India has been invaded and ruled by many dynasties. Every dynasty left its marks on its culture. To better understand the present culture of Indian people, it is necessary to understand the process it has gone through in the past.
In this lesson, we will learn the various stages of Ancient Indian History from the Harappan times through Vedic, Mauryan, and Gupta periods, and how various internal and external influences shaped Indian culture.
Ancient India is the Indian subcontinent from prehistoric times to the start of Medieval India, which is typically dated to the end of the Gupta Empire. Ancient India was composed of the modern-day countries of Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.
Timeline of the history of Ancient India:
| 2800 BCE | Indus valley civilization begins to emerge |
| 1700 BCE | Indus valley civilization vanishes |
| 1500 BCE | Aryan tribes begin to infiltrate into northern India from Central Asia |
| 800 BCE | The use of iron and alphabetic writing begin to spread to northern India from the Middle East |
| 500 BCE | Two new religions, Buddhism and Jainism, are founded |
| 327 BCE | Alexander the Great conquers the Indus Valley; this leads to King Chandragupta Maurya of Magadha conquering the Indus valley from Alexander the Great's successor |
| 290 BCE | Chandragupta's successor, Bindusara, extends the Mauryan conquests into central India |
| 269 BCE | Ashoka becomes the Mauryan emperor |
| 251 BCE | A mission led by Mahinda, son of Ashoka, introduces Buddhism to the island of Sri Lanka |
| 250 BCE | The India-Greek kingdom of Bactria is founded |
| 232 BCE | Asoka dies, shortly after, the decline of the Mauryan empire sets in |
| 150 BCE | The Scythians (Saka) enter northwest India |
| 150 BCE | The Kushana empire begins its rise in northwest India |
| 300 BCE | The Gupta empire begins its rise to dominate in northern India |
| 500 BCE | The Gupta empire is in decline, and soon vanishes |
Indus Valley Civilization
The first notable civilization flourished in India around 2700 BC in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, covering a large area. The civilization is referred to as the Indus Valley civilization. The culture associated with the Indus valley civilization is the first known urban culture in India. This was contemporary with other early civilizations of the ancient world, in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, and is one of the earliest civilizations in world history. It is famous for its large and well-planned cities. Agriculture was the main occupation of the Indus valley civilization who were living in rural areas. Those living in the cities carried on internal and external trade and developed contacts with other civilizations such as Mesopotamia. By 1800 BC the Indus valley civilization began declining.
Vedic Culture
A few centuries after the decline of the Indus Valley civilization, a new culture flourished in the same region and gradually spread across the Ganga-Yamuna plains. This culture came to be known as the Aryan culture.
Aryans, people speaking an Indo-European language, moved into northern India from central Asia. They came into India as pastoral, semi-nomadic tribes led by warrior chieftains. Over time, they settled down as rulers over the native Dravidian populations they found there and formed tribal kingdoms. This period of ancient Indian history is known as the Vedic age. It is also the formative period in which most of the basic features of traditional Indian civilization were laid down including the emergence of early Hinduism and castes in the society. The period lasted from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE, that is, from the early days of the Aryan migrations through to the age of Buddha.
Though Aryan society was patriarchal, women were treated with dignity and honour. Towards the later Vedic period, society was divided into four varnas - Brahamanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. To begin with, it denoted categories of people doing different kinds of functions but with the passage of time, this division became hereditary and rigid. The teachers were called Brahmans, the ruling class was called Kshatriyas, farmers, merchants, and bankers were called Vaishyas while the artisans, craftsmen, laborers were called Shudras. Moving from one occupation to another became difficult. Simultaneously, the Brahmans also occupied a dominant position in society.
The Aryans were primarily pastoral and agricultural people. They domesticated animals like cows, horses, sheeps, goats and dogs. They ate simple food consisting of cereals, pulses, fruits, vegetables, milk and various milk products.
Mahajanapadas - By sixth century BC, there were some sixteen large territorial states in North India and upper Deccan known as Mahajanapadas. Important among them were Anga, Magadha, Kosala, Kashi, Kuru, and Panchala.
Persian Invasion
In the first half of the sixth century BC, there were a number of small tribal states in northwest India. There was no sovereign power to unite these warring tribes. The Achaemenid rulers of Persia or Iran took advantage of the political disunity of this region. Cyrus, the founder of the Achaemenid dynasty, and his successor Darius I annexed parts of Punjab and Sindh. The Persian rule in northwestern India lasted for nearly two centuries.
