India is the land of people living beyond the river Indus and today we are going to discover the history of this magnificent ancient land in this post • History of Ancient India.
For people of other lands, throughout history, the River Indus was a major subcontinental landmark. The Indus, or the Sindhu is the mighty river that originates in the Tibetan plateau. The river flows 3200 km and merges with the Arabian Sea.
The words India, Hindu, and Hindustan all originate from the name of this river, the Indus.
Chinese called this land Shen-tu, Greeks called this land India, and Persian text mentions this land as Hidu. Earlier these references were restricted to areas near the river Indus. But as time went by, the entire subcontinent was referred to as India or Hindustan and Hindus were its inhabitants.
Throughout human history, the Indian subcontinent was an attractive habitat for humans. In the South, it was surrounded by the Indian Ocean which isolated the landmass geographically and hence culturally. In the north, the huge Himalayan mountain range protected India from cold wind currents emerging from central Asia and the Arctic. This Himalayan mountain range is the source of water for the mightiest rivers such as the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra and thus this land became the cradle of civilization.
Prehistoric India
To understand Indian History we need to go back. According to a genetics study — some 70000 years ago, the earliest successful Out of Africa OOA migration happened. Some 5,000 years later that is roughly 65000 years ago OOA migrants reached India and encountered a large group of ancient humans who were already living there.
45000-20000 years ago the first Indians, descendants of the OOA migrants started using microliths technology. These people were hunters and gatherers.
Fast forward to 7000 B.C.E., there was a gradual shift from dependence on wild resources to domestic plants and animals. Testimonial to this fact is the Mehrgarh site, which shows evidence of the cultivation of Barley, Wheat, and domesticated animals. Around 5000 BCE a new civilisation emerged from the footprints of these sites.
The Indus Valley Civilization
During the period between 5000 and 2000 B.C.E., highly organised urban settlements spread throughout northwestern regions of the Indian subcontinent named Harappan civilisation or Indus Valley Civilisation IVC flourished. The name Harappan because of the name of the place of the first discovered site and IVC because of the large number of sites situated along the river Indus. Over 1400 sites have been discovered till now, with Harappa, Mohenjodharo, Rakhigarhi, Lothal, and Kalibangan being the most important towns.
Harappan people had a common script, seals, motifs, and weighing systems. Cities were well-planned, with exquisite buildings and blocks divided by roads in a grid pattern. The houses were made of baked bricks, with an emphasis on maintaining health and sanitation. The trade was conducted with Mesopotamia and Sumer.
Talking about resources, Iron was not discovered yet but there is evidence of bronze sculptures. Hence this makes IVC a bronze-age civilization. The Indus Valley civilization declined in the early centuries of the second millennium B.C.E., probably due to environmental changes in the region. And some 500 years later a new culture blossomed.
Rise of Vedic Culture
Around 1300 BCE, Vedic culture began to dominate the region. This culture is associated with Sanskrit. Sanskrit is a language of the Indo-European family and is related to Greek, Latin, and Avestan (the ancient language of Persia). The Vedas– the text associated with the complex ritual system of the Indo-Aryans were composed in this period. Vedas included Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Atharva Veda and Yajur Veda.
The Indo-Aryans first settled in the fertile region of northwestern India. Once they started using iron they could clear forest efficiently and this allowed them to gradually move eastward along the fertile plains of the Ganga and the Yamuna.
Caste System
It was during the Vedic period the Varna system emerged which later became the caste system. This system was hierarchy-based. The priests divided people into four groups –
First was the Brahmins, the priestly class who were expected to study the Vedas, receive gifts and perform rituals and sacrifices.
The second were Kshatriyas — the warrior class, who were expected to rule, fight battles and protect people,
Third in the classification were Vaishiyas – farmers, herders, traders, skilled workers, and merchants.
The last were Shudras – labourers and unskilled workers. Kshatriyas and Vaishyas could perform rituals but not Shudras. Women and Shudras were not allowed to study Vedas. This system was based on birth. Later, one more class developed that was of untouchables. And contact with them was held polluting.
This system was not universally accepted in the subcontinent. Some felt that birth could not be the basis for deciding the Varna. Some felt that everybody should be able to perform rituals. In many areas of the subcontinent, such as the north-east, social and economic differences were not sharp and the influence of the priestly class was limited.
