Political & Secular
States, wars, economies and institutions — the history that is not a history of belief.
523 entries
People91
- Abul Kalam AzadAbul Kalam Azad was an Islamic scholar turned Indian nationalist leader who served as Congres…
- Afonso de AlbuquerqueAfonso de Albuquerque was a Portuguese admiral and the second governor of Portuguese India, w…
- AjatashatruAjatashatru was a king of Magadha's Haryanka dynasty, traditionally dated to about 492–460 BC…
- AkbarAkbar, born Jalal-ud-din Muhammad, was the third Mughal emperor, who ruled from 1556 to 1605,…
- Annie BesantAnnie Besant (1847-1933) was a British-born theosophist, social reformer and Indian home rule…
- Archibald Wavell, Lord WavellBritish field marshal who served as Viceroy of India from 1943 to 1947, presiding over the fi…
- AryabhataAryabhata (476 CE – c.
- Ashfaqulla KhanAshfaqulla Khan was a revolutionary of the Hindustan Republican Association executed in 1927…
- AshokaAshoka (reigned c.
- Atal Bihari VajpayeeAtal Bihari Vajpayee (1924–2018) was an Indian statesman and poet who served three terms as p…
- AurangzebAurangzeb (reigned 1658–1707), known also by his regnal title Alamgir, was the sixth Mughal e…
- Bal Gangadhar TilakBal Gangadhar Tilak was a nationalist leader, journalist and Sanskrit scholar who was among t…
- Bappa RawalBappa Rawal, also known as Kalbhoj, is the semi-legendary eighth-century founder of the Guhil…
- Bhagat SinghBhagat Singh (1907-1931) was a revolutionary nationalist and self-described socialist, execut…
- Bhimrao Ramji AmbedkarA jurist, economist and social reformer who led the movement for Dalit rights under colonial…
- Bipin Chandra PalA Bengali nationalist leader, journalist and orator, one of the "Lal-Bal-Pal" triumvirate ass…
- Chakravarti RajagopalachariChakravarti Rajagopalachari was a Congress leader from Madras who served as Premier of Madras…
- Chandragupta IIChandragupta II, also known by the epithet Vikramaditya, was a Gupta emperor who ruled north…
- Chandrashekhar AzadChandrashekhar Azad was an Indian revolutionary who led the Hindustan Socialist Republican As…
- Charles Canning, Earl CanningCharles Canning, 1st Earl Canning, was the last Governor-General of India under East India Co…
- Charles CornwallisCharles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (1738–1805), was a British army officer and colon…
- Charles Hardinge, Lord Hardinge of PenshurstCharles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, was Viceroy of India from 1910 to 1916, du…
- Dadabhai NaorojiDadabhai Naoroji was a Parsi scholar, businessman and early Indian nationalist politician, th…
- Edward Law, Lord EllenboroughBritish statesman who served as Governor-General of India from 1842 to 1844, known for ending…
- Edward Robert Bulwer-Lytton, Lord LyttonEdward Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton, was Viceroy of India from 1876 to 1880, whos…
- Edward Wood, Lord IrwinEdward Wood, 1st Baron Irwin, was Viceroy of India from 1926 to 1931, whose tenure spanned th…
- Francis Rawdon-HastingsFrancis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings, was a British soldier and colonial adminis…
- Frederic Thesiger, Lord ChelmsfordFrederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford, was Viceroy of India from 1916 to 1921, a term sp…
- Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Lord DufferinBritish Viceroy of India from 1884 to 1888, whose tenure saw the annexation of Upper Burma an…
- Freeman Freeman-Thomas, Lord WillingdonFreeman Freeman-Thomas, Marquess of Willingdon, was Viceroy of India from 1931 to 1936, whose…
- Ganga RamSir Ganga Ram (1851-1927) was a civil engineer and philanthropist in colonial Punjab whose ir…
- George Curzon, Lord CurzonLord Curzon was a British statesman who served as Viceroy of India from 1899 to 1905, remembe…
- George Eden, Lord AucklandBritish Governor-General of India from 1836 to 1842, chiefly remembered for launching the Fir…
- George Robinson, Lord RiponGeorge Robinson, first Marquess of Ripon, was Viceroy of India from 1880 to 1884, remembered…
- Gilbert Elliot, 4th Earl of MintoGilbert Elliot, 4th Earl of Minto, was Viceroy of India from 1905 to 1910, a tenure marked by…
- Gilbert Elliot-Murray-KynynmoundGilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto, was Governor-General of India from 1807…
- Gopal Krishna GokhaleGopal Krishna Gokhale was a moderate leader of the Indian National Congress, founder of the S…
- HarshaHarsha Vardhana (r.
