History of India
Rich in history - India has a civilization that traces its origin to as far back as 2500 B.C.
The history of India is classified as Ancient India History, Medieval India History, Modern India History.
The history of Ancient India may broadly be classified as the Indus Valley Civilization, Vedic Period, Gupta Period and the Kingdoms of the South.
There are several scholars who have written about the Aryan invasion of India in between 1500 B.C. to 100 B.C. though there is no proof of any such invasion. The earliest available history records indicate that the legendary Indus Valley Civilization flourished along the East banks of River Indus.
It is widely believed that the Vedic culture took birth during the beginning of the Indus Valley Civilization that flourished in between the Rivers Drishadvati and Saraswati under the patronage of the great sage Manu. The River Saraswati was one of the largest Indian rivers at a certain point of time in history and in fact the Indus Valley civilization came to an end as the Saraswati gradually dried up over the centuries that followed.
The great emperor Alexander of Macedonia reached the shores of Indus and left almost immediately, though this event created conditions that led to the emergence of Chandragupta Maurya - one of the greatest kings of ancient times, who consolidated several small kingdoms and created one large formidable kingdom. In fact the Gupta Period is considered to be the golden period of ancient Indian history.
Peninsular India was dominated by several ruling dynasties such as the Rashtrakutas, Chalukyas, Pandavas and Pallavas, though the most powerful dynasty in southern India in the medieval ages was undoubtedly that of the great Chola kings.
Over the centuries the Rajputs emerged as a force to reckon with, Delhi gained prominence and Islamic rulers began to make inroads into the Indian sub-continent. During the medieval era, Delhi, Ajmer and Bundelkhand were major political powers. The history of India in between the years 1190 and 1526 is dominated by records of Sultans establishing their hegemony in Delhi and then over the centuries the arrival of Mughals changed the course of Indian history.
Modern Indian History is a saga of English colonial rule, India's Struggle for freedom and the establishment of the world's largest democracy - India.
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