Indus River

Valley
and
The Aryans
Pre-Aryan India:
Indus River Valley Civilization
 The Indus River
 Silt-enriched water from mountain ranges
 Major society built by Dravidian peoples,
3000-2500 BCE
 Cultivation of cotton before 5000 BCE, early
cultivation of poultry
 Decline after 1900 BCE
 Major cities:

Harrapa (Punjab region

Mohenjo-Daro (mouth of Indus River)
 70 smaller sites excavated (total 1,500)
The Harappan Civilization 3300 BCE - 2400 BCE
Mohenjo-Daro
Aerial View of Mohenjo-Daro
Indus River Valley

http://www.harappa.com/index.html
ARYANS
 ARYANS
Who were the Aryans
&
Where did they come from?

 Germans (Anglo-Saxons), Celts, Slavs (Russians.), Kurds,

Persians ("Iran" = "Aryan"), Afghans, Aryans of India, etc.
form an ethnic continuum within a language family which
anthropologists and linguists call Indo-Hittite, Hattian,
Indo-European, or simply ARYAN.
ARYANS
 Group of nomadic tribes
 Tall, fair haired, with clear cut features, they
settled in Punjab, in the Indus Valley River region.
 Fought with the original people of Indus Valley
Civilization, who were dark skin and known as
Dasyus or Dravidians
 The superiority of the Aryans resulted in the
Dravidian submission and retirement to the south.
 The Aryan society was very well organized, ruled
by a Monarch
ARYANS

 Practiced the four Vedas.

 Caste system was introduced and practiced, based on
one’s profession:
 Brahmins: Priests, teachers, intellectuals
 Khsatriyas: Warriors, soldiers
 Vashya: Traders, merchants, peasants
 Shudras: People in service of others
Varna (Social Hierarchy)

Brahmins

Kshatriyas

Vaishyas

Shudras

Pariahs [Harijan]  Untouchables

 s t e
C a Brahmins

The
t em Kshatriyas

Sy s
Vaishyas
 The Head & Face
 The Shoulders & arms
 The Stomach
 The feet. Shudras
 The Vedas
 1200 BCE-600 BCE.
 written in SANSKRIT.
 Hindu core of
beliefs:
 hymns and poems.
 religious prayers.
 magical spells.
 lists of the gods
Rig Veda  oldest work.
work and goddesses.
Sanskrit
writing
Cultural Impact of Aryans
 The culture of the Aryan period exist today and
has been an integral part of Hindus all over the
world.

 All Hindus accept Vedas as their most sacred

scripture.

 Hindu religion originated with Aryans

 With the invasion of Persian kings Cyrus and

Darius in the 500 BC, there were significant
changes and commingling of Aryan and Persian
culture.
 Aryan period ended At the end of 322BC.
 Buddhism

 Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.)

 Mauryan Empire
BUDDHISM
 Buddhism

 Gautama Buddha was the founder

 His original name was Siddharth Gautama Buddha.
 Siddharth means one who has accomplished.
 Buddha means the Awakened One.
 He was also called Sakyamuni, i.e. the sage of the tribe of
Sakya.
 He was born in the year 563 B.C. in the village of Lumbini
near Kapila Vastu, within the present borders of Nepal.
 He was married at the age of sixteen to Yasoddhra.
Buddhism
 According to legend,
an astrologer foretold his father, the king, that young
Gautama would give up the throne & luxury & renounce
the world the day he would see four things:
(i) an old man,
(ii) a sick man,
(iii) a diseased man
(iv) a dead man.

Hence, the king confined Gautama in a special palace

which was provided with all worldly pleasures.
Buddhism

 At the age of 29 after the birth of his first son,

Gautama on the same day saw
 an old man,
 a sick man,
 a diseased man
 a dead man.
The impact of the dark side of life made him
renounce the world that same night and he left
his wife and son and became a penniless
wanderer.
At the age of 35, one evening as he sat beneath a giant fig tree
(Bodh tree), he felt that he had found the solution to his
problem and felt that he had attained enlightenment.
Thus, he came to be known as ‘Gautama’, ‘The Buddha’, or 'The
Enlightened One
Buddhism is divided into two sects:

•Henayana

Buddhism is divided into two sects

•Mahayana
1. Hinayana
2. Mahayana.
Alexander the
Great
356-323 B.C.E.
Empire of Alexander
Alexander the Great
356-323 B.C.E.

