indo-Iranian Sakas (Scythians), who migrated from southern Siberia into Bactria, Sogdiana, Arachosia, Gandhara, Kashmir, Punjab, and into parts of Western and Central India, Gujarat and Rajasthan, from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 4th century CE. The first Saka King in India was Maues or Moga who established Saka power in Gandhara and gradually extended supremacy over north-western India. Indo-Scythian rule in India ended with the last Western Satrap Rudrasimha III in 395 CE.
The invasion of India by Scythian tribes from Central Asia, often referred to as the Indo-Scythian invasion, played a significant part in the history of India as well as nearby countries. In fact, the Indo-Scythian war is just one chapter in the events triggered by the nomadic flight of Central Asians from conflict with Chinese tribes which had lasting effects on Bactria, Kabol, Parthia and India as well as far off as Rome in the west.
The Scythian groups that invaded India and set up various kingdoms, may have included besides the Sakas other allied tribes, such as the Parama Kambojas, Bahlikas, Rishikas and Paradas.
Mathura area ("Northern Satraps")
Obv: Bust of king Rajuvula, with Greek legend.
Rev: Pallas standing right (crude). Kharoshthi legend.
In central India, the Indo-Scythians conquered the area of Mathura over Indian kings around 60 BCE. Some of their satraps were Hagamasha and Hagana, who were in turn followed by the Saca Great Satrap Rajuvula.
The Mathura lion capital, an Indo-Scythian sandstone capital in crude style, from Mathura in Central India, and dated to the 1st century CE, describes in kharoshthi the gift of a stupa with a relic of the Buddha, by princess Aiyasi Kamuia, the chief queen of the Indo-Scythian ruler of Mathura, Rajuvula [17]. The capital also mentions the genealogy of several Indo-Scythian satraps of Mathura.
Rajuvula apparently eliminated the last of the Indo-Greek kings Strato II around 10 CE, and took his capital city, Sagala.
The coinage of the period, such as that of Rajuvula, tends to become very crude and barbarized in style. It is also very much debased, the silver content becoming lower and lower, in exchange for a higher proportion of bronze, an alloying technique (billon) suggesting less than wealthy finances.
The Mathura Lion Capital inscriptions attest that Mathura fell under the control of the Sakas. The inscriptions contain references to Kharaosta Kamuio and Aiyasi Kamuia. Yuvaraja Kharostes (Kshatrapa) was the son of Arta as is attested by his own coins.[18] Arta, who therefore, was also a Kamuio i.e Kamboja, is stated to be brother of king Moga or Maues.[19] Princess Aiyasi Kamuia, also known as Kambojika [20] (i.e coming from Kamboja lineage), was the chief queen of Shaka Mahakshatrapa Rajuvula. Interestingly, the Kamboja presence in Mathura is also recognised from some verses of epic Mahabharata which are believed to have been composed around this period [21]. This suggests that Sakas and Kambojas may have jointly ruled over Mathura/Uttara Pradesh. It is revealing that Mahabharata verses only attest the Kambojas and Yavanas as the invaders in Mathura, but do not make any reference to the Sakas [22] [23] Probably, the epic has reckoned the Sakas of Mathura among the Kambojas (Dr J. L. Kamboj) or else has addressed them as Yavanas, unless the Mahabharata verses refer to the previous period of invasion occupation by the Yavanas around 150 BCE. "It seems from some inscriptions that the Kambojas were a royal clan of the Sakas better known under the Greek name of Scyths" [24]
The Indo-Scythian satraps of Mathura are sometimes called the "Northern Satraps", in opposition to the "Western Satraps" ruling in Gujarat and Malwa. After Rajuvula, several successors are known to have ruled as vassals to the Kushans, such as the "Great Satrap" Kharapallana and the "Satrap" Vanaspara, who are known from an inscription discovered in Sarnath, and dated to the 3rd year of Kanishka (circa 130 CE), in which they were paying allegiance to the Kushans.[25]
Mathura lion capital
The Mathura lion capital, which associates many of the Indo-Scythian rulers from Maues to Rajuvula, mentions a dedication of a relic of the Buddha in a stupa. It also bears centrally the Buddhist symbol of the triratana, and is also filled with mentions of the bhagavat Buddha Sakyamuni, and characteristically Buddhist phrases such as:
- "sarvabudhana puya dhamasa puya saghasa puya"
- "Revere all the Buddhas, revere the dharma, revere the sangha"
- (Mathura lion capital, inscription O1/O2)
Kushan Empire(60 – 375 CE)
The Kushan Empire (c. 1st–3rd centuries) was a state that at its cultural zenith, circa 105–250 CE, extended from what is now Tajikistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan and down into the Ganges river valley in northern India. The empire was created by the Kushan tribe of the Yuezhi confederation, an Indo-European people[27] from the eastern Tarim Basin, China, possibly related to the Tocharians. They had diplomatic contacts with Rome, Persia and
Around 225 Vasudeva I died and the Kushan empire was divided into western and eastern halves. Around 224–240, the Sassanids invaded Bactria and Northern India, where they are known as the Indo-Sassanids.
