India Timeline

India 23

3300 BC – 1300 BC Indus Valley Civilisation One of the world's oldest urban cultures The Indus Valley (Harappan) civilisation flourished along the Indus river from around 3300 BC, with sophisticated planned cities such as Harappa and Mohenjo-daro — featuring grid streets, drainage, granaries and standardised weights. Its undeciphered script and sudden decline around 1300 BC remain among archaeology's great mysteries.
1500 BC – 500 BC Vedic period — the Vedas composed Sanskrit hymns and the roots of Hinduism Following the Indus decline, the Vedic period saw the composition of the Vedas — the oldest scriptures of Hinduism — in archaic Sanskrit. This era shaped Indian religion, the caste system, and the philosophical traditions later expressed in the Upanishads.
563 BC – 483 BC The Buddha Founder of Buddhism in northern India Siddhartha Gautama, born a prince in what is now Nepal/northern India around 563 BC, renounced his royal life and attained enlightenment to become the Buddha. His teachings on suffering and the path to liberation spread across Asia to become one of the world's great religions.
322 BC – 185 BC Maurya Empire First empire to unify the subcontinent The Maurya Empire, founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BC, was the first state to unify most of the Indian subcontinent under one centralised administration. From its capital Pataliputra it became one of the largest empires of the ancient world.
300 BC – 1279 Chola dynasty (South India) A great maritime and temple-building power The Cholas of the Tamil south were one of the longest-ruling dynasties in history, rising from the Sangam age to a medieval maritime empire that projected naval power across the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia. They built magnificent temples such as the Brihadeeswarar at Thanjavur and patronised bronze sculpture and Tamil literature.
268 BC – 232 BC Ashoka the Great Maurya emperor who embraced Buddhism After the bloody Kalinga War filled him with remorse, Emperor Ashoka renounced violence and embraced Buddhism, spreading its teachings across Asia and inscribing edicts of tolerance and welfare on pillars throughout his empire. He is remembered as one of history's most enlightened rulers; the Ashoka Chakra adorns India's flag.
320 – 550 Gupta Empire — India's Golden Age Peak of science, mathematics, art and literature The Gupta Empire presided over a golden age of Indian civilisation. Scholars made landmark advances in mathematics and astronomy — including the concept of zero and the decimal place-value system — while Sanskrit literature, sculpture and temple architecture reached classical heights.
476 – 550 Aryabhata and the concept of zero Indian mathematics transforms the world The mathematician-astronomer Aryabhata (b. 476) and his successors developed the decimal place-value system and the use of zero as a number — innovations that, transmitted through the Arab world to Europe, became the foundation of modern mathematics. Aryabhata also proposed that the Earth rotates on its axis.
1206 – 1526 Delhi Sultanate Three centuries of Indo-Islamic rule in the north The Delhi Sultanate was a succession of five Muslim dynasties — Mamluk, Khilji, Tughlaq, Sayyid and Lodi — that ruled much of northern India for over three centuries. It introduced Persian administration and Indo-Islamic architecture, and repelled the Mongols, before falling to Babur at Panipat in 1526.
1336 – 1646 Vijayanagara Empire The great Hindu empire of the south As the Sultanate pressed south, the Vijayanagara Empire rose to become the dominant Hindu power of southern India for three centuries. Its capital Hampi was one of the largest and richest cities in the world, famed for its temples and markets, until its defeat at Talikota in 1565.
1526 – 1857 Mughal Empire Persianate empire of unity, wealth and architecture The Mughal Empire unified most of the subcontinent and blended Persian and Indian culture into a brilliant courtly civilisation. At its height it was among the richest states on earth, producing masterpieces of architecture, painting and administration before its long decline left a vacuum filled by regional powers and the British.
1526 First Battle of Panipat Babur founds the Mughal Empire In 1526 Babur — a Central Asian descendant of both Timur and Genghis Khan — defeated the last Lodi sultan Ibrahim at the First Battle of Panipat, using field artillery to shatter a far larger army. The victory ended the Delhi Sultanate and founded the Mughal Empire.
1556 – 1605 Akbar the Great Mughal emperor of tolerance and reform Akbar expanded the Mughal Empire across most of the subcontinent and is remembered above all for his policy of religious tolerance — abolishing the tax on non-Muslims, encouraging dialogue between faiths, and building an efficient, inclusive administration. His reign is considered the empire's political and cultural peak.
1628 – 1658 Shah Jahan The emperor who built the Taj Mahal Shah Jahan presided over the golden age of Mughal architecture. In memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal he built the Taj Mahal at Agra — the supreme masterpiece of Indo-Islamic art — along with the Red Fort and the Jama Masjid. He was deposed and imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb.
1632 – 1653 The Taj Mahal built The supreme masterpiece of Mughal architecture Commissioned by Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, the Taj Mahal at Agra took some two decades and tens of thousands of workers to complete. Its perfectly symmetrical white-marble dome and inlaid gardens are regarded as the jewel of Indo-Islamic architecture and one of the wonders of the world.
1674 – 1818 Maratha Empire The Hindu power that broke Mughal supremacy Founded by the warrior-king Shivaji, the Maratha confederacy rose to challenge and then eclipse the declining Mughals, dominating much of India in the 18th century. Their power was checked by defeat at the Third Battle of Panipat (1761) and finally broken by the British in 1818.
1757 Battle of Plassey East India Company gains control of Bengal At Plassey in 1757, Robert Clive's East India Company forces defeated the Nawab of Bengal — partly through bribery and betrayal — winning control of the richest province in India. The victory marked the beginning of British political dominance over the subcontinent.
1857 – 1858 Indian Rebellion of 1857 The great revolt; Crown rule replaces the Company The uprising of 1857 — sparked among Company sepoys and spreading into a widespread revolt — shook British rule to its foundations. After brutal fighting on both sides, the rebellion was crushed, the East India Company abolished, and India placed under direct British Crown rule (the British Raj).
1858 – 1947 British Raj Direct British Crown rule over India For nearly a century the British Crown ruled India directly, building railways and a unified administration while extracting wealth and provoking famines and unrest. The Raj also forged the conditions for a mass independence movement that would ultimately end colonial rule.
1869 – 1948 Mahatma Gandhi Leader of non-violent independence struggle Mohandas K. Gandhi led India's independence movement through the philosophy of satyagraha — non-violent civil disobedience — mobilising millions in campaigns such as the 1930 Salt March. Revered as the father of the nation, he was assassinated in 1948, months after independence.
1947 Independence and Partition Freedom from Britain; India and Pakistan divided At midnight on 15 August 1947 India became independent after nearly a century of Crown rule and a long freedom struggle. Independence came with Partition — the division of British India into India and Pakistan — which triggered one of the largest and bloodiest mass migrations in history, displacing millions.
1950 Republic of India proclaimed The constitution comes into force On 26 January 1950 the Constitution of India — the longest written constitution of any sovereign nation — came into force, making India a sovereign democratic republic. The date is celebrated each year as Republic Day.
2023 Chandrayaan-3 lands on the Moon India becomes the first to land near the lunar south pole On 23 August 2023 India's Chandrayaan-3 mission soft-landed near the Moon's south pole — a region never before reached — making India the fourth country to achieve a lunar landing and the first at that location. It capped India's emergence as a major space power.