- Henry HardingeHenry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge (1785-1856), was a British soldier and statesman who se…
- Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, Lord LansdowneBritish statesman who served as Viceroy of India from 1888 to 1894, overseeing modest legisla…
- James Broun-Ramsay, Lord DalhousieLord Dalhousie was a Scottish nobleman who served as Governor-General of India from 1848 to 1…
- Jawaharlal NehruJawaharlal Nehru was an Indian nationalist leader and the first Prime Minister of independent…
- JayachandraJayachandra (r.
- JayapalaJayapala (r.
- Jayaprakash NarayanA socialist political leader and freedom-movement activist, prominent in the Quit India Movem…
- John LawrenceJohn Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence, was a British administrator who governed Punjab after its…
- John ShoreJohn Shore, later 1st Baron Teignmouth, was Governor-General of Bengal from 1793 to 1798, rem…
- Joseph Francois DupleixJoseph-Francois Dupleix was a French colonial administrator and Governor-General of French In…
- KanishkaKanishka I was a Kushan emperor of the 2nd century CE whose empire spanned Central Asia and n…
- Khan Abdul Ghaffar KhanA Pashtun nationalist leader from the North-West Frontier Province who founded the Khudai Khi…
- Khudiram BoseKhudiram Bose was a Bengali revolutionary hanged at eighteen for his role in the 1908 Muzaffa…
- Kumaragupta IKumaragupta I (r.
- Lala Lajpat RaiA Punjabi nationalist leader, writer and one of the "Lal-Bal-Pal" trio of assertive Congress…
- LalitadityaLalitaditya Muktapida (r.
- Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of BurmaLouis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900-1979), was the last Viceroy of British…
- Mahmud of GhazniMahmud of Ghazni (971–1030 CE) was the ruler of the Ghaznavid empire, centered in present-day…
- Max MullerFriedrich Max Müller (1823–1900) was a German-born philologist at Oxford University whose edi…
- Michael O'DwyerMichael O'Dwyer was Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab from 1913 to 1919, whose administration app…
- Mohandas Karamchand GandhiMohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869–1948) was an Indian lawyer and political leader who develope…
- Motilal NehruMotilal Nehru was an Allahabad lawyer and Indian National Congress leader who served twice as…
- Muhammad Ali JinnahMuhammad Ali Jinnah was a lawyer and politician who led the All-India Muslim League to the de…
- Muhammad bin TughluqMuhammad bin Tughluq (r.
- Narasimhadeva INarasimhadeva I (r.
- Raja DahirRaja Dahir (r.
- Rajendra PrasadRajendra Prasad was an Indian independence movement leader and Congress politician from Bihar…
- Ram Prasad BismilRam Prasad Bismil was a revolutionary nationalist and Hindi and Urdu poet who co-founded the…
- Rana SangaRana Sanga (Sangram Singh, r.
- Ranjit SinghRanjit Singh was the founder and ruler of the Sikh Empire, who unified the Punjab from the mi…
- Reginald DyerReginald Dyer was the British Indian Army officer who ordered troops to fire on an unarmed cr…
- Richard Bourke, Lord MayoRichard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo, was Viceroy of India from 1869 to 1872, remembered for admi…
- Richard WellesleyRichard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, was Governor-General of British India from 1798 to…
- Robert CliveRobert Clive was a British East India Company military officer and administrator whose victor…
- Rufus Isaacs, Lord ReadingRufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading, was a British lawyer, judge and Liberal politician who…
- SambhajiSambhaji Bhosale (1657–1689) was the second Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire, son and succes…
- Sarojini NaiduSarojini Naidu was a poet and nationalist leader who became a prominent figure in the Indian…
- ShashankaShashanka (r.
