1. Ancient History of South Asia
The history of core South Asia begins with evidence of human activity ofHomo sapiens, as long as75,000
years ago,or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago.South Asia
includes the contemporary political entities of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bhutan, and
the island nations ofSri Lanka and the Maldives.
1 Induscivilizationca. 2500-1500 BC
2 Vedic periodca. 1500-500 BC
3 Indiankingdomperiodca. 500 BC-1200 AD
4 early Islamic period ca. 1200-1500 5 MughalEmpireca. 1500-1800
Indus Civilization:
SouthAsian civilization beganwith the Indus civilization(2500-1500 BC), whichflourished in the region
aroundthe IndusRiver(which runsmainly throughPakistan). Itfeatured two great cities, Mohenjo-Daro
andHarappa, along with smaller settlements. These cities, which are laid out in orderly grids, may be the
world's first examples of urbanplanning.3,4
The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of South Asia
from c. 3300 to 1300 BCE in present-day Northern India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, was the first
major civilization in South Asia. A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture
developed in the Mature Harappan period, from the Indus Valley Civilization provides a logical, if
somewhat arbitrary, starting point for South Asian religions, but these links from the Indus
religion to later-day South Asian traditions are subject to scholarly dispute.
Vedic Period
the age of Indus civilization was followed by the Vedic period (ca. 1500-500 BC). During this
period, Indic immigrants poured across northern India, gradually abandoning nomadism for
settled agricultural life. Their settlements eventually grew into cities, thus restoring urban life to
South Asia .By about 1200 BCE, the Vedic culture and agrarian lifestyle was established in the
northwest and northern Gangetic plain of South Asia
The Vedic period was the formative age of Indian culture; by ca. 500 BC, Indian culture had
matured. A181 Among the most prominent features of this culture are three religions, all of
which emerged toward the end of the Vedic period: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism (see
Religion). Another familiar aspect of Indian culture is the caste system, which persists in much of
modern-day India; under this system, one is born into a specific "caste", which determines one's
social position and occupation. The caste system, though embraced by Hinduism, was rejected
by Buddhism and Jainism.

2. when the Arab general Muhammad bin Qassim conquered Sindh, and Multan in Southern
Punjab, in modern-day Pakistan. By 962 CE, Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms in South Asia were
under a wave of raids from Muslim armies from Central Asia.
Among them was Mahmud of Ghazni, who raided and plundered kingdoms in north India from
east of the Indus river to west of Yamuna river seventeen times between 997 and 1030.Mahmud
of Ghazni raided the treasuries but retracted each time, only extending Islamic rule into western
Punjab.Timur defeats the Sultan of Delhi, Nasir-u Din Mehmud, in the winter of 1397–1398 The
wave of raids on north Indian and western Indian kingdoms by Muslim warlords continued after
Mahmud of Ghazni, plundering and looting these kingdoms.The raids did not establish or extend
permanent boundaries of their Islamic kingdoms. The Ghurid Sultan Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad
began a systematic war of expansion into North India in He sought to carve out a principality for
himself by expanding the Islamic world. Mu'izz sought a Sunni Islamic kingdom of his own
extending east of the Indus river, and he thus laid the foundation for the Muslim kingdom that
became the Delhi Sultanate.
Indian KingdomAge
The Vedic period was succeeded by the Indiankingdomage(ca. 500 BC-1200 AD), whichwas the age of
mature, independentIndiancivilization. Duringthis period, SouthAsia was generally covered in a
patchwork of kingdoms (hence the name of the period), as opposedtobeing dominatedby a single great
empire. Indeed, great empires emerged only twice: the Mauryan Empire(ca. 300-200 BC)and Gupta
Empire (ca. 300-500).7 Theformerwas the largest empire SouthAsia would ever see prior to the British
conquest;the latter, which witnessed an exceptional flourishingof arts andscholarship, is often
considered India's"goldenage" of traditional culture.3
During the first half of the Indian kingdom age, Buddhism and Hinduism vied for religious
dominance of India.
During the second half, Buddhism dwindled, leaving Hinduism as the majority faith of the region
(which it remains today). By this time, however, Buddhism had been widely dispersed by traders,
settlers, and missionaries, notably to Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Indochina, and parts of East Asia
(especially Tibet and Mongolia). In all of these regions, Buddhism remains the majority religion.
Early Islamic Period :
The Indian kingdom age was followed by the Islamic age of India, which lasted ca. 1200-1800.
This age opened with the early Islamic period (ca. 1200-1500), during which northern India was
dominated by a patchwork of Islamic states, while southern India featured both Islamic and
Hindu states. The early Islamic period began with the rise (ca. 1200) of the Delhi Sultanate, the
first Islamic state in South Asia, and the mightiest power of South Asia during the early Islamic
period. Though limited to northern India for most of its history, the Delhi Sultanate did briefly
swell to encompass most of India.

3. The Delhi Sultanate covered varying parts of South Asia and was ruled by a series of dynasties,
called Mamluk, Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid and Lodi dynasties. Muhammad bin Tughlaq came to
power in 1325, launched a war of expansion and the Delhi Sultanate reached it largest
geographical reach over the South Asian region during his 26-year rule.A Sunni Sultan,
Muhammad bin Tughlaq persecuted non-Muslims such as Hindus, as well as non-Sunni Muslims
such as Shia and Mahdi sects.Revolts against the Delhi Sultanate sprang up in many parts of
South Asia during the 14th century. After the death of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, the Bengal
Sultanate came to power in 1352 CE, as the Delhi Sultanate began disintegrating. The Bengal
Sultanate remained in power through the early 16th century. It was reconquered by the armies
of the Mughal Empire. The state religion of the Bengal Sultanate was Islam, and the region under
its rule, a region that ultimately emerged as the modern nation of Bangladesh, saw a growth of a
syncretic form of Islam.