 Persian and Greek Invasion

The Persian Invasion in 500BC, and the
invasion of Alexander the Great of
Greece in 327 BC, changed the Indian
culture for ever.

The most significant impact of this period was:

(1) Cultural mixing.
(2) Establishment of contacts with foreign
countries.
The Mauryan
Empire
The Mauryan Empire

 Chandra Gupta Maurya (322-301 B.C.)

 Bindusara (298-272 B.C.)

 Ashoka (273-233 B.C.)

Mauryan Coins
Cultural Impact of Mauryans

 Origin of non-violence in India

 Ashoka promoted non-violence, along with

Buddhism.
 Spread of Buddhism to neighboring countries of
China,
Thailand,
Vietnam,
Japan, etc.
 Education and Intellectual movement.
 The Maurya
Ta
Empire is
mi divided into
ls
many kingdoms.
 Gupta Period (320 AD – 480 AD)

 After the decline of Mauryans, Gupta rulers rose to

power
 The Gupta period in Indian history is known as the
Golden Age of India.
 Era of the most advanced civilization, flush with
wealth, higher education, trade with foreign
countries, and an overall happy life.
 Religious tolerance and freedom of worship
 Period of Hindu renaissance.
 Extensive Trade:4c

sp
ic
es

rice & s
whea
t silk o ods
horses n g
c ot t o
spices
& i vory
gold
o o d s
ot to ng
c gold & ivory
 Impact of the Gupta Period

 Emperor Ashoka promoted Buddhism, but Gupta

rulers showed a preference for Hindu religion.
 Music, architecture, sculptures and painting were at
its best.
 Various copper statues images of Buddha reflect the
craftsmanship of the Gupta period.
 After the death of the last Gupta ruler in 570 AD,
the Gupta empire declined and broke off.
 1000 diseases
500 healing classified PI = 3.1416
plants identified Decimal
System
Printed
Concept
medicinal guides
of Zero
Plastic
Medicine Mathematics
Surgery

Inoculations
C-sections Gupta Solar
performed India Calendar

Astronomy
Literature
The earth
is round
Kalidasa
 The Decline of the Guptas

 Invasion of the White Huns in the 4c signaled

the end of the Gupta Golden Age, even though
at first, the Guptas defeated them.
 After the decline of the Gupta empire, north
India broke into a number of separate Hindu
kingdoms and was not really unified again until
the coming of the Muslims in the 7c.
Foreign Invasions

Due to its wealth and culture, India has attracted foreigners

throughout its history:

 Persian invasion in 500BC

 Greek Invasion in 327 BC
 Turks in 1175AD
 Mughal in 1526
 Portuguese in 16th century
 Dutch and French in 17th century
 English in 18th through 20th century
Islamic History of the
South Asia.
The Indian Sub-Continent

 Comprises the modern

day countries of India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh,
SriLanka, Nepal and
Bhutan
 Greeks called it India
 Arabs called it Hind
 Persians & Turks called
it
Hindustan
 Indians called it Bharat!
 Periods of Islamic History
in India

 Period of Early Islamic Conquests

 The Delhi Sultanate
 The Mughal Empire
 India After the British
 PART I

Period of Early Islamic Conquests

711 to 1206 CE
Dawn of Islam in India?

 Islam was First Introduced in India on the

Malabar Coast in 617 CE
 King Charawati Farma, traveled to Mecca to
meet the Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
 Embraced Islam but dies on his way back in
Zafar, Yemen. His entourage comes back to
India and spreads Islam.
 Reference: Muhammad Rasulullah by M. Habibullah (Indian Office
Library, London)
Hind on the Eve of Islamic Conquests
 Muhammad ibn Qasim

 667 CE: 1st Governor of Sind appointed by

Umayyad Caliph Mu’awiah.
 710 CE: Sindhi Pirates plunder 8 vessels
bearing gifts from King of Ceylon to the
Caliph (al-Walid)
 711 CE: A small army under Muhammad
ibn Qasim dispatched by Hajjaj ibn Yusuf
the viceroy of Eastern Provinces.
 The First Local Dynasty