The effects of the Persian Invasion in India:
Greek Invasion
During the fourth century BC, the Greeks and the Persians fought for supremacy over West Asia. The Achaemenid empire was finally destroyed by the Greeks under the leadership of Alexander of Macedon. He conquered Asia Minor, Iraq and Iran and then marched towards India. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, Alexander was greatly attracted towards India because of its fabulous wealth.
Prior to Alexander’s invasion, northwestern India was divided into a number of small principalities. Lack of unity among them helped the Greeks to conquer these principalities one after another. However, Alexander’s army refused to march ahead when they heard about the vast army and the strength of the Nandas of Magadha. Alexander had to return. He died at Babylon at the young age of 32 on his way back to Macedon. Though the contact between the Macedonians and ancient Indians was for a brief period, its impact was fairly wide in range. Alexander’s invasion brought Europe, for the first time, in close contact with India, as routes, by sea and by land, were opened between India and the West.
The influence of Greek art is found in the development of Indian sculpture as well. The combination of the Greek and the Indian style formed the Gandhara School of art. Indians also learnt the art of making well-shaped and beautifully designed gold and silver coins from the Greeks.
Alexander’s invasion paved the way for political unification of north western India by conquering the warring tribes of this region.
Mauryan Empire
Soon after Alexander’s departure, Chandragupta defeated one of his generals, Seleucus Nikator and brought the whole of north western India upto Afghanistan under his control. The Mauryan Empire was a geographical historical power and was based across the gangetic plains of India. The empire was very successful in the fact that they had a standing army and civil service. The empire stretched over almost the entire Indian Subcontinent. The empire was near the junction of the son and Ganges (Ganga) rivers. The people of the Mauryan Empire worshipped Buddhism, Jainism, Ajikika, and Hinduism.
The most famous of the Maurya emperors, Ashoka, is considered to be the most famous ruler in ancient India's history. He was a remarkable ruler - compassionate, tolerant, firm, just and concerned about the welfare of his subjects.
Post-Mauryan Period
Fifty years or so after Ashoka’s death the huge Mauryan empire began to crumble. Outlying provinces fell away, and by the mid-2nd century BCE the empire had shrunk to its core areas. The five centuries that passed between the fall of the Mauryas and rise of the Guptas witnessed a lot of political instability and upheaval in the North of India. The South however remained fairly stable.
Many kingdoms came up in North India. Despite being foreign rulers, they were assimilated in Indian culture and influenced it in many ways. The 3 most important among them were:
1. Sunga Empire (185BCE–73 BCE) – East India
They succeeded the Mauryan Empire in Magadha. Pushyamitra Sunga was the first king of this dynasty.
2. Indo-Greek Kingdom (180BCE – 010AD) – North West India
The Greeks were the first foreign power in the sub-continent. After Alexander left, his generals stayed back. Hence the term Indo-Greek. They brought the Greek culture. Menander(165-145 BC) was the most important king in this time. In Pali Literature he is known as Milinda.
3. Indo-Scythian or Sakas (200 BC–400 AD) – West India
Sakas or Scythians where nomadic Central Asian tribes who destroyed the Indo-Greek rule in north-western India. They were pushed out from Central Asia and came to India. The Sakas were divided in five branches. Around 100AD, they give rise to Kushana Empire and Western Kshatrapas.
The succession of states in the northwest nourished a distinctive culture which modern scholars call the Gandhara civilization. This was a fusion of Indian, Greek and Persian elements. Buddhism was the predominant religion here, and Gandhara's position astride the Silk Road spread its influence far and wide. Most notably its missionaries carried Buddhism to China. Gandhara also had a deep cultural influence within the Indian subcontinent. The art and architecture of the Gupta empire owed a large debt to it.
Society and Economy in Ancient India
The Vedic Age was a dark age in Indian history, in that it was a time of violent upheaval, and no written records from that period have survived to illuminate it. It was, however, one of the most formative eras of ancient Indian civilization. So far as society is concerned, the coming of Aryans into ancient India, and their establishing themselves as the dominant group, gave rise to the caste system. This divided Indian society into rigid layers, underpinned by religious rules. Originally, there were just four castes - priests, warriors, farmers and traders, and menial workers. Outside the case system altogether, excluded from Aryan-dominated society, were the Untouchables.
As early Aryan society evolved into the more settled and more urban society of ancient India, these caste divisions persisted. New religious movements, the Jains and Buddhists, rebelled against it, preaching that all men are equal. However, caste was never overthrown. As time went on, it became more complex and more rigid. It has endured right up to the present day.