- ShivajiShivaji Bhonsle (1630–1680) was the founder of the Maratha Empire, crowned Chhatrapati in 167…
- Subhas Chandra BoseSubhas Chandra Bose (1897–1945) was a Bengali nationalist leader who broke with Mahatma Gandh…
- Surya SenSurya Sen was a Bengali schoolteacher and revolutionary who organised and led the 1930 Chitta…
- Thomas Babington MacaulayThomas Babington Macaulay was a British historian, essayist and Whig politician who served as…
- Thomas Baring, Lord NorthbrookThomas Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook, was a British Liberal politician who served as Viceroy…
- Tipu SultanTipu Sultan was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1782 to 1799, known both for his prol…
- Udham SinghUdham Singh was a Punjabi revolutionary who assassinated former Punjab Lieutenant Governor Mi…
- Vallabhbhai PatelVallabhbhai Patel was an Indian independence leader and, as the country's first Deputy Prime…
- Vasco da GamaVasco da Gama was a Portuguese navigator who in 1498 became the first European to reach India…
- Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of ElginVictor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin (1849-1917), served as Viceroy of India from 1894 to 1899, a…
- Victor Hope, Lord LinlithgowBritish Viceroy of India from 1936 to 1943, the longest-serving Viceroy, whose tenure spanned…
- Vinayak Damodar SavarkarVinayak Damodar Savarkar was a nationalist revolutionary, writer and political ideologue whos…
- Warren HastingsWarren Hastings was a British East India Company administrator who served as the first Govern…
- William AmherstWilliam Pitt Amherst, 1st Earl Amherst, was Governor-General of India from 1823 to 1828, whos…
- William BentinckLord William Bentinck was Governor-General of India from 1828 to 1835, remembered chiefly for…
Dynasties & States312
- Ābhīra dynastyThe Ābhīras were a people of the northern Deccan who established a dynasty in the third centu…
- Achaemenid satrapies in IndiaThe Achaemenid satrapies in India were the northwestern provinces of the Persian empire, esta…
- Adil Shahi Sultanate of BijapurThe Adil Shahis ruled Bijapur and the western Deccan for nearly two centuries, and built the…
- ĀgreyaĀgreya was a people of what is now Haryana, attested by coins found at the mound of Agroha, a…
- Ahom dynastyThe Ahom dynasty was a Tai-descended royal line that ruled the Brahmaputra valley of Assam fr…
- Alchon HunsThe Alchon Huns were a Central Asian people who invaded northwestern India from the late four…
- All India Muslim LeagueThe All India Muslim League was a political organization founded in 1906 to safeguard Muslim…
- AlupasThe Alupas ruled the Tulu-speaking coast of Karnataka for a thousand years as feudatories of…
- Ānanda Gotrika dynastyThe Ānanda Gotrikas were a dynasty of the Guntur country in the fourth and fifth centuries CE…
- Andhra Ikṣvāku dynastyThe Andhra Ikṣvākus were the dynasty that succeeded the Sātavāhanas in the lower Krishna vall…
- AṅgaAṅga was a mahājanapada east of Magadha with its capital at Campā, and the first of the great…
- Angres of KolabaThe Angres commanded the Maratha navy from the Konkan forts and for fifty years levied their…
- Anu, Druhyu and TurvaśaAnu, Druhyu and Turvaśa are three peoples named repeatedly in the Ṛgveda who, with the Yadu a…
- Apracharājas and PāratarājasThe Apracharājas and Pāratarājas were two minor dynasties of the northwestern frontier, the f…
- ĀrjunāyanaThe Ārjunāyanas were a corporate people of eastern Rajasthan, known from copper coins bearing…
- Arunachal chiefshipsThe Arunachal hills held dozens of distinct peoples governed by village councils and clan chi…
- Asaf Jahi dynastyThe Asaf Jahi Nizams ruled Hyderabad from 1724 to 1948, the largest and richest princely stat…
- AssakaAssaka was the southernmost of the sixteen mahājanapadas, a kingdom of the Godāvarī valley an…
- AudumbaraThe Audumbaras were a people of the Punjab hill country between the Ravi and the Beas, known…
- Aulikara dynastyThe Aulikaras ruled western Malwa from Daśapura and produced Yaśodharman, the king whose vict…
- AvantiAvanti was a mahājanapada of the Malwa plateau ruled from Ujjayinī, the strongest of Magadha'…