Around 270, the Kushans lost their territories on the Gangetic plain, where the Gupta Empire was established around 320 and to the Sassanids during Shapur II's reign, notably the area that comprises Afghanistan.
During the middle of the 4th century a Kushan vassal, named Kidara, rose to power and overthrew the old Kushan dynasty. He created a kingdom known as the Kidarite Kingdom, although he probably considered himself a Kushan, as indicated by the Kushan style of his coins. The Kidarite seem to have been rather prosperous, although on a smaller scale than their Kushan predecessors.
These remnants of the Kushan empire were ultimately wiped out in the 5th century by the invasions of the White Huns, and later the expansion of Islam.
Gupta Empire(320-550)
The Gupta Empire was ruled by members of the Gupta dynasty from around 320 to 550 CE and covered most of Northern India, the region presently in the nation of Pakistan and what is now western India and Bangladesh. The time of the Gupta Empire is referred to as Golden Age of India in science, mathematics, astronomy, religion and Indian philosophy. The peace and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas enabled the pursuit of scientific and artistic endeavors. The decimal numeral system, including the concept of zero, was invented in India during the reign of the Guptas. Historians place the Gupta dynasty alongside with the Han Dynasty, Tang Dynasty and Roman Empire as a model of a classical civilization.
The origins of the Guptas are shrouded in obscurity. The Chinese traveller I-tsing provides the first evidence of the Gupta kingdom in Magadha. He came to India in 672 CE and heard of 'Maharaja Sri-Gupta' who built a temple for Chinese pilgrims near Mrigasikhavana. I-tsing gives the date for this event merely as '500 years before'. This does not match with other sources and hence we can assume that I-tsing's computation was a mere guess. Very recently few scholars have linked Guptas with rulers mentioned in Bhagwatam, however, these things are largely disputed and idea seems politically motivated and to promote sell of books written and promoted by some entities.[7]
The most likely date for the reign of Sri-Gupta is c. 240-280 CE. His successor Ghatotkacha ruled probably from c. 280-319 CE. In contrast to his successor, he is also referred to in inscriptions as 'Maharaja'.
The most accepted theory about the origins of the Guptas is that the Guptas originated from Bengal. The mention of "Varendra Mrigashihavan Stupa" on a mound in Nepal is a strong evidence that the Guptas originated from Bengal. Maharaja Sri-Gupta probably ruled a portion of Northern/Southern Bengal. Later Chandragupta I established his dominion over Magadha through marital policy with the Licchavis. However the origins of the Guptas is still hotly debated.
At the beginning of the 4th century the Guptas established and ruled a few small Hindu kingdoms in Magadha and around modern-day Uttar Pradesh.
Vardhan Dynasty(550-647)
After the downfall of the Gupta Empire in the middle of the sixth century CE, North India was split into several independent kingdoms. The Huns had established their supremacy over the Punjab and parts of central India. The northern and western regions of India passed into the hands of a dozen or more feudatory states.