 730 CE: al-Mansura, the first Muslim city founded

near Shahdadpur on the banks of river Sind.
 751 CE: 1st Abbasid governor of the Indus Valley
 850 CE: Multan, founded as the capital of the
Islamic state of the Indus Valley.
 Mahmud of Ghazni’s Raids
 962 CE: Alptgin founds the Ghaznavid dynasty based in
Ghazna (Afghanistan).
 998 CE: Abul Qasim Mahmud of Ghazni becomes Sultan of
Ghazni and Hindustan.
 1001 to 1029 CE: Mahmud of Ghazni raids India more than 17
times in retaliation to Jaipal’s invasion.
Mahmud of Ghazni’s Raids
 Ghaznavids continued….

 1024 CE: Temple of Somnath, were several Rajahs and

chieftains were taking refuge, was destroyed.
 1140 CE: Principality of Ghour declares independence
from Sultans of Ghazna.
 1186 CE: Ghaznavid rule ends with Ghourid conquest of
Ghazna

Mahmud’s Mausoleum in Ghazni

Ghourid Dynasty

 1186 CE: Ghurid Sultans, begin the rule of NW India.

 1193 CE: Bihar and Bengal conquered by Gourid general
Bhaktiyar Khilji
 1193 CE: Battle of Tarain, Prithviraj Chauhan defeated
by Shahab ad-din Ghouri, most of north India under
Ghourid empire.
 1194 CE: Gujrat conquered under the command of Qutb
ad-Din Aybak
 Ghourids

 Mausoleum of Muhammad
Shahab ad-Din Ghouri in
Ghour, Afghanistan
 1195 CE: Khwaja
Moinuddin Chishti arrives
in India. Converts
thousands of Hindus.
(Islamic Preachers) [Sufis]
References:

 The History and culture of the Indian People Vol.6: The Struggle
for Empire by Edited by R.C Majumdar 4th Ed (1990)
 The New Islamic Dynasties by Clifford Edmund Bosworth (1996)
 A Comprehensive History of India Vol IV: The Muslim Invasions by
M. Habib & K. A. Nizami
 Muslims in the Indian Subcontinent by Akram Zahoor D.Sc. (2000)
 The Ghaznavids 994 - 1040 by C. E. Bosworth (1963).
 The Gorids: History, Culture and Administration by M. Abdul
Ghafur (1960)
 Muslim History 570-1950 C. E. by Akram Zahoor, D.Sc (2000)
 Great Dates in Islamic History, Edited by Robert Mantran (1996)
 Compendium of Islamic Genealogies with Chronological lists by
Khusro Arastu (2009)
 PART II

The Delhi Sultanate

1206 to 1526 CE
 Sultans of Delhi

 Mamluk (or Shamsi Slave dynasty) 1211 to

1290 CE
 Khilji dynasty 1290 to 1320 CE
 Tughlaq Dynasty 1320 to 1412 CE
 Sayyid Dynasty 1412 to 1451 CE
 Lodhi Dynasty 1451 to 1526 CE
 Suri Dynasty 1540 to 1555 CE
Mamluk or Slave Dynasty

 1206 CE: Qutb ad-Din Aybak proclaims himself

“Sultan” at Lahore.
 1210 CE: Ali Mardin, governor of Bengal
declares Bengal Independent and assumes the
title of Sultan.
 1211 CE: Iltutmish becomes the First Sultan of
Hindustan.
 1233 to 1240 CE: Razia Sultana binte Iltutmish
becomes the First & only Muslim woman ruler of
India.
 1266 to 1287 CE: Ghias ad-Din Balban is Sultan
of Delhi.
 1290 CE: End of the Slave or Mamluk dynasty
India under the
Slave dynasty

Qutub Minar
 Khilji Dynasty

 1293
to 1296 CE: Ala ad-Din Khilji conquers
Deccan
 1296CE: Ala ad-Din Khilji is the First muslim ruler
to control the whole of India.
 1296to 1308 CE: Several Mongol invasions pushed
back by the Khiljis
 1310 CE: Poet Amir Khusrow writes Tarikh Ilahi
 1320 CE: End of Khilji dynasty
India
under
Khiljis &
Tughlaqs
Tughlaq Dynasty