- Āy dynastyThe Āys were a dynasty of the far south of Kerala, beginning as Sangam-age hill chieftains an…
- Āyudha dynastyThe Āyudhas held Kannauj in the late eighth century CE, and their weakness made the city the…
- Baghelas of RewaThe Baghelas ruled Baghelkhand from the thirteenth century until 1948, a durable second-rank…
- Bahmani SultanateThe Bahmani Sultanate ruled the Deccan from 1347 to 1527, the first independent Muslim kingdo…
- Baise RajyaThe Baise Rajya were the twenty-two small kingdoms of the Karnali basin that emerged from the…
- Bāṇa kingdomThe Bāṇas were a long-lived feudatory dynasty of the country where Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and…
- Bangash Nawabs of FarrukhabadThe Bangash Nawabs ruled Farrukhabad in the Doab from 1714, a Pashtun successor state that fo…
- Barid Shahi Sultanate of BidarThe Barid Shahis held Bidar, the old Bahmani capital, from 1489 to 1619, the smallest of the…
- Baro-Bhuyan confederacyThe Baro-Bhuyans were confederacies of independent landholders in Assam and Bengal who govern…
- Bengal SultanateThe Bengal Sultanate ruled the delta for over two centuries from 1352, an independent and pro…
- Bhañja dynastiesThe Bhañjas were a family of dynasties in the interior uplands of Odisha, ruling from the eig…
- Bharatiya Janata PartyThe Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is a Hindu-nationalist political party founded in 1980 that…
- Bhāṭīs of JaisalmerThe Bhāṭīs founded Jaisalmer in 1156 on a ridge in the Thar desert and ruled it until 1949, t…
- Bhauma-Kara dynastyThe Bhauma-Karas ruled coastal Odisha for two centuries from about 736 CE, a Buddhist dynasty…
- Bhonsles of NagpurThe Bhonsles of Nagpur ruled the eastern Maratha territories from 1739 until the state was an…
- Bhulua kingdomBhulua was a small kingdom of southeastern Bengal, in the Noakhali country, holding out in th…
- BilaspurBilaspur, also called Kahlur, was a Sutlej valley state whose capital was submerged in the 19…
- Brahman dynasty of SindhThe Brahman dynasty ruled Sindh for eighty years until the Umayyad general Muhammad bin Qasim…
- Bṛhatphalāyana dynastyThe Bṛhatphalāyanas were a short-lived dynasty of the Andhra coast in the late third century…
- British RajThe British Raj was the period of direct Crown rule over India from 1858 to 1947, following t…
- BushahrBushahr was the largest of the Himachal hill states, running up the Sutlej to the Tibetan fro…
- Candra dynastyThe Candras ruled eastern Bengal from Vikramapura between about 900 and 1050 CE, a Buddhist d…
- Chāhamānas of JālorThe Chāhamānas of Jālor ruled southwestern Rajasthan from the twelfth century until Alauddin…
- Chāhamānas of NaḍḍūlaThe Chāhamānas of Naḍḍūla were a branch of the Śākambharī house that ruled part of Marwar fro…
- Chāhamānas of RanthamboreThe Chāhamānas of Ranthambore were founded by Pṛthvīrāja III's son after the fall of Ajmer, a…
- Chāhamānas of ŚākambharīThe Chāhamānas of Śākambharī were the leading Rajput dynasty of eastern Rajasthan, and their…
- Chak dynasty of KashmirThe Chaks were the last independent dynasty of Kashmir, ruling from 1561 until Akbar annexed…
- Chalukyas of BādāmiThe Chalukyas of Bādāmi ruled the Deccan for two centuries from 543 CE, checked Harṣa at the…
- Chalukyas of LāṭaThe Chalukyas of Lāṭa were a branch of the Bādāmi house governing southern Gujarat, whose rul…
- ChambaChamba was a Himalayan kingdom of the Ravi valley from the sixth century to 1948, whose unbro…
- Chandela dynastyThe Chandelas ruled Bundelkhand from the ninth to the fourteenth century and built the temple…
- ChandradwipChandradwip was a deltaic kingdom of southern Bengal whose Bakla rajas were among the Baro-Bh…
- Chaubisi RajyaThe Chaubisi Rajya were the twenty-four principalities of the Gandaki basin in central Nepal,…
- Chaulukya dynasty of GujaratThe Chaulukyas ruled Gujarat from Patan for three centuries from 942 CE, the period in which…
- Chāvḍā dynastyThe Chāvḍās ruled northern Gujarat before the Chaulukyas, and their king Vanarāja founded Aṇa…
- ChediChedi was a mahājanapada of the Bundelkhand country south of the Yamuna, known from the epics…
- Chhatrapatis of KolhapurThe Chhatrapatis of Kolhapur were the junior branch of Shivaji's line, and their ruler Shahu…