Prabhakar Vardhan, the ruler of Sthanvisvara, who belonged to the Pushabhukti family, extended his control over neighbouring states. Prabhakar Vardhan was the first king of the Vardhan dynasty with his capital at Thanesar.
After Prabhakar Vardhan's death in 606 CE, his eldest son, Rajya Vardhan, ascended the throne. Harsha Vardhana was Rajya Vardhan's younger brother.
Harsha-Vardhan(606-647)
Harsh or Harshavardhana (हर्षवर्धन) (590–647) was an Indian emperor who ruled Northern India for over forty years. He was the son of Prabhakar Vardhan and younger brother of Rajyavardhan, a king of Thanesar. At the height of his power his kingdom spanned the Punjab, Bengal, Orissa and the entire Indo-Gangetic plain north of the Narmada River.
After the downfall of the Gupta Empire in the middle of the sixth century C.E., North India reverted back to small republics and small monarchical states. Harsha united the small republics from Punjab to Central India, and they, at an assembly, crowned Harsha king in April 606 AD when he was merely 16 years old.[28]
After Harsha
Harsha died in the year 647 AD. He ruled over India for 41 years. After Harsha's death, apparently without any heirs, his empire died with him. The kingdom disintegrated rapidly into small states. The succeeding period is very obscure and badly documented, but it marks the culmination of a process that had begun with the invasion of the Huns in the last years of the Gupta Empire.
Neither Bana's nor Huan Tsang's account gives any details of this period. A few tantalising glimpses are offered in some ancient Chinese and Tibetan Books. The one in the Tibetan book The White Annals[29] tells that Harsh had sent an envoy to the Chinese Emperor, who in turn sent a Chinese one with a convoy of thirty horsemen. When they reached India they found that Harsha was dead and his minister Arjuna had usurped the throne. Arjuna is said to have been persecuting the Buddhists and attacked the envoy who had to flee to Tibet. The Tibetan king decided to avenge the insult to the Chinese emperor and sent the envoy back with an army that finally managed to defeat and take Arjuna and his family as prisoners, and sent them back as prisoners to the Chinese emperor. Historians have not yet managed to unravel what the facts were from these meagre accounts.
Pratihara(650-1036)
The Pratiharas (Hindi प्रतिहार pratihāra, also known as Parihars) was an Indian dynasty that ruled a large kingdom in northern India from the 6th to the 11th centuries. They are called Gurjara-Pratiharas in one late inscription. The people claiming descent from this dynasty also describe themselves as "Parihar".
The Pratiharas were one of the Agnikula clans of Rajputs, according to a legend given in later manuscripts of Prithviraj Raso.
Vincent Smith believed that the Pratiharas were certainly of Gurjara (or Gujjar) origin, and stated that there is possibility of other Agnikula Rajput clans being of same origin.[30] Dr. K. Jamanadas also states that the Pratihara clan of Rajputs descended from the Gujjars, and this "raises a strong presumption that the other Rajput clans also are the descendants from the Gurjaras or the allied foreign immigrants".[31] D. B. Bhandarkar also believed that Pratiharas were a clan of Gujjars.[32] In his book The Glory that was Gujardesh (1943), Gurjar writer K. M. Munshi stated that the Pratiharas and some other Rajput clans were of Gujjar (or Gurjar) origin.
However, some other historians believe that although some sections of the Pratiharas (eg. the one to which Mathanadeva belonged) were Gujjars by caste, the imperial Pratiharas of Kannauj were not Gujjars.[33][34] H. A. Rose and Denzil Ibbetson stated that there is no conclusive proof that the Agnikula Rajput clans are of Gurjara origin; they believed that there is possibility of the indigenous tribes adopting Gurjara names, when their founders were enfiefed by Gurjara rulers.[30]
Pala Empire(750-1174)
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The Pala Empire was a dynasty in control of the northern and eastern Indian subcontinent, mainly the Bengal and Bihar regions, from the 8th to the 12th century. The name Pala (Modern Bengali পাল pal) means "protector" and was used as an ending to the names of all Pala monarchs.