 1320 CE: Ghias ad-Din Tughlaq restores the

Delhi sultanate after 4 years of Anarchy.
 1325-1351 CE: Muhammad bin Tughlaq
becomes Sultan.
 1334-1341 CE : ibn Battuta the great Muslim
traveler, comes to India and serves as
magistrate of Delhi
 1326 CE: Sultan Muhammad relocates his capital
from Delhi to Deogiri (Daulatabad), back to
Delhi 3 years later.
 1347 CE: Amir Hasan declares himself
independent in Deccan and founds the Bahmani
dynasty
 Timur’s Invasion

 1398 CE: Timur the Lame of Samarkhand invades Delhi and

defeats the Sultan of Delhi
 Delhi Sultante in disarray after Timur’s return.
 1412 CE: End of Tughlaq dynasty.
 1414 CE: Khizr Khan, the governor of Timur ascends the
throne of Delhi, beginning of the Sayyid dynasty.
 1414 to 1451 CE: The Sayyid Dynasty
 Lodhi Dynasty

 1484 to 1492 CE: Fragmentation of Bahmani

Sultanate of Deccan.
 Independent Sultanates of Bijapur (1489),
Ahmadnagar (1490), Golkonda (1490), Berar (1490)
and Bidar (1492) formed.
 1504 CE: Sikander Lodhi moves his capital from
Delhi to Agra
 1526 CE: Babur invades India on invitation, defeats
Ibrahim Lodhi at the First Battle of Panipat.
 End of Lodhi dynasty, end of the Delhi Sultanante
India
under
Sayyids
& Lodhis
References:

 The History and culture of the Indian People Vol.6 by Edited

by R.C Majumdar 4th Ed (1990)
 The New Islamic Dynasties by Clifford Edmund Bosworth
(1996)
 A Comprehensive History of India Vol V: The Delhi Sultanat
by M. Habib & K. A. Nizami
 Muslims in the Indian Subcontinent by Akram Zahoor D.Sc.
(2000)
 Muslim History 570-1950 C. E. by Akram Zahoor, D.Sc (2000)
 Great Dates in Islamic History, Edited by Robert Mantran
(1996)
 Compendium of Islamic Genealogies with Chronological lists
by Khusro Arastu (2009)
 PART III

The Mughal Empire

1526 to 1857 CE
 Babur

 Mughal Dynastic rule established by Babur, with his

capital at Agra. Styled as Shehanshah (King of Kings)
 Babur is a great-great grandson of Timur the Lame.
 1526 CE: Rajput forces under Rana Sanga defeated at
the Battle of Kanwaha
 1529 CE: Afghan forces of Bihar
and Bengal defeated at
the Battle of Gogra.
 1530 CE: Death of Babur,
buried at Kabul.
Babur’s Domanins
 Humayun

 1530 CE: Humayun becomes the Mughal

Emperor on the death of his father Babur.
 1540–1555 CE: Humayun in Exile as the
Suri dynasty of Sher Shah Sur of Bihar
assumed power.
 1555 CE: After 15 years in exile, Humayun
defeats the Afghan forces at the Battle of
Sirhind and recaptures power.
 1556 CE: death of Humayun at the age of
49, he is buried at Delhi.
Humayun’s Mausoleum
 Akbar the Great

 1556 CE: Akbar becomes the Mughal ruler

at age 13, with Bahram Khan as regent.
 1556 CE: Afghan forces defeated at the
2nd Battle of Panipat. Mughals recapture
Delhi, Agra, Gwalior, Ajmer, Jaunpur.
 1567 CE: Fort of Chittor captured from
the Rajputs
 1576 CE: Rajputs defeated again at the
Battle of Haldighat. Akbar marries Jodha
Bai a rajput princess.
 1582 CE: Akbar proclaims Deen-e-Ilahi, an
amalgam of many religious beliefs.
Akbar’s Mausoleum at
Sikandara
Akbar the Great

 Mughals occupy all of

India except for a small
area in the South.
 1605 CE: Death of Akbar
at age 62
 Jahangir

 1605 CE: Jahangir son of Akbar becomes the

Mughal Emperor.
 1611 CE: Marries Nur Jahan, who acted as
queen regent. Her name appeared with
Jahangir on Mughal Coins.

