ANCIENT HISTORY

SUKHI

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Contents
Prehistoric India.................................................................................................................................... 3
Indus Valley Civilization..................................................................................................................... 4
Vedic Period ............................................................................................................................................ 5
Mahajanpadas ....................................................................................................................................... 5
Magadha Empire................................................................................................................................... 6
Nanda dynasty ...................................................................................................................................... 6
The Maurya Dynasty ........................................................................................................................... 6
Sunga dynasty ...................................................................................................................................... 7
Kanva dynasty....................................................................................................................................... 7
Satavahana Empire ............................................................................................................................. 7
Kushan Empire ...................................................................................................................................... 7
The Gupta Period.................................................................................................................................. 8
The Pala Empie...................................................................................................................................... 8
The Chola Empire................................................................................................................................. 9
Chalukya Dynasty ................................................................................................................................ 9
Rashtrakuta Dynasty .......................................................................................................................... 9

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Prehistoric India
It is estimated that the first humans to set their foot in the Indian sub continent between 200000 B.C and
40000 B.C. Pre historic India has been divided into four major eras. These are: Stone Age, Paleolithic Era,
Mesolithic Era and Neolithic Era. The Bronze Age is also mentioned here though it comes after these four eras.
Stone Age
The Stone Age was the era when early man used stones for functional and useful purposes. The Stone Age is
further classified into three categories which are the Paleolithic Age, Mesolithic Age and Neolithic Age. These
divisions have been made on the basis of the kind of stone tools that were used during these times.

Paleolithic Age - The Paleolithic Age lasted till about 8000 B.C.


Man learnt to make weapons out of stones and also mastered the skill of hunting animals.


The crude weapons were slowly carved properly and were made sharp and pointed.


Man also learnt how to create fire and make use of it.

Mesolithic Age - The Mesolithic Age lasted from 8000 B.C - 4000 B.C


In this age the size of the groups grew to form small communities.


The tools improved and became more refined and sharp.


Apart from this, farming techniques were developed and man began to grow crops.

Neolithic Age - The Neolithic Age lasted from 4000 B.C - 2500 B.C; the last stage of the Stone Age
era.


Finely flaked weapons and small tools made of stone.


This age also saw domestication of cows, horses and other poultry and farm animals.


The wheel, which was a very important invention, was created during this age.

Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is the era when metals were used and improvised for making tools and other
weapons.
This age came immediately after the Neolithic Age and aided in the development of the metallurgy
industry.
It came into being in 3500 B.C in the Middle East. The Bronze Age in India is roughly estimated to
have begun around 3300 B.C. It almost coincided with the beginning of the Indus Valley Civilization.
People living in Indus Valley produced bronze, copper and tin thus developing new techniques of
metallurgy.

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Indus Valley Civilization

In 1856, six miles from the river Ravi, in the foothills of the Himalayas, railway construction workers came
upon a small crumbling hill of fire-baked bricks. These they quickly appropriated for the railway line's ballast.
Along with the bricks, certain steatite (soapstone) seals were found. Archaeologists, notably Sir John
Cunningham, quickly confirmed their antiquity.

Some 5000 years ago, a nomadic people made their way into northwest India from Sumeria/Sumer
(Iran) and there found a fabulously rich land, fertilized by the great river systems of the Indus, Ravi,
Beas, Chenab and Sutlej. This same area forms modern-day Punjab.

Compared to the deserts of Iran, this was God's blessed land, with ample water, fodder and fuel
supply. Clay for making bricks was plentiful in the riverbeds and so was wood to burn the bricks.

The Indus Valley Civilization (c. 3300 - 1700 BCE, flourished 2600 - 1900 BCE) flourished in the Indus
and Ghaggar-Hakra river valleys primarily in what is now Pakistan and western India.

The mature phase of this civilization is known as the Harappan Civilization, after the first of its cities
to be excavated, Harappa. Excavation of Indus Valley Civilization sites has been ongoing since the
1920s.