The founder of the empire was Gopala. He was the first independent Buddhist king of Bengal and came to power in 750 in Gaur by democratic election, which was unique at the time. He reigned from 750-770 and consolidated his position by extending his control over all of Bengal. His successors Dharmapala (r. 770-810) and Devapala (r. 810-850) expanded the empire across the northern and eastern Indian subcontinent. The Pala Empire eventually disintegrated in the 12th century under the attack of the Sena dynasty.
The Palas were followers of the Mahayana and Tantric schools of Buddhism. They often intermarried with the Gahadvalas of the Kannauj region. They created many temples and works of art and supported the Universities of Nalanda and Vikramashila. Their proselytism was at the origin of the establishment of Buddhism in Tibet.
After Harsha Vardhana, Buddhism faced the possibility of extinction. Buddhists were persecuted all over India and Buddhism was gradually being absorbed by Hinduism. The Palas emerged as the champion of Buddhism, and they patronized Mahayana Buddhism.
Muslim period
The initial entry of Islam into South Asia came during the life time of Muhammad. Islam was practiced across India during Muhammad's lifetime and this can be seen by the fact that the world's second oldest Masjid to offer Jumma Prayer is in Kerala, India, built in AD 629, while the first being in Medina [8]. In Later years, the Umayyad caliph in Damascus sent an expedition to Balochistan and Sindh in 711 led by Muhammad bin Qasim (for whom Karachi's second port is named). The expedition went as far north as Multan but was not able to retain that region and was not successful in expanding Islamic rule to other parts of India. Coastal trade and the presence of a Muslim colony in Sindh, however, permitted significant cultural exchanges and the introduction into the subcontinent of religious teachers. Muslim influence grew with conversions.
Almost three centuries later, the Turkics, Persians and the Afghans spearheaded the Islamic conquest in India through the traditional invasion routes of the northwest. Mahmud of Ghazni (979-1030) led a series of raids against Rajput kingdoms and rich Hindu temples and established a base in Punjab for future incursions.
Delhi Sultanate(1200-1526)
The Delhi Sultanate (Urdu: دلی سلطنت), or Sultanat-e-Hind (Urdu: سلطنتِ هند) / Sultanat-e-Dilli (Urdu: سلطنتِ دلی) refers to the many Muslim dynasties that ruled in India from 1206 to 1526. Several Turkish and Afghan dynasties ruled from Delhi: the Mamluk dynasty (1206-90), the Khilji dynasty (1290-1320), the Tughlaq dynasty (1320-1413), the Sayyid dynasty (1414-51), and the Lodhi dynasty (1451-1526). In 1526 the Delhi Sultanate was absorbed by the emerging Mughal Empire.
During the last quarter of the twelfth century, Muhammad Ghori invaded the Indo-Gangetic plain, conquering in succession Ghazni, Multan, Sindh, Lahore, and Delhi. Qutb-ud-din Aibak, one of his generals, proclaimed himself Sultan of Delhi and established the first dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, the Mamluk dynasty (mamluk means "slave born to free parents") after Muhammad Ghori's death in 1206. By the early 13th century, northern India from the Khyber Pass to Bengal was under control of the Sultanate, although the northwest was contested with the Mongols. Iltutmish (1210-35), and Balban (1266-87) were among the dynasty's most well-known rulers. Faced with revolts by conquered territories and rival families, the Mamluk dynasty came to an end in 1290.
The Khilji or Khalji dynasty, who had established themselves as rulers of Bengal in the time of Muhammad Ghori, took control of the empire in a coup which eliminated the last of the Mamluks. The Khiljis conquered Gujarat and Malwa, and sent the first expeditions south of the Narmada River, as far south as Tamil Nadu. The Delhi Sultanate rule continued to extend into southern India, first by the Delhi Sultans, then by the breakaway Bahmani Sultanate of Gulbarga, and, after the breakup of the Bahmani state in 1518, by the five independent Deccan Sultanates. The kingdom of Vijayanagar united southern India and arrested the Delhi Sultanate's expansion for a time, until its eventual fall to the Deccan Sultanates in 1565.