But in general, the Brahmanas claimed the highest status in society, they were entitled to gifts, and exempted from tax and punishments. This generated tensions among caste lines and Kshatriya’s Reaction against this domination of the Brahmanas became one of the reasons for the origin of the new religions.
Buddhism and Jainism
Vardhaman Mahavira who founded Jainism and Gautama Buddha who founded Buddhism both belonged to the Kshatriya clan and disputed the authority of Brahmanas. Buddhism and Jainism criticised the Vedic rituals and hierarchy in Hinduism.
To confront this system, both Buddha and Mahavira wandered the Ganga Valley teaching the evils of the caste system, animal sacrifices and religious rituals. They would preach in spoken language which was Pali so even normal people could understand what they were saying. Buddhism left an impact on society by keeping its doors open to women and Shudras. Together Buddhism and Jainism created new awareness in the subcontinent in the field of intellect, culture and philosophy.
Mahajanapadas
A thousand years after the Indus Valley Civilisation India once again transformed into an urban civilisation, The Indo-Aryan culture began as nomadic but had become urbanized.
Towards the end of Vedic culture, around 450 BC, well-organised powers with proper administration emerged. They collected taxes and maintained armies. Such kingdoms were called Janpadas. And the big ones were called Mahajanpadas.
Sixteen such Mahajanapadas were mentioned in the Pali texts, named Magadha, Kashi, Kosala, Vatsa, Chedi, Anga, Vrijji, Malla, Panchala, Matsya, Avanti, and Kuru. And among them, the kingdom of Magadha rose to become the first empire of India.
The Rise of Magadha
Magadha had large deposits of iron ore. They used this iron for making tools and weapons. Magadha King Ajatshatru was a great general who invented a giant catapult that could throw stone balls and a chariot called Rathmusala, which had sharp blades attached to wheels that could kill enemy soldiers. He extended the borders of his Kingdom. Because of iron deposits, geographical position, river resources, and standing army Magadha succeeded in defeating other kingdoms and became the first empire in India.
Alexander the Great
This was the time when Alexander the King of Macedonia defeated the Persian king Darius III. He reached India in 326 BC. As per Greek records, Alexander had a fierce battle with King Porus, who ruled in an area between Jhelum and Chenab. Alexander defeated Porus in a tough battle. Though no Indian book mentions either Porus or Alexander. After years of fighting Alexander’s soldiers were tired and they rebelled. It is to be noted that he came all the way from Europe. It had been 13 years since the campaign of Alexander had started. When Alexander decided to go back he never reached Greece and died in Babylon in 323 BCE.
But why did he turn back? The one reason why Alexander’s soldiers refused to go any further east was the huge army of King Dhana Nanda. As per Roman records, he had 20,000 horses, 2 lakh foot soldiers, 2000 horse chariots and 3000 war elephants. It would have been a much tougher battle than Porus. Moreover, his troops were homesick and weary of battle. So Alexander hardly had other options than to go back.
Mauryan Empire
But in the next part of the story, a young boy named Chandragupta, who was a disciple of Chanakya captured Pataliputra and defeated Dhanananda and established the Mauryan Dynasty in India. Chandragupta then fought a battle with Seleucus, the general of Alexander which turned into a marriage alliance. Talking about Chandragupta’s tutor – Chanakya, he was a master statesman and great philosopher of that time. He wrote a book on political, economic, and strategic principles for effective governance called Arthashastra. Earlier Magahdha King, Dhana Nanda had insulted and banished Chankya from his court. But when Chanakya helped Chandragupta to defeat Dhana Nanda, he finally had his revenge.
Ashoka
Chandragupta’s grandson Ashoka, the Great, expanded and consolidated the Mauryan Empire. By the time of Ashoka the Mauryan empire extended from Bengal in the east to Afghanistan in the west and from Kashmir in the north to Karnataka in the south.
Ashoka was a ruthless conqueror. He ruled all of the subcontinent but Kalinga was not yet part of an empire. Kalinga was a prosperous coastal state in East India.
Ashoka annexed Kalinga but the devastation and the human cost of the war deeply affected him. The Kalinga War transformed him into a benevolent ruler.