Harappa - 1st Indus site to be discovered. Discovered in 1921 under the supervision of Dayaram
Sahani. Situated in Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the second largest city after the
Mphanjodaro.
Mohanjodaro It was excavated in 1922 under the supervision of Dr. R.D. Banerjee. It was the
largest of all Indus cities. It means 'Mound of dead' in Sindhi.
Kalibangan It means Black Bangle. Situated in hanumangarh district of Rajasthan. It was
excavated in 1953 under the supervision of A. Ghosh.
Lothal It also means 'Mound of Dead'. It is located in Gujrat.

Harappan people were peaceful. When the Aryan invaders poured in from the Northwest, they
encountered little or no resistance. City after city fell, and the remains of the people were either
assimilated into the conquerors' way of life, or fled further south.

The invaders were a nomadic people, unused to urban life. They revered all natural phenomena,
ascribing divinity to animals, the wind, the trees, the sky and the water, among myriads of others. It
was during this age that the Vedas began to be composed - this formed the basis of early Hinduism.
Rig Veda was composed in Punjab in this period.

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Vedic Period

The Aryans, or Vedic civilization were a new start in Indian culture and they adopted almost nothing of
Harappan culture. They built no cities, no states, no granaries, and used no writing.

Instead they were a warlike people that organized themselves in individual tribal, kinship units, the
jana. The jana was ruled over by a war-chief. These tribes spread quickly over northern India and the
Deccan.

The jana became a janapada, or nation and the jana-rajya, or tribal kingdom, became the janarajyapada, or national kingdom. All the major territories of modern India, with their separate cultures
and separate languages, can be dated back to the early jana-padas of Vedic India.

The earliest history of the Aryans in India is called the Rigvedic Period (1700-1000 BC) after the
religious praise poems that are the oldest pieces of literature in India. In this early period, their
population was restricted to the Punjab in the northern reaches of the Indus River and the Yamuna
River near the Ganges.

They maintained the Aryan tribal structure, with a raja ruling over the tribal group in tandem with a
council. Each jana had a chief priest; the religion was focused almost entirely on a series of sacrifices
to the gods.

By the end of the Rigvedic period, social class had settled into four rigid castes: the chaturvarnas, or
"four colors." The priests, or Brahmans. The warriors or nobles (Kshatriya), the craftspeople and
merchants (Vaishya), and the servants (Shudra), who made up the bulk of society.

The Later Vedic Period is the Epic Age; the great literary, heroic epics of Indian culture, the Mahabharata and
the Ramayana, though they were composed between 500 and 200 BC. Both of these epics deal with heroes
from this period and demonstrate how Aryan cultural values, as we can understand them from the Rig Veda,
are being transformed by mixing with Indus cultures.

Mahajanpadas

During the life of Lord Gautam Buddha, sixteen great powers (Mahajanpadas) existed in the 7th and
early 6th centuries BC. Among the more important republics were the Sakyas of Kapilavastu and the
Licchavis of Vaishali.

The Janapadas were named after the tribes or the Janas who had settled in them. By circa 600 BCE,
many of these Janapadas had further evolved into larger political entities by the process of landgrabbing which eventually led to the formation of kingdoms known in Buddhist traditions as the
Mahajanapadas (Sanskrit: Maha=great, Janapada=country).

Besides the republics, there were monarchical states - Kaushambi (Vatsa), Magadha, Kosala and
Avanti.

Sixteen great nations (Solasa Mahajanapadas) which were in existence before the time of Buddha.