In the first half of the 14th century, the Sultanate introduced a monetary economy in the provinces (sarkars) and districts (parganas) that had been established and founded a network of market centers through which the traditional village economies were both exploited and stimulated and drawn into the wider culture. State revenues remained based on successful agriculture, which induced Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq (1325-51) to have village wells dug, offer seed to the peasants and to encourage cash crops like sugar cane (Braudel 1984, pp 96f, 512ff).
The Delhi Sultanate is the only Sultanate to stake a claim to possessing one of the few female rulers in India, Princess Razia Sultana (1236-1240). While her reign was unfortunately short she is regarded well in the eyes of historians. Princess Razia Sultana was very popular and more intelligent than her brothers. She was the very first queen of the Muslim world in the early Muslim history of sub-continent. She ruled from the east Delhi to the west Peshawar and from the North Kashmir to the South Multan. The Rebels of her government killed her and her Husband Malik Altuniya, and buried them outside Delhi.
The Sultans of Delhi enjoyed cordial, if superficial, relations with other Muslim rulers in the Near East but owed them no allegiance. The Sultans based their laws on the Qur'an and the sharia and permitted non-Muslim subjects to practice their religion only if they paid jizya or head tax. The Sultans ruled from urban centers--while military camps and trading posts provided the nuclei for towns that sprang up in the countryside. Perhaps the greatest contribution of the Sultanate was its temporary success in insulating the subcontinent from the potential devastation of the Mongol invasion from Central Asia in the thirteenth century.
The Sultanate ushered in a period of Indian cultural renaissance. The resulting "Indo-Muslim" fusion left lasting monuments in architecture, music, literature, and religion. The Sultanate suffered from the sacking of Delhi in 1398 by Timur (Tamerlane), and soon other independent Sultanates were established in Awadh, Bengal, Jaunpur, Gujarat and Malwa. The Delhi Sultanate revived briefly under the Lodhis before it was conquered by the Mughal emperor Babur in 1526.
Dynasties of Delhi Sultnate:
Mamluk dynasty(1206-1290)
The Mamluk dynasty (Urdu: سلطنت غلامان) or Slave dynasty served as the first Sultans of Delhi in India from 1206 to 1290. The founder of the dynasty, Qutb-ud-din Aybak, was a Turkish ex-slave of the Aybak tribe who rose to command the armies and administer the territory of Muhammad Ghori in India.
After Muhammad Ghori's death in 1206 without an heir, Qut-bud-din fought off rivals to take possession of Muhammad Ghori's Indian empire. He established his capital first at Lahore, and later at Delhi, where he started building the Qutb complex.
Khilji dynasty(1290-1320)
Khilji or Khalji (Urdu / Pashto: خلجی خاندان) was a ruling dynasty that was made-up of Ghilzai Pashtuns. This dynasty, like the previous Slave dynasty, was of Turkish origin,[35] who conquered and ruled northern India (1290-1320). They were the second Muslim dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate. The term khilji was their self-designation (see also Ibn Batuta's and Ibn Chaldun's excessive quantity). The term mean sons of thieve, also in afghanic (Pashto).
Ikhtiar Uddin Muhammad bin Bakhtiar Khilji, one of the generals of Qutb-ud-din Aybak, conquered Bihar and Bengal in the late 12th century, and the Khiljis were feudatories of the Mamluk dynasty of Delhi. Jalal ud din Firuz Khilji took control of the Delhi Sultanate in 1290, and three Khilji sultans ruled the empire from 1290 to 1320. His son Ala ud din Khilji is considered to be the greatest among the Khiljis, due to successfully repelling several invasions from the Mongol Empire.
Tughlaq Dynasty (1321-1398)
The Tughlaq Dynasty (Persian: سلطنت تغلق) of north India started in 1321 in Delhi when Ghazi Tughlaq assumed the throne under the title of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq. The Tughluqs were a Muslim family of Turkish origin. Their rule relied on their alliances with Turkish, Afghan, and other Muslim warriors from outside South Asia.