In the earliest times, many hunter-gatherer groups inhabited much of the Indian sub-continent. However, the economic history of ancient India is one of agricultural advances. The use of iron spread from the Middle East from around 800 BCE, making farming more productive and populations grew. At first, this occurred on the plains of northern India. However, iron-age farming gradually spread throughout the entire subcontinent. The hunter-gatherers were squeezed more and more into the forests and hills of India, eventually to take up farming themselves and being incorporated into Aryan society as new castes.
The spread of iron-age farming was a crucial development in the history of ancient India as it led to the rebirth of urban civilization in the subcontinent. Cities grew up, trade expanded, metal currency appeared, and an alphabetical script came into use.
These developments were consolidated under the Mauryan empire and its successors, and urban civilization spread throughout India.
Government in Ancient India
The civilizations of ancient India had their own different governments.
In the Indus Valley Civilization, priests and kings were at the head of government.
The Maurya Empire boasted a stable, centralized government that allowed the flourishing of trade and culture.
The Mauryan Empire was spread out between 4 provinces; Tosali, Ujjain, Suvarnagiri, and Taxila. Their Empire was considered a Monarchy and had both a working army and civil service. They used a bureaucratic system for economy. The Mauryans were known for their focal government. Chandragupta Maurya built up the magnificent capital of Pataliputra and afterward split the empire into four areas for hierarchical and administering purposes. Tsali was the capital of the eastern area, Ujjain in the west, Savarn in the south, and Taxila in the north. The Kumara was the leader of all the common administration. He controlled as the lord's delegate and was helped by Mahamatyas, the Council of Ministers. In the national government, the Emperor was additionally helped by a Council of Ministers called Mantriparishad.
The pattern of government that emerged in the post-Maurya centuries was a looser form of administration. Thus, opening the gates to foreign invaders and civil wars. As Mauryan power weakened, the smaller provinces became powerful regional kingdoms in their own right, covering a territory far greater than the ancient Aryan homeland of northern India and reaching down into southern India.
Even the government in the Gupta empire was largely decentralized, where local authorities, social groups, and powerful trade guilds retained significant autonomy. Gupta administration was tolerant of local variations and did not discriminate unfairly among Hindus, Buddhists, or Jains.
The civilization of ancient India was an astonishing seedbed of religious innovation. Reconstructing the Indus Valley civilization's religion is impossible, but there are strong clues that it had a major impact on the subsequent religious history of India. In any case, the next period of ancient Indian history, the Vedic age, saw the rise of a belief system that was foundational to all later Indian religions.
This is sometimes called the Vedic religion, or Brahmanism. It revolved around a pantheon of gods and goddesses, but also came to include the concept of the “Cycle of Life” – reincarnation of the soul from one creature (including both animals and humans) to another.
Later, the idea of the material world being an illusion became widespread. Such ideas were emphasized more strongly in the new teachings of Jainism and Buddhism, which both also had their origins in ancient India, in the years around 500 BCE.
Jainism was founded by Mahariva (“The Great Hero”, lived c. 540-468 BCE). He emphasized an aspect already present in early Hinduism, non-violence to all living things. He also promoted the renunciation of worldly desires and an ascetic way of life.
Buddhism was founded by Gautama Siddharta, the Buddha (“The Enlightened One”, lived c. 565 to 485 BCE). He came to believe that extreme asceticism was not a fruitful basis for spiritual life. However, like Jains, he believed that the release from worldly desires was the way to salvation. In daily life, Buddhists emphasized the importance of ethical behavior.
Both Buddhism and Jainism flourished under the Mauryan empire and its successors. Some scholars believe that it was under Ashoka that Buddhism became established as a major religion within ancient India. in the kingdoms which succeeded the Maurya empire, many kings, in all parts of India, were happy to promote all three religious strands, Brahmanism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Indeed the extent to which they were seen as distinct religions (if such a concept even existed in India at that time) is open to question.
The most famous of the empires of Ancient India is the Gupta Empire. People call the time of Gupta Empire the 'Golden Age of India' because it was very peaceful and prosperous during this time. After four long, successive reigns by Gupta emperors, the empire began to decline in the sixth century. Internal discord, disputed successions, rebelling feudal territories, and destructive incursions by the Hephthalites, or White Huns, from across the mountains of the northwestern border onto the fertile plains took their toll. Gupta rule ended in 550.