These are : Kasi, Kosala, Anga, Magadha, Vajji (or Vriji), Malla, Chedi, Vatsa (or Vamsa), Kuru,
Panchala, Machcha (or Matsya), Surasena, Assaka, Avanti, Gandhara & Kamboja

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Magadha Empire
Amongst the sixteen Mahajanapadas, the kingdom of Magadha rose to prominence under a number of
dynasties that peaked in power under the reign of Asoka Maurya, one of India's most legendary and famous
emperors. The kingdom of Magadha had emerged as a major power following the subjugation of two
neighbouring kingdoms, and possessed an unparalleled military.
Haryanka dynasty

According to tradition, the Haryanka dynasty founded the Magadha Empire in 684 BC, whose capital
was Rajagriha, later Pataliputra, near the present day Patna. This dynasty was succeeded by
Shishunaga dynasty.

Shishunaga dynasty

This period saw the development of two of India's major religions.

Buddhism - Gautama Buddha in the 6th century BC was the founder of Buddhism. He was born as
Prince Siddhartha in Lumbini Grove near the city of Kapilavastu. He belonges to Sakya clan of
Kshatriyas. His father was Suddhodhana & Mother was Mahamaya.

Jainism Vardhamana Mahavira founded Jainism. He was born in Vaishali. His father's name was
Siddhartha & Mother's name was Trishala. This dynasty lasted till 424 BC, when it was overthrown by
the Nanda dynasty.

Nanda dynasty

The Nanda dynasty was established by an illegitimate son of the king Mahanandin of the previous
Shishunaga dynasty. Mahapadma Nanda died at the age of 88, ruling the bulk of this 100-year
dynasty.

The Nandas were followed by the Maurya dynasty. It is said that rumors of the huge size of the Nanda
army was in part responsible for the retreat of Alexander from India.

The Maurya Dynasty

The 'Arthashastra gives detailed information about the administrative system of the Mauryan empire. It was
written by Kautilya, also known as chanakya. He later bcame chandragupta's Prime Minister. Megasthenese
wrote Indica, which is an account of India and its people.
Chandragupta Maurya (Ruled: 322-298 BC)

Chandragupta was born in 340 BC & belonged to Kshatriya clan.

Foundation of the Maurya Empire the credit goes to Chanakya. He was a teacher at the Takshila
University when Alexander started invading India. Kings of Takshila & Gandhara had surrendered to
Alexander, Chanakya sought help from Porus (Parvateshwar), a king of Punjab. He challenged
Alexander but got defeated in the battle. He started instilling the idea of building an empire that could
fight against foreign invasion into his disciple, Chandragupta.
After Alexander's death in 323 BC, Chandragupta, turned his attention to Northwestern India (modern
Pakistan). He defeated the Nanda King Dhana Nanda. After this, Chandragupta Maurya became ruler
of the Magadha empire.
He estabished a vast empire which with exception of Kalinga, extended from Afghanistan to Assam
and Kashmir to Karnataka. He died in 298 B.C. And was succeeded by his son Bindusara.

Bindusara (Ruled:298-272 BC)

Bindusara extended his empire further as far as south Mysore. He conquered sixteen states and
extended the empire from sea to sea. The empire included the whole of India except the Kalinga.
He had two sons, Sumana and Ashoka ,who were the viceroys of Taxila and Ujjain.
The Dravidians kingdoms of the Cholas, Pandyas and Cheras were very friendly with the Mauryan
empire and so the king felt no need to conquer them.

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Ashoka The Great (Ruled: 273-232 BC)

After the death of Bindusara in 272 BC, Ashoka succeeded to the throne. His mother was Kalyani.
He was cruel in his early life and captured the throne after killing his 99 brothers.
The prince was injured in the Ujjain battle and was treated by Buddhist monks. It was in Ujjain that
Asoka first came to know about the life and teachings of Buddha.
His life changed after the battle of kalinga where thousands were killed. He adopted Buddhism &
started propagating its principles throughout the world
Ashoka ruled for an estimated forty years, and after his death, the Mauryan dynasty lasted just fifty
more years.

Brihadrata (Ruled: 187185 BC)

Brihadrata was the last ruler of the Indian Mauryan dynasty.