The empire grew under his son and successor Muhammad bin Tughlaq, but the latter became notorious for ill-advised policy experiments such as shifting the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad and introducing copper coins without effective regulation against forgery.
After Muhammad bin Tughlaq his cousin Feroz Shah Tughlaq assumed the throne. He was a very benevolent ruler but was somewhat weak militarily. After Feroz died in 1388, the Tughlaq dynasty started to fade out and there were no able leaders; the dynasty was almost over within 10 years.
Sayyid dynasty(1414-1451)
The Sayyid dynasty were rulers (c. 1414–51) of India's Delhi sultanate. They succeeded the Tughluq dynasty and ruled that sultanate until they were displaced by the Afghan Lodi dynasty.
This family claimed to be sayyids, or descendants of Prophet Muhammad. The central authority of the Delhi sultanate had been fatally weakened by the invasion of Timur (Tamerlane) and his sack of Delhi in 1398. After a period of chaos, when no central authority prevailed, the Sayyids gained power at Delhi. Their 37-year period of dominance witnessed the rule of four different members of the dynasty.
Lodhi Dynasty(1451-1526)
Lodhi Dynasty (Pashto / Urdu: سلطنت لودھی) was made up of Ghilzai Afghans (ethnic Pashtuns), who ruled over the Delhi Sultanate during its last phase. Their rule was from 1451 to 1526 CE.
Suri dynasty(1540-1555)
The Suri dynasty was made-up of Afghans (ethnic Pashtuns), who ruled northern India between 1540 and 1555/1556.
The dynasty was founded by the conqueror Sher Shah Suri, after he defeated Mughal Emperor Humayun in the 1539 Battle of Chausa. Their rule came to and end by a defeat that led to restoration of the Mughal Empire.
Mughal Empire(1526-1857)
The Mughal Empire (Persian: سلطنت مغولی هند, Solṭanat Moġuli Hend; Urdu: مغلیہ سلطنت, Muġalīh Sulṭanat; self-designation: گوركانى, Gurkâni), was an important imperial power in the South Asian subcontinent from the early 16th to the mid-19th centuries. At the height of its power, around 1700, it controlled most of the subcontinent and parts of what is now Afghanistan. Its population at that time has been estimated as between 100 and 150 million, over a territory of over 3 million square km.[36] Following 1720 it declined rapidly. Its decline has been variously explained as caused by wars of succession, agrarian crises fuelling local revolts, the growth of religious intolerance and British colonialism. The last Emperor, Bahadur Shah II, whose rule was restricted to the city of Delhi, was imprisoned and exiled by the British after the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
The classic period of the Empire starts with the accession of Akbar the Great in 1556 and ends with the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, although the Empire continued for another 150 years. During this period, the Empire was marked by a highly centralized administration connecting the different regions of India. All the significant monuments of the Mughals, their most visible legacy, date to this period.
Babur (1526-1530)
Zāhir ud-Dīn Mohammad, commonly known as Bābur (February 14, 1483 – December 26, 1530) (Chagatai/Persian: ﻇﻬﻴﺮ ﺍﻟﺪﻳﻦ محمد بابر; also spelled Zahiruddin, Zahiriddin, Muhammad, Bobur, Baber, Babar, etc.), was a Turkic-speaking Muslim Emperor from Central Asia who founded the Mughal dynasty of South Asia. He was a direct descendant of Timur, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his mother.[37] Babur identified his lineage as Timurid and Turk.Following a series of set-backs, he succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal Empire which strengthened the Persianate[38] culture of Muslim India. He became the first leader of the Mughal Empire, one of India's most important empires of all time.