After the war, Ashoka adopted Buddhism and started promoting non-violence and compassion. Today Buddhism is a world religion because of Ashoka’s efforts to spread the words of Gautama Buddha. All this information can be gathered from his 14 rock edicts and 7 pillar edicts scattered across the subcontinent. Later when Buddhism nearly vanished from India it continued to flourish in Tibet, China, Burma and Japan.
When an empire declines, regional powers emerge. So after the decline of the Mauryan Empire small kingdoms popped up and the borders of India kept on changing for the next 500 years.
The Kushanas in the north and Satavhanas in the south
Indo-greeks from Greece, The Sakas from the Caucasus, and the Parthians from North Iran subsequently ruled in the Gandharan region which is to the North Western part of India. In the first century CE Kushanas from Central Asia belonging to the Yueh-chi tribe of China settled in Afghanistan and later defeated Indo-Greeks, the Sakas and the Parthians. They kept pressing eastward and included in their kingdoms regions of today’s Punjab, Kashmir, Rajasthan and Eastern UP. Meanwhile, Satvahanas flourished in the Deccan region. Satavahanas ruled from the first century BCE to 220 CE. Their kingdom included today’s Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa.
The Cholas, the Cheras, the Pandyas
Around this time the kingdom of Ancient Chola existed in the South, in the Tamil Nadu region. The Pandyas ruled in the Madurai region and the Cheras were active in the Kerala region.
This period is known for the Sangam Assembly, the great literary assemblies. Where poets and balladeers of the land would come to recite their creations. This collection consists of over 12000 poems by 473 poets. These were the poems of love and war which gave rich information about the society and culture of the times.
The Guptas
After the Mauryas, the next dynasty that created an all-India empire was the Guptas. Though their kingdom was not as big as the Mauryas, it did cover most of north and central India. It is often considered the golden age of Indian history because trade and commerce flourished, the government was stable, the king ensured law and order, architecture, painting and literature were promoted and discoveries were made in science and technology. Renowned centres of learning like Nalanda, Takshila, Ujjain, Vikramshila, and Vallabhi thrived. This was also the time when the Chinese traveller, Fa Hien visited India. Ramayana and Mahabharata, the great Indian epics took their final shape during this period.
Talking about rulers, Samudragupta was the greatest king of the Gupta dynasty. The historian Vincent Smith called him the Napoleon of India. In the later half of the Gupta dynasty, frequent attacks from the Huns of Central Asia weakened the empire. Later Gupta ruler, Skandagupta defeated the Huns but gradually the central power became weak and north India was divided into several small kingdoms that fought each other.
After the sixth century CE, the Satavahanas fell in the Deccan, the Guptas fell in the north. Many small kingdoms popped up namely the Chalukyas, the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Pandyas.
The Chalukya kingdom emerged between the Vindhyan mountain range and the river Krishna. The Pallavas emerged in the area of modern Tamilnadu. The Pandyas ruled in the southern Tamil Nadu. Cholas re-emerged in areas around Thanjavur.
In the north, one of the greats to rule after the Guptas was Harshvardhana of Thaneshwar. No doubt that Harsha’s kingdom was great but it was not as prosperous as that of the Guptas. Law and order were not enforced properly. Chinese pilgrim Hsuan Tsang visited India during Harsha’s time. He was robbed twice on the highways, unlike Fa Hien who had visited during the Gupta period.
Though, Harsha and Hsuan Tsang became good friends. When Hsuan Tsang left, Harsha gave him an elephant, 3000 gold coins and 10000 silver pieces. Unfortunately, some of Hsuan Tsang’s records and books were swept away in the flood during his journey back home.
Harsha ruled for over forty years and had no heir. His death created a vacuum and as soon as regional powers sensed weakness, they fought each other to fill the vacuum.
History of Ancient India • Conclusion
So this was a quick summary of the history of ancient India. In tracing the tapestry of ancient India, we unveil a rich saga of cultures, dynasties, and intellectual pursuits. From the Indus Valley Civilization’s urban sophistication to the spiritual teachings of the Vedic age, the imperial reach of the Mauryas, the grandeur of Sangama literature, the artistic zenith of the Guptas, and the interplay of diverse kingdoms, ancient India’s history echoes a resilient spirit of innovation, spirituality, and societal evolution that continues to resonate through time.
I hope you enjoyed reading this post. Stay tuned for more such posts related to the history of India and the world.