- Chindaka Nāgas of BastarThe Chindaka Nāgas ruled the Bastar country of southern Chhattisgarh from about 1000 to 1324…
- ChitralChitral was a Hindu Kush principality under the Kator mehtars, containing the Kalash valleys…
- Chola EmpireThe Chola Empire ruled the Tamil country from 848 to 1279, at its height controlling southern…
- Chudasamas of SaurashtraThe Chudasamas ruled Sorath in southern Saurashtra from Junagadh for six centuries, until the…
- Chutia kingdomThe Chutia kingdom held upper Assam around Sadiya from the twelfth century until the Ahoms de…
- Cuṭu dynastyThe Cuṭus were a dynasty of northern Karnataka centred on Banavāsi who ruled the southwestern…
- Danish IndiaDanish India consisted of Tranquebar on the Tamil coast and Serampore in Bengal, small settle…
- Deva dynastyThe Devas ruled Samataṭa in southeastern Bengal in the eighth and ninth centuries CE, Buddhis…
- Doti kingdomDoti was a kingdom of far-western Nepal ruled by the Raika kings, one of the successor states…
- The Drukpa theocracy of BhutanThe Drukpa theocracy governed Bhutan from 1616 to 1907 under a dual system of religious and t…
- Dutch IndiaDutch India was the network of Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie factories on the Indian coas…
- Early CherasThe early Cheras ruled the Malabar coast and the western Tamil country in the Sangam age, and…
- Early CholasThe early Cholas were one of the three crowned dynasties of the Tamil country in the Sangam a…
- East India CompanyThe East India Company (EIC) was an English joint-stock trading corporation, chartered in 160…
- Eastern Chalukyas of VengiThe Eastern Chalukyas ruled coastal Andhra for five and a half centuries from 624 CE, and und…
- Eastern Ganga dynastyThe Eastern Gangas ruled Kalinga for nearly a thousand years, and under them the Jagannātha t…
- French IndiaFrench India was the set of five coastal enclaves held by France from the seventeenth century…
- Gaekwads of BarodaThe Gaekwads ruled Baroda from 1721 to 1949, and under Sayajirao Gaekwad III the state introd…
- Gajapati dynastyThe Gajapatis ruled Odisha from 1434 to 1541 and briefly held the eastern seaboard from the G…
- Garhwal kingdomThe Panwar dynasty ruled Garhwal from the ninth century until 1949, a Himalayan kingdom conta…
- Garo nokma chiefdomsThe Garo hills were governed by village chiefdoms under a nokma rather than by any kingdom, a…
- Gauḍa kingdomGauḍa was the kingdom of Śaśāṅka, the first ruler to unify Bengal as an independent power in…
- Gohil dynastyThe Gohils migrated from Marwar to eastern Saurashtra in the thirteenth century and gave thei…
- Greco-Bactrian KingdomThe Greco-Bactrian Kingdom was a Hellenistic state in northern Afghanistan and Central Asia,…
- Guhilas of ChatsuThe Guhilas of Chatsu were a branch of the Guhila family that held territory south of modern…
- Guhilas of MedapāṭaThe Guhilas ruled Medapāṭa — Mewar — from about the seventh century, holding Chittor until Al…
- Gujarat SultanateThe Gujarat Sultanate ruled the western seaboard from 1407 to 1573, founded Ahmedabad, and de…
- GulerGuler was a small Kangra-valley state whose court produced the Guler school of painting and t…
- Gupta EmpireThe Gupta Empire was a dynasty that ruled much of northern and central India from the early f…
- Gurjara-Pratihāra EmpireThe Gurjara-Pratihāras ruled northern India from Kannauj for two centuries from the mid-eight…
- Gurjaras of NandipurīThe Gurjaras of Nandipurī ruled the Lāṭa country of southern Gujarat from the late sixth cent…
- Guttas of GuttavolalThe Guttas were a feudatory family of the Dharwad country in northern Karnataka, claiming des…
- Habbari dynastyThe Habbaris ruled Sindh from Mansura for some hundred and seventy years from 854 CE, the fir…
- Habsburg and Trieste companiesThe Habsburg trading companies based at Trieste made a brief attempt at an Indian presence in…
- Hāḍā Chauhans of Bundi and KotaThe Hāḍās were a Chāhamāna branch that ruled the Hadoti country of southeastern Rajasthan fro…
- Hindu Shahi dynastyA Hindu dynasty that ruled Kabul, Gandhara, and the Punjab from the mid-9th to the early 11th…
- Holkars of IndoreThe Holkars ruled Indore and western Malwa from 1731 to 1948, and their queen Ahilyabai rebui…
