Prehistoric Period: ca. 3000-1200 BC
ca. 3000-2600: Indus Valley civilization: Harappan civilization
ca. 1200-500 BC: Vedic Era
ca. 550-100 BC: Rivals to Hinduism
ca. 322-185 BC: Mauryan Empire
ca. AD 320-540: Gupta Era
- ca. 320-335: Chandragupta I
- ca. 335-376: Samudragupta
- ca. 376-415: Chandragupta II
- ca. 454-500: Hun Invasions
- ca. 540: End of Gupta Dynasty
ca. AD 500-1001: Period of Political instability
- ca. 540: Rise of Chalukyas at Vatapi
- ca. 606-646: Harsha of Kanauj
- ca. 700-800: Buddhism spreads to Tibet and Nepal
- 711: Arabs invade Sind
- ca. 750: Rise of imperial Pratiharas and Rashtrakutas
- 760: Palas in Bengal
- ca. 846: Rise of Cholas and defeat of Pallavis
- ca. 970: Revival of Chalukyas and defeat of Rashtrakutas
1000-1750: Period of Muslim dominance
- 1001: Raids by Mahmud of Ghanzi
- 1206-1290: Slave Dynasty and Beginning of Delhi Sultanate
- 1290-1320: Khalji Sultanate
- 1320-1413: Tughlug Sultanate
- 1414-1451: Sayyid Sultanate
- 1451-1526: Lodi Sultanate
- 1498: Vasco da Gama arrives in India
- 1483-1757: The Mughal Empire
- 1502: Portuguese establish colony at Cochin
- 1526-1530: Reign of Babur
- 1556-1605: Reign of Akbar
- 1600: British East India Company is chartered
- 1605-1627: Reign of Jahangir
- 1628-1658: Reign of Shah Jahan
- 1658-1707: Reign of Aurangzeb
- 1744-1748: War between French and British
1750-1947: India under British Rule
1947-present: The Indian Republic
One of the most fascinating yet mysterious cultures of the ancient world is the Harappan civilization. This culture existed along the Indus River in present day Pakistan. It was named after the city of Harappa which it was centered around. Harappa and the city of Mohenjo-Daro were the greatest achievements of the Indus valley civilization. These cities are well known for their impressive, organized and regular layout. Over one hundred other towns and villages also existed in this region. The Harappan people were literate and used the Dravidian language. Only part of this language has been deciphered today, leaving numerous questions about this civilization unanswered.
Artifacts and clues discovered at Mohenjo-Daro have allowed archaeologists to reconstruct this civilization. The similarities in plan and construction between Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa indicate that they were part of a unified government with extreme organization. Both cities were constructed of the same type and shape of bricks. The two cities may have existed simultaneously and their sizes suggest that they served as capitals of their provinces. In contrast to other civilizations, burials found from these cities are not magnificent; they are more simplistic and contain few material goods. This evidence suggests that this civilization did not have social classes. Remains of palaces or temples in the cities have not been found. No hard evidence exists indicating military activity; it is likely that the Harappans were a peaceful civilization. The cities did contain fortifications and the people used copper and bronze knives, spears, and arrowheads.
The Harappan civilization was mainly urban and mercantile. Inhabitants of the Indus valley traded with Mesopotamia, southern India, Afghanistan, and Persia for gold, silver, copper, and turquoise. The Mesopotamian model of irrigated agriculture was used to take advantage of the fertile grounds along the Indus River. Earthlinks were built to control the river's annual flooding. Crops grown included wheat, barley, peas, melons, and sesame. This civilization was the first to cultivate cotton for the production of cloth. Several animals were domesticated including the elephant which was used for its ivory.
 Most of the artwork from this civilization was small and used as personal possessions. The first objects unearthed from Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were small stone seals. These seals were inscribed with elegant portrayals of real and imagined animals and were marked with the Indus script writing. The seals suggest a symbolic or religious intent. Stone sculptures carved in steatite, limestone, or alabaster depict a male figure who may have represented a god. Pottery figures were shaped into humans and animals. Very few bronze figures have been recovered.
The Harappan civilization experienced its height around 2500 BC and began to decline about 2000 BC. The causes of its downfall are not certain. One theory suggests that the Aryan people migrated into this area. Aryan religious texts and human remains in Mohenjo-Daro suggest that the Aryans may have violently entered the area, killing its inhabitants and burning the cities.
However, another theory supported by more recent evidence suggests that this civilization may have begun to decline before the Aryans arrived. The inhabitants of the Indus valley dispersed before the Aryans slowly entered the area as a nomadic people. The Aryans were then able to take over this area since most of the inhabitants had previously left. One cause of the dispersal of the Harappans could have been a result of agricultural problems. Topsoil erosion, depletion of nutrients from the soil, or a change in the course of the Indus River may have forced these people to leave their towns and move northeastward in search of more fertile land.
The Aryan Migrations
1500-1200 BC
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The Indus Valley (or Harappan) Civilization was the largest civilization in the world during its reign from 3000 to 1500 BC. This culture was unique in that its cities were extraordinarily similar throughout a geographically widespread area, yet there is no physical evidence of a central unifying government. Regardless, the civilization appears to have been very peaceful, with an emphasis on trade rather than agriculture or war. For reasons yet undetermined, this civilization began to deteriorate around 2000 BC, with little of it remaining by 1500 BC.