Maurya territories had shrunk considerably from the time of the Ashoka when Brihadrata came to the
throne.
He was killed in 185 BC by his commander-in-chief, the Brahmin general Pusyamitra Sunga.

Sunga dynasty

The Sunga dynasty was established in 187 BC, about fifty years after Ashoka's death, when the king
Brihadratha, the last of the Mauryan rulers, was brutally murdered by the then commander-in-chief of
the Mauryan armed forces, Pusyamitra Sunga.

Pusyamitra Shunga was succeeded in 151 BCE by his son Agnimitra. After Agnimitra, the power of the
Sungas gradually weakened. The last of the Sunga kings was Devabhuti.

Kanva dynasty

The Kanva dynasty replaced the Sunga dynasty, and ruled in the eastern part of India from 75 BC to
30 BC. The last ruler of the Sunga dynasty was overthrown by Vasudeva of the Kanva dynasty in 75
BC.

Magadha was ruled by four Kanva rulers. Vasudeva (75-66 BC), Bhumimitra (66-52 BC), Narayana
(52-40 BC) & Susarman (40-30 BC).

In 30 BC Following the collapse of the Kanva dynasty, the Satavahana dynasty of the Andhra kindgom
replaced the Magandhan kingdom as the most powerful Indian state.

Satavahana Empire

The Satavahanas were also called Andhras. Simuka was the founder of the Satavahana dynasty.

Satakarni was the successor after him

Kushan Empire

Kujula Kadphises established the Kushan dynasty in 78 AD.

It was his grandson Vima Kadphises who made Kushan a paramount power of northern India. Soon he
came under influence of Hinduism (most likley embraced it for good) and took opportunity to proclaim
himself Mahishwara, another name for Lord Shiva.

It was the Kushan emperor, Vima Kadaphises who introduced the first gold coins of india. Kushan
empire covered north west of India (includes Pakistan and modern Afganistan) and northern India.

Vima's son Kanishka (100 - 126 AD) followed and took control of this dynasty in 100 AD. Kanishka is
the legendary ruler of ancient India and according to most historians the greatest ruler of Kushan
dynasty.

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He established an era, commonly known as Shaka era, starts from 78 AD. Kanishka's empire consisted
Bactria (modern Afghanistan), north-western India (modern Pakistan) and Northern India till
Pataliputra.

Huvishka succeeded Kanishka I. He was founder of a city Hushka in Kashmir named after him
(described by Kalhan in Rajatarangini). Kushana empire was at its zenith during Kanishka's and
Huvishka's reign.

After Huvishka's reign, Vasudeva I took control of this dynasty which by then had lost control over
regions beyond Bactria or perhaps the Bactria itself. The Kushan dynasty had been totally assimilated
in Indian culture.

Vasudeva was followed by his son Kanishka II who lost all the territories west of river Indus to
Sassanians.

Vasudeva II, Vashishka, and Shaka were the kings who followed after the Kanisha II. After Vashishka
the Kushan empire had completly disintegrated into few small kingdoms. By fourth century AD this
dynasty went into total obscurity with advent of mighty Gupta emperors.

The Gupta Period

Ghatotkacha had a son named Chandra Gupta. Chandra Gupta was married to a Lichchhavi princess.
Through dowry, he inherited the Magadha empire.

Samudragupta, succeeded his father in A.D. 335, and ruled for about 45 years, till his death in
A.D.380.

Chandra Gupta II, the Sun of Power (Vikramaditya), ruled from 380 till 413. The court of
Chandragupta was made even more illustrious by the fact that it was graced by the Navaratna (Nine
Jewels) including Kalidasa.

Chandragupta II was succeeded by his son Kumaragupta I. Known as the Mahendraditya, he ruled
until 455.

Skandagupta is generally considered the last of the great rulers. He defeated the Pushyamitra threat,
but then was faced with invading Huna, from the northwest.

Skandagupta died in 487 and was succeeded by his son Narasimhagupta

The Pala Empie

The Pala Dynasty was the ruling Dynasty in Bihar and Bengal , from the 8th to the 12th century.
Called the Palas because all their names ended in Pala, "protector".