- The house of Yaśovarman of KannaujYaśovarman ruled at Kannauj in the first half of the eighth century CE, briefly restoring an…
- Hoysala dynastyThe Hoysalas ruled southern Karnataka from the eleventh to the fourteenth century and built a…
- HunzaHunza was a Karakoram principality whose people speak Burushaski, a language unrelated to any…
- Imad Shahi Sultanate of BerarThe Imad Shahis ruled Berar from 1490 to 1572, the first of the five Deccan sultanates to be…
- Indian National ArmyThe Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) was an armed force raised during the Second World W…
- Indian National CongressThe Indian National Congress is India's oldest political party, founded in 1885 as a forum fo…
- Indo-Greek KingdomThe Indo-Greek kingdoms were the states ruled by Greek dynasties in Gandhāra and the Punjab f…
- Indo-Parthian KingdomThe Indo-Parthian Kingdom was a state founded by Gondophares in the first century CE across S…
- Indo-Scythian KingdomThe Indo-Scythians were Śaka rulers from Central Asia who took the Indus country and the Punj…
- Indus Valley CivilizationThe Indus Valley Civilization (IVC), also called the Harappan Civilization, was a Bronze Age…
- Jadeja dynasty of KutchThe Jadejas ruled Kutch from the twelfth century until 1948, a desert and coastal kingdom who…
- Jaintia kingdomThe Jaintia kingdom held the hills and the adjoining Sylhet plain until 1835, a matrilineal K…
- Jaunpur SultanateThe Sharqi sultans ruled the eastern Ganga plain from Jaunpur for eighty-five years, and made…
- Jethwa dynastyThe Jethwas ruled the Barda hills and the Porbandar coast of Saurashtra from the medieval per…
- Kacchapaghāta dynastyThe Kacchapaghātas ruled the Gwalior region between the tenth and twelfth centuries, and buil…
- Kachari kingdomThe Kachari or Dimasa kingdom ruled central and southern Assam from Dimapur and later Maibang…
- Kachwahas of DhūṇḍhāḍThe Kachwahas ruled Dhūṇḍhāḍ from Amber and later Jaipur, were the first Rajput house to ente…
- Kadamba dynastyThe Kadambas of Banavāsi were the first indigenous dynasty of Karnataka, founded in the fourt…
- Kadambas of GoaThe Kadambas of Goa ruled the Konkan coast from the tenth to the fourteenth century, and thei…
- Kadambas of HangalThe Kadambas of Hangal ruled northern Karnataka as Western Chalukya feudatories from the tent…
- Kākatīya dynastyThe Kākatīyas ruled the Telugu country from Warangal for a century and a half, were governed…
- KaḷabhrasThe Kaḷabhras were a power that displaced the Tamil kingdoms for some three centuries after t…
- Kalachuris of KalyāṇiThe Kalachuris of Kalyāṇi held the Deccan for twenty-five years in the twelfth century, and i…
- Kalachuris of MāhiṣmatīThe early Kalachuris ruled the Narmada valley and the northern Deccan in the sixth and early…
- Kalachuris of RatnapuraThe Kalachuris of Ratnapura were a branch of the Tripurī house that ruled Chhattisgarh from a…
- Kalachuris of SarayūpāraThe Kalachuris of Sarayūpāra were a minor branch of the family that ruled the country north o…
- Kalachuris of TripurīThe Kalachuris of Tripurī ruled the Chedi country of central India for four centuries, reachi…
- Kāmatā kingdomKāmatā was the kingdom that succeeded Kāmarūpa in western Assam and north Bengal from the thi…
- KambojaKamboja was a people of the Kabul valley and the northwestern highlands, counted among the ma…
- Kamboja-Pāla dynastyThe Kamboja-Pālas were a dynasty that seized part of Bengal from the Pālas in the tenth centu…
- Kangra and the Katoch dynastyThe Katoch rajas of Kangra claimed descent from the ancient Trigarta and, under Sansar Chand…
- Kāṇva dynastyThe Kāṇvas were a short-lived brahmin dynasty that displaced the Śuṅgas in Magadha in the fir…
- Karkoṭa dynastyThe Karkoṭas ruled Kashmir from the seventh to the ninth century CE, and under Lalitāditya th…
- Karṇāṭa dynasty of MithilāThe Karṇāṭas ruled Mithilā from Simraungarh for over two centuries from 1097, a dynasty of so…
- KāśīKāśī was a mahājanapada of the middle Ganga around Vārāṇasī, an old and wealthy kingdom that…
- Katyūrī dynastyThe Katyūrīs ruled the central Himalayan country of what is now Uttarakhand from about 700 to…
- Keladi NayakasThe Keladi Nayakas ruled the Malnad hills and the Karnataka coast from 1499 to 1763, and thei…