In the early 16th century, Muslim armies consisting of Mongol, Turkic, Persian, and Afghan warriors invaded India under the leadership of the Timurid prince Zahir-ud-Din-Muhammad Babur. Babur was the great-grandson of Central Asian conqueror Timur-e Lang (Timur the Lame, from which the Western name Tamerlane is derived), who had invaded India in 1398 before retiring to Samarkand. Timur himself claimed descent from the Mongol ruler, Genghis Khan. Babur was driven from Samarkand by the Uzbeks and initially established his rule in Kabul in 1504. Later, taking advantage of internal discontent in the Delhi sultanate under Ibrahim Lodi, and following an invitation from Daulat Khan Lodhi (governor of Punjab) and Alam Khan (uncle of the Sultan), Babur invaded India in 1526.
Babur, a seasoned military commander, entered India in 1526 with his well-trained veteran army of 82,000 to meet the sultan's huge but unwieldy and disunited force of more than 100,000 men. Babur defeated the Lodhi sultan decisively at the First Battle of Panipat. Employing firearms, gun carts, movable artillery, superior cavalry tactics, and the highly regarded Mughal composite bow, a weapon even more powerful than the English longbow of the same period, Babur achieved a resounding victory and the Sultan was killed. A year later (1527) he decisively defeated, at the Battle of Khanwa, a Rajput confederacy led by Rana Sanga of Chittor. A third major battle was fought in 1529 at Gogra, where Babur routed the joint forces of Afghans and the sultan of Bengal. Babur died in 1530 in Agra before he could consolidate his military gains. During his short five-year reign, Babur took considerable interest in erecting buildings, though few have survived. He left behind as his chief legacy a set of descendants who would fulfil his dream of establishing an empire in the Indian subcontinent.
Humayun (1530-1540)&(1555-1556)
Nasiruddin Humayun (Persian: نصيرالدين همايون) (March 6, 1508 – February 22, 1556), was the second Mughal Emperor who ruled modern Afghanistan, Pakistan,and parts of northern India from 1530–1540 and again from 1555–1556. Like his father, Babur, he lost his kingdom early, but with Persian aid, he eventually regained an even larger one.
When Babur died, his son Humayun (1530–1556) inherited a difficult task. He was pressed from all sides by a reassertion of Afghan claims to the Delhi throne and by disputes over his own succession. Driven into Sindh by the armies of Sher Shah Suri, in 1540 he fled to the Rajput Kingdom of Umarkot then to Persia, where he spent nearly ten years as an embarrassed guest of the Safavid court of Shah Tahmasp. During Sher Shah's reign, an imperial unification and administrative framework were established; this would be further developed by Akbar later in the century. In addition, the tomb of Sher Shah Suri is an architectural masterpiece that was to have a profound impact on the evolution of Indo-Islamic funerary architecture. In 1545, Humayun gained a foothold in Kabul with Safavid assistance and reasserted his Indian claims, a task facilitated by the weakening of Afghan power in the area after the death of Sher Shah Suri in May 1545. He took control of Delhi in 1555, but died within six months of his return, from a fall down the steps of his library. His tomb at Delhi represents an outstanding landmark in the development and refinement of the Mughal style. It was designed in 1564, eight years after his death, as a mark of devotion by his widow, Hamida Banu Begum.
Akbar(1556-1605)
Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar (جلال الدین محمد اکبر Jalāl ud-Dīn Moḥammad Akbar), also known as Akbar the Great (Akbar-e-Azam) (November 23, 1542 – October 12, 1605) was the son of Nasiruddin Humayun whom he succeeded as ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1556 to 1605. He is the founder of the Din-i-Ilahi faith . His lineage was Turkic, and more distantly Mongolian.
Akbar, widely considered the greatest of the Mughal emperors, was only 13 when he became emperor, due to the death of his father Humayun[39][40] During his reign, he eliminated external military threats from the Afghan descendants of Sher Shah (an Afghan who was able to temporarily oust Humayun from 1540-1555), and at the Second Battle of Panipat defeated the Hindu leader Hemu.[41][42][43] In addition to his military gains, the emperor solidified his rule by repealing the jizya tax on non-Muslims and courting the favour of the powerful Rajput caste, to the extent of marrying Rajput princesses.[42][44]
Akbar's most lasting contributions were to the arts. He initiated a large collection of literature, including the Akbar-nama and the Ai