The founder of the dynasty was Gopala. Gopala reigned from 750-770 extending his control over all
Bengal.

His son & successor. Dharmapala , 770-781, made the Palas a dominant power of northern India. but
the Palas soon were threatened by the Pratiharas of central India and gained respite from attacks only
because the of a threat to the Pratiharas from another foreign power, Rashtrakutas of the Deccan.

Under Dharmapala's son-Devapala, 810-850, the Palas were able to regain their eminence against
both the Pratiharas and the Rashtrakutas.

Devapala's successors were peaceful men, either by disposition or circumstance, and after 860 the
Pala empire disintegrated. In addition to the depredations of their northern Indian rivals, the Pals also
suffered an invasion by the Chola Rajendra I in 1023. Pala fortunes were revived briefly by Rampala
1077-1120, but by the middle of the 12th century the Pala kingdom had succumbed to the rising
power of the Senas.

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The Chola Empire

The Chola Dynasty was a Tamil dynasty that ruled primarily in southern India until the 13th century.
The dynasty originated in the fertile valley of the Kaveri River.

Chalukya Dynasty

The Chalukya dynasty was an Indian royal dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India
between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three closely related, but
individual dynasties.

The earliest dynasty is known as the Badami Chalukyas who ruled from their capital Badami from the
middle of the 6th century. The Badami Chalukyas began to assert their independence at the decline of
the Kadamba kingdom of Banavasi and rapidly rose to prominence during the reign of Pulakesi II.

After the death of Pulakesi II, the Eastern Chalukyas became an independent kingdom in the eastern
Deccan. They ruled from the capital Vengi until about the 11th century.

In the western Deccan, the rise of the Rashtrakutas in the middle of 8th century eclipsed the
Chalukyas of Badami before being revived by their descendants, the Western Chalukyas in late 10th
century. These Western Chalukyas ruled from Basavakalyan till the end of the 12th century.

The rise of the Chalukyas marks an important milestone in the history of South India and a golden age
in the history of Karnataka. The political atmosphere in South India shifted from smaller kingdoms to
large empires with the rise of Badami Chalukyas.

For the first time in history, a South Indian kingdom took control and consolidated the entire region
between the Kaveri and the Narmada rivers. The rise of this empire also saw the birth of efficient
administration, rise in overseas trade and commerce and the development of new style of architecture
called Vesara.

Rashtrakuta Dynasty

The Rashtrakuta Dynasty was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of southern, central and
northern India between the sixth and the thirteenth centuries.

The clan that ruled from Elichpur was a feudatory of the Badami Chalukyas and during the rule of
Dantidurga, it overthrew Chalukya Kirtivarman II and went on to build an impressive empire with the
Gulbarga region in modern Karnataka as its base.

This clan came to be known as the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta, rising to power in South India in 753.
At the same time the Pala Dynasty of Bengal and the Prathihara dynasty of Gujarat were gaining force
in eastern and northwestern India respectively.

The period, between the eight and the tenth centuries, saw a tripartite struggle for the resources of
the rich Gangetic plains, each of these three empires annexing the seat of power at Kannauj for short
periods of time.

At their peak the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta ruled a vast empire stretching from the Ganga River
and Yamuna River doab in the north to Cape Comorin in the south, a fruitful time of political
expansion, architectural achievements and famous literary contributions. The early kings of this
dynasty were Hindu but the later kings were strongly influenced by Jainism.

During their rule, Jain mathematicians and scholars contributed important works in Kannada and
Sanskrit. Architecture reached a milestone in the Dravidian style, the finest examples of which are
seen in the Kailasanath Temple at Ellora and the sculptures of Elephanta Caves in modern Maharashtra
as well as in the Kashivishvanatha temple and the Jain Narayana temple at Pattadakal in modern
Karnataka, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.