A group of warrior nomads, the Aryans, began to migrate into the Indus Valley region around the time that the Harappan Civilization began to decline. Scholars disagree about whether the Aryans overtook the Harappan Civilization by force, or simply moved in and coexisted with them during their decline. Regardless, the nomadic Aryans were predominately a cattle-breeding society, and they learned how to live as settled agriculturists from the remaining Harappan people. Therefore, the Aryans absorbed remnants of the Harappan Civilization and integrated them into their own culture to form the Vedic culture. Since the Indus Valley Civilization left no written records, the nature of the transition from the Harappan culture to the resulting Vedic culture is that much more a mystery.
There are several possible arguments against the idea of Aryan invasions. According to the invasion theory, the Aryans were a group of primitive nomads who came out of Central Asia with chariots, iron weapons, and superior battle tactics; and thus overthrew the Indus Valley culture. However, this theory can be called into question for several reasons. First, there has been no evidence of horses, chariots, or iron discovered at the Indus Valley excavation sites. Also, the idea of Aryans using chariots has been questioned since they are not typically the vehicles of nomads, and chariots would not have been suitable for crossing the mountainous terrain that an Aryan invasion would have required. Further, some scholars assert that excavation evidence points to internal factors and floods as the cause of destruction of the Harappan culture rather than outside invasion.
However, other scholars argue that the Aryans were undoubtedly a conquering people when they first spread into India, then they gradually mixed with the indigenous Harappan culture. According to this view, the Aryans were a fierce and conquering people whose culture was oriented around warfare. Their religion also reflected their culture, as it was dominated by warring storm-gods and sky-gods. This warlike nature was preserved in the later Vedic religion (see the "Rig Veda"), where the god Indra was portrayed as a conquering deity who smashed cities and killed enemies. In the "Hymn to Parusha" in the "Rig Veda", the god Parusha sacrificed himself to himself, and out of his parts came the different classes of Indian peoples. This became the basis for the socially stratified caste system. Perhaps the Aryans used this creation myth to subjugate the darker-skinned people they conquered (the Harappans). Further, the Aryans saw themselves as superiors to the people they conquered as evidenced in the Indo-European root word of their name, "ar", meaning "noble" or "superior".
Therefore, the two sides of the argument are clear enough. Either the Aryans and Harappans mixed together and became peaceful, or the Aryans came in as a conquering people, became the ruling class, and instituted the caste system to maintain control. Scholars still debate, however, as to what actually occurred.
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The Rig Veda
1200-900 BC
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The Rig-Veda is a collection of over 1,000 hymns, which contain the mythology of the Hindu gods, and is considered to be one of the foundations of the Hindu religion. While the Rig is the oldest of the Vedas, there are three other Vedas. There is the Sama Veda, which is the "knowledge of chants" or a number of basic hymns recited at sacrifices. There is also the Yajur Veda or "knowledge of rites" which serve basically as a "how to make sacrifices" book. The final Veda is the Athara Veda, this Veda represents the knowledge given by Athara who was a sage. These Vedas were passed on orally for many generations. When they were written down, they were first written in Vedic, an early form of Sanskrit. Then around 300 B.C. the Vedas were written down in the form we have them today.
The Rig Veda was written by the Aryans who entered the Indus Valey toward the end of the Harappan Civilization. They wrote this Veda between 1300 and 1000 BC, during the period of the Aryan Migrations. However, there may be possible Harappan influences on these works. This is because the Vedas were actually being developed before the Aryans arrived around 2000 B.C.
Although there are many Vedas written, the most important is the Rig, which contains over 1,000 hymns directed to the gods. The content of these hymns includes praises, blessings, sacrifices, and curses. These hymns are the major way in which the Aryan people praised their gods. The subject of the hymns is the personification of the powers of nature. The hymns are written in poetic form:
"This light hath come, of all the lights the fairest,
The brilliant brightness hath been born, far-shining,
Urged on to prompt the sun-god's shining power.
Night and Morning clash not, nor yet do linger." (Bloomfield 30)
As you can see, this is very poetic language. This can be chanted, creating a worshipful mood in a person. When you chant these words, you are transported into another state of mind. In fact, this and other hymns were probably chanted by the Aryan people at one of their religious ceremonies.
The theology of the Vedas was later developed in the Upanishads. At the end of the Rig and all of the Vedas, the Hindu Brahmins added a summary of the philosophy of the Veda. The Upanishads became the basis of Hinduism. For the Hindu person, they serve as a summary of all of the knowledge of the Veda as well as a commentary on them.
The religion that sprang forth from the Vedas helped shape Indian society. For example, the Rig Veda and Vedic literature were used in the development of the caste system. The Rig Veda describes how the god Purusha sacrificed himself to himself. Each of the pieces of his body developed into a different portion of society. His mouth became the Brahmin or priests; his arms became the Kshatriyas or warriors; his thighs became the Vaisya or merchants, farmers, herders and artisans; and the feet became the Sudra or slaves and servants. Thus, while each part of society had its own role, it was still and single body.
Rig Veda
Two Hymns
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