 1624 CE: death of Reformer Shaykh Ahmad

Sirhindi “Mujaddid Alfa-Sani” (1562 to 1624)
 1627 CE: death of Jahangir. Buried at
Lahore, Pakistan.
Coins of Jahangir with
Nur Jahan’s name
 Shah Jahan

 1627 CE: Shah Jahan becomes the Mughal

Emperor.
 1631 CE: death of Mumtaz Mahal the wife
of Shah Jahan. The construction of Taj
mahal begins in her memory.
 1644 CE: Building of Jami Masjid of Delhi
 1646 CE: Building of Moti Masjid of Agra
 1648 CE: Taj Mahal completed
 1658 CE: Shah Jahan deposed by
Aurangzeb, dies in captivity 1666
 Aurangzeb

 1658 CE Aurangzeb becomes emperor

after Shah Jahan is deposed. Civil war
between his brothers.
 1674 CE Badshahi Masjid built in Lahore
 1682 CE: Relocates his capital to
Aurangabad
 1686-87 CE: Marches to Deccan to defeat
Bijapur (1686) and Golkonda (1687)
 1707 CE: death of Aurangzeb. He was
buried at Khuldabad near aurangabad.
 He had the largest empire of any Mughals.
References:

 The History and culture of the Indian People Vol.7 The

Mughal Empire by Edited by R.C Majumdar 4th Ed (1990)
 The New Islamic Dynasties by Clifford Edmund Bosworth
(1996)
 A Comprehensive History of India Vol VI: The Mughal Empire
by M. Habib & K. A. Nizami
 Muslims in the Indian Subcontinent by Akram Zahoor D.Sc.
(2000)
 Muslim History 570-1950 C. E. by Akram Zahoor, D.Sc (2000)
 Great Dates in Islamic History, Edited by Robert Mantran
(1996)
 Compendium of Islamic Genealogies with Chronological lists
by Khusro Arastu (2009)
 PART V

India After the British

1947 to onwards
Road to Independence…
 1916 CE: Muhammad Ali Jinnah becomes the president
of All India Muslim League.
 1930 CE: Allama Iqbal presented the idea of an
Independent Muslim state in his presidential address to
the All India Muslim League. He is the great Poet
Philosopher of the East
 1933 CE: Chawdhari Rahmat Ali suggested the name
Pakistan at Emmanuel College, Cambridge University.
 1938 CE: Death of Allama Iqbal
 1939 CE: Maulana Abul Kalam Azaad elected the
President of Indian National Congress
 1947 CE: July 18th British Parliament passes the Indian
Independence Act, with the decision to partition India
and Pakistan.
Iqbal Jinnah Azaad
 Formation of Nations

 1947 CE: August 14th. Pakistan becomes an

independent nation. 3rd largest Muslim nation
by population.
 1947 CE: August 15th India gains Independence
 Indiahas the 2nd largest Muslim population in
the world.
 1948 CE: Death of Muhammad Ali Jinnah
 1948 CE: “Police Action” Indian army invades
the Dominion of Hyderabad and annexes it.
 Formation of Nations

 1957 CE: India annexed Indian-Occupied

Kashmir in disregard of a U.N. Resolution
 1958 CE: Death of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
 1971 CE: Nation of Bangladesh formed.
Formerly East Pakistan. 4th largest Muslim
population in the world.
 India has had 3 Muslim presidents Dr Zakir
Husain (1967-69), Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (1974-
77), Abdul Kalam (2002-07).
 More that 500 million Muslims reside in the
Indian-Sub-continent, more than a 1/3rd of the
World’s Muslim population.
References:

 India After Independence 1947-2000 by Bipin Chandra (2000)

 Legacy of a Divided Nation – Indian Muslims Since
Independence by Mushirul Hasan (2008)
 The History and culture of the Indian People Vol.8 by Edited
by R.C Majumdar 4th Ed (1990)
 A Comprehensive History of India Vol VII: Post-Independence
India by M. Habib & K.A. Nizami
 Muslims in the Indian Subcontinent by Akram Zahoor D.Sc.
(2000)
 The World Almanac 2009
 Muslim History 570-1950 C. E. by Akram Zahoor, D.Sc (2000)
 Great Dates in Islamic History, Edited by Robert Mantran
(1996)