- Khaḍga dynastyThe Khaḍgas ruled eastern Bengal in the seventh and eighth centuries CE, a Buddhist dynasty a…
- Khamti chiefship of SadiyaThe Khamti chiefs held Sadiya at the head of the Brahmaputra valley in the late eighteenth an…
- Khaplu, Shigar, Astor and ChilasKhaplu, Shigar, Astor and Chilas were the smaller Baltistan and upper Indus chiefships that r…
- Khasa Malla kingdomThe Khasa Mallas ruled the Karnali basin and much of the western Himalaya from Sinja between…
- Khasi hima statesThe Khasi hima were some twenty-five small states of the Meghalaya hills, each governed by an…
- Khen dynasty of KāmatāThe Khens were the last dynasty of the Kāmatā kingdom, ruling for some sixty years until the…
- Khokhar chiefsThe Khokhars were a Punjab people whose chiefs resisted the Delhi Sultanate for three centuri…
- KidaritesThe Kidarites were a Central Asian dynasty that took the former Kushan territories of Bactria…
- KīkaṭaKīkaṭa is a people named once in the Ṛgveda, in a hostile aside, and identified by later comm…
- Kingdom of CochinThe kingdom of Cochin ruled central Kerala from the twelfth century until 1949, and by allyin…
- Kingdom of PongPong or Möng Mao was a Tai kingdom of the upper Irrawaddy country, significant for Indian his…
- Kingdom of TravancoreTravancore was the kingdom Marthanda Varma built out of Venāḍ from 1729, notable for defeatin…
- Kirāta dynastyThe Kirātas are the dynasty Nepali tradition places before the Licchavis in the Kathmandu val…
- Koch dynastyThe Koch dynasty ruled western Assam and north Bengal from 1515, reached its height under Nar…
- Koch HajoKoch Hajo was the eastern half of the divided Koch kingdom, lasting a single generation befor…
- KolathunāḍuKolathunāḍu was the north Malabar kingdom that succeeded the Mūṣikas, ruling from Chirakkal,…
- Koṭas of DharaṇikoṭaThe Koṭas ruled Dharaṇikoṭa on the Krishna from the eleventh to the fourteenth century, the s…
- KṣudrakaThe Kṣudrakas were a martial clan people of the central Punjab who, in alliance with the Māla…
- KulluKullu was a kingdom of the upper Beas valley whose rajas ceded sovereignty to the god Raghuna…
- KulūtaKulūta was a small hill state of the upper Beas valley, attested by a coinage naming its rule…
- Kumaon kingdomThe Chand dynasty ruled Kumaon from Champawat and later Almora until the Gorkha conquest of 1…
- KuṇindaThe Kuṇindas were a hill people of the Himalayan foothills between the Yamuna and the Sutlej,…
- Kushan EmpireThe Kushan Empire (c.
- KutlehrKutlehr was one of the smallest of the Punjab hill states, holding a few valleys in the Himac…
- Later CherasThe Later Cheras ruled Kerala from Mahodayapuram between about 800 and 1124 CE, and their cha…
- Later GuptasThe Later Guptas were a dynasty that ruled Magadha and at times Malwa from the late fifth to…
- Licchavi dynasty of NepalThe Licchavis ruled the Kathmandu valley from about 400 to 750 CE, the first historically doc…
- Lodi dynastyThe Lodis were the last dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, the first of Afghan rather than Turki…
- Lohara dynastyThe Loharas ruled Kashmir from 1003 to 1320, a period of increasing disorder that Kalhaṇa rec…
- Macedonian satrapies in IndiaThe Macedonian satrapies in India were the short-lived provinces Alexander established in the…
- MadraMadra was a kingdom of the central Punjab around Śākala, named in later Vedic literature and…
- MagadhaMagadha was an ancient kingdom of the eastern Gangetic plain, centered on present-day Bihar,…
- MahābhojasThe Mahābhojas were chiefs of the Konkan coast under Sātavāhana overlordship, attested by don…
- Mahāmeghavāhana dynastyThe Mahāmeghavāhanas were the dynasty that restored Kalinga after its devastation by Aśoka, a…
- MahārathisThe Mahārathis were a class of chiefs of the western Deccan who served the Sātavāhanas as feu…
- Maitraka dynastyThe Maitrakas ruled Saurashtra and Gujarat for three centuries from Vallabhī, a city whose Bu…
- MālavaThe Mālavas were a people who fought Alexander in the Punjab, migrated southeast into Rajasth…
- MallaThe Mallas were a clan people of eastern Uttar Pradesh, organised as two gaṇa-saṅghas around…
- Malla dynasty of BishnupurThe Malla kings of Bishnupur ruled the Bankura country of western Bengal for over a thousand…
