About 3,000 B.C.
Rig Vedic people were developing a civilization in the Indus Valley area. They were primarily farming people who also did some hunting. As they settled, they began to build great cities that would arise in the next period: the Indus Valley civilizations.
Learn more about these ancient Rig Vedic people from "India Today".
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The Indus Valley civilizations: Harappa and Mohenjo-Dara flourished about 2,500 - 1700 B.C.
Evidence points to the use of domesticated animals, including camels, goats, water buffaloes and fowls. The Harappans cultivated wheat, barley, and peas and were probably the first to grow and make clothes from cotton.Trade seemed to be a major activity at the Indus Valley
Their culture suffered as a result of a series of floods and droughts, and possibly from the changing of the river's course. Their civilization declined. Yet we can see their abandoned cities that date back from than four thousand years!
- Images of Ancient India (Evansville)
- Ancient Indus Tour (shows photographs of modern sights and archeological sites and artifacts). Good for geography, archeology.
- See "A Walk Through Mohenjo-daro", "Around the Indus in 90 Slides" and Harappa Introduction. See the map and introduction for both Harappa and Mohenjo-Dara sites.
- Indus Riddle from India Today - more is being learned about the Indus civilizations, but more questions arise.
- An Image Archive: Sarasvati-Sindu Civilization (Ca. 3000 - 1500 B.C.) shows excavations and artifacts of the Indus Valley civilizations.
- Learn more about the Harappa Civilizations - their fashions, town planning, and religion. (From Itihaas.)
- Learn more about Harrapa from Washington State University's site written by Richard Hooker.
Aryans - A theory of Invasion
Aryan people came into India through the Khayber Pass from Iraq and Afghanistan starting about 1500 B.C. They intermarried with the local people and became farmers. The Aryans are believed to have brought with them the horse, developed the Sanskrit language and brought a religion which had many gods. These three things were important in the shaping of India's history.:
1] Cavalry warfare (warfare on horseback) made possible the rapid spread of Aryan culture across North India, and allowed the emergence of large empires.
2] Sanskrit, the language of the Aryans, spread and became the unifying factor of the vast majority of Indian languages.
3] The Aryan religion took root during the Vedic era. Its many gods and goddesses, myths and legends, became the foundation of the Hindu religion.
Learn more about the Aryans and Vedic Age.
Challenges to "Aryan Invasion Theory"
Eminent (highly respected) scholars (people who study a lot) have concluded based on the archaeological and literary evidence that there was no invasion by the so-called Aryans, there was no massacre at Harappan and Mohanjo-dara sites, Aryans were indigenous people, and the decline of the Indus valley civilization is due to some natural calamity. Here is some of their evidence:
- Horses were there before the Aryans! Numerous excavated sites along Indus valley and along the dried Saraswati river have produced bones of domesticated horses. Horse bones have been found both from the 'Mature Harappan' and 'Late Harappan' levels. Many other scholars since then have also unearthed numerous bones of horses: both domesticated and combat types. This simply debunks the non-Aryan nature of the habitants of the Indus valley and also identifies the Vedic culture with the Indus valley civilization.
- Sanskrit Literature was not from outside, but developed in India. A study of Sanskrit shows us that the Mahabharat war and the main events described in the Mahabarata Epic are based on real events and places. Language study shows us that Mahabharat and Ramayana periods were not "imported" by "Aryans". The Mahabharat epic is not a fictional work by a highly talented poet. The remains of this submerged city along the coast of Gujarat, which is told about in the epic stories, were dated 3000BC to 1500BC, before any "Aryan Invasion".
- Saraswati River changed its course! - In the Rig Veda, the honor of the greatest and the holiest of rivers was the Saraswati, now a dry river, but once a mighty flowing river all the way from the Himalayas to the ocean across the Rajasthan Desert. The Saraswati is mentioned at least 60 times. Extensive research has shown that the Saraswati changed its course several times, going completely dry around 1900 BC. The latest satellite data along with field archaeological studies have shown that the Rig Vedic Saraswati had stopped being a perennial river long before 3000 BC.