- Malla dynasty of NepalThe Mallas ruled the Kathmandu valley from the thirteenth century to 1769, and their division…
- Malwa SultanateThe Malwa Sultanate ruled central India from 1392 to 1562, and built at Mandu one of the most…
- Mamluk dynasty of DelhiThe Mamluk dynasty founded the Delhi Sultanate in 1206, ruled northern India for eighty-four…
- MandiMandi was a Himalayan state of the Beas valley founded in 1527, known for its stone temples a…
- ManipurManipur was ruled by the Ningthouja dynasty from the Kangla at Imphal, and its court chronicl…
- Maqpon dynasty of SkarduThe Maqpon dynasty ruled Baltistan from Skardu, a Tibetan-speaking Muslim country called Litt…
- Maratha EmpireThe Maratha Empire was a Hindu warrior state that rose in the Deccan under Chhatrapati Shivaj…
- MaryulMaryul was the first kingdom of Ladakh, founded around 930 by a descendant of the Tibetan imp…
- Matak stateThe Matak state was carved out of upper Assam by the Moamaria rebels in 1805, the political o…
- Māṭhara dynastyThe Māṭharas ruled Kalinga in the fourth and fifth centuries CE, the first dynasty after the…
- MatsyaMatsya was a mahājanapada of eastern Rajasthan with its capital at Virāṭanagara, best known a…
- Maukhari dynastyThe Maukharis ruled from Kannauj in the sixth century CE, made it the leading city of norther…
- Maurya EmpireThe Maurya Empire was the first state to rule most of the Indian subcontinent, founded by Can…
- The Mitra dynastiesThe Mitra dynasties were local ruling houses of the Ganga–Yamuna country between the Mauryas…
- Mizo chiefdomsThe Mizo hills were held by hereditary chiefs, chiefly of the Sailo clan, each ruling a villa…
- MoirangMoirang was one of the principalities of the Manipur valley before Ningthouja unification, th…
- Mughal EmpireThe Mughal Empire was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Timurid and Chagatai descent that ruled…
- Multan SultanateThe Langah sultans ruled Multan and southern Punjab from 1445 to 1528, in the gap between the…
- Mūṣika dynastyThe Mūṣikas ruled north Malabar from Ezhimala from the Sangam age onward, and are the subject…
- Musunuri NayaksThe Musunuri Nayaks were Kākatīya officers who combined after the fall of Warangal in 1323 to…
- Mysore under Hyder Ali and Tipu SultanHyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan ruled Mysore from 1761 to 1799, fought four wars against th…
- Naga village republicsThe Naga hills were divided among independent villages, each a sovereign unit governed by its…
- NagarNagar was the principality facing Hunza across the same river gorge, ruled by the Maglot dyna…
- Nāgas of PadmāvatīThe Nāgas of Padmāvatī were a dynasty of central India in the third and fourth centuries CE,…
- Nāgavaṃśī of ChotanagpurThe Nāgavaṃśīs ruled the Chotanagpur plateau, claiming descent from a serpent ancestor, and s…
- Nala dynastyThe Nalas ruled the forested country of Bastar and Koraput in the fifth and sixth centuries C…
- NalagarhNalagarh, also called Hindur, was a small state of the Himachal foothills founded as a branch…
- Namgyal dynasty of LadakhThe Namgyals ruled Ladakh from Leh from the fifteenth century until the Dogra conquest of 184…
- Namgyal dynasty of SikkimThe Namgyal chogyals ruled Sikkim from 1642 until 1975, when a referendum abolished the monar…
- Nanda dynastyThe Nandas were the dynasty that ruled Magadha immediately before the Mauryas, remembered for…
- Nawabs of AwadhThe Nawabs of Awadh ruled the central Ganga plain from Lucknow until the British annexed the…
- Nawabs of BengalThe Nawabs of Bengal ruled the richest province of the Mughal empire from Murshidabad, and th…
- Nawabs of BhopalThe Nawabs of Bhopal ruled central India from 1707 to 1949, and for over a century the state…
- Nawabs of the CarnaticThe Nawabs of the Carnatic ruled the Tamil country from Arcot, and the contest over their suc…
- Nayaks of GingeeThe Nayaks of Gingee ruled the northern Tamil country from a fortress spanning three hills th…
- Nayaks of MaduraiThe Nayaks of Madurai ruled the southern Tamil country for two centuries from 1529, and under…
- Nayaks of ThanjavurThe Nayaks of Thanjavur ruled the Kaveri delta from 1532 to 1673, a Telugu-speaking dynasty i…
- Nellore CholasThe Nellore Cholas ruled