- Sanskrit language - Decipherment of Indus Script (old writing). A famous scholar has "deciphered" (figured out) Harappan civilization and Indus script. He concluded that the people who resided at Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, and other sites were culturally Aryan is thus confirmed by the decipherment of the Harappan script and its identity with Sanskrit family. The Harappa culture was a part of a continuing evolution of the Vedic culture which had developed on the banks of Saraswati River. It should be rightly termed as Vedic-Saraswati civilization. --- Now it is evident that the Brahmi script evolved directly from the Indus script.
- New Archeological finds: Other settlements, now numbering over 2500, have been unearthed by various archaeologists. Archaeologists now know that about 75% of these settlements are concentrated along the now dried up Saraswati River. This disaster - the drying up of the Saraswati - and not any invasion was what led to the disruption and abandonment of the settlements along Saraswati River by the people who lived a Vedic life. The drying up of the Saraswati River was a great catastrophe which led to a massive (very large) outflow of people, especially the elite (upper class, wealthy) went into Iran, Mesopotamia and other neighboring regions. Around the same time (2000-1900 BC), there were constant floods and/or prolonged draughts along the Sindhu river and its tributaries which forced the inhabitants of the Indus valley to move to other safer and greener locations, and hence a slow but continuous migration of these highly civilized and prosperous Vedic people took place. Some of them moved to south east, and some to north west, and even towards European regions. For the next thousand years and more, dynasties and rulers with Indian names appear and disappear all over the West Asia confirming the migration of people from East towards West. There was no destruction of an existing civilization or invasion by any racial nomads of any kind to cause the destruction or abandonment of these settlements.
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Therefore, based on Vedic literature, archaeological evidences, and all the accounts presented here above, the most realistic and accurate chronological events of the prehistoric period of India should be fixed as follows:
- Vedic Age - 7000-4000 BC
- End of Rig Vedic Age - 3750 BC
- End of Ramayana - Mahabharat Period - 3000 BC
- Development of Saraswati-Indus Civilization - 3000-2000 BC
- Decline of Indus and Saraswati Civilization - 2200-1900 BC
- Period of Complete chaos and migration - 2000-1500 BC
- Period of evolution of Hindu culture - 1400 - 250 BC
Asoka and the Mauryan Empire
Asoka (304-232 BC) became emperor and engaged in wars of conquest. However, he was troubled by the great number of deaths in one campaign. He converted to Buddhism and after that he tried to establish a peaceful empire (in which he treated his subjects like "his own children").
Asoka's Edicts (from North Park University)
Read an extensive biography of Ashoka.
See a map showing the Span of the Mauryan Empire (also shown to the right). (Karmat's Potpourri)
See Images from World History: Mauryan Empire (University of Alabama) which shows Pillars of Asoka, Buddhist cave art, and more.
Learn more about Asoka and read a student's "Exclusive Interview with Asoka" (from Itihaas).
Read more about the fall of the Mauryan Dynasty (from Itihaas).
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"Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Asoka, conquered the Kalingas eight years after his coronation. One hundred and fifty thousand were deported, one hundred thousand were killed and many more died (from other causes). After the Kalingas had been conquered, Beloved-of-the-Gods came to feel a strong inclination towards the Buddhism, a love for the Buddha and for instruction in Buddhism. Now Beloved-of-the-Gods feels deep remorse for having conquered the Kalingas."
"All men are my children. What I desire for my own children, and I desire their welfare and happiness both in this world and the next, that I desire for all men."
Asoka carved his edicts onto pillars or into stone.
Gupta Empire
The greatest empire in the fourth century AD was the Gupta empire, which ushered in the golden age of Indian history. Its rulers promoted Hinduism as a religion, and they reestablished the class system to gain control. The achievements of this "golden age" were in mathematics, astronomy, medicine, literature and Sanskrit drama, and in art with magnificent and creative architecture, sculpture, and painting. (The wall-paintings of Ajanta Cave are considered among the greatest and most powerful works of Indian art.)
The invasions of the White Huns ended this era of history.
For more information read History - The Gupta Age
See History of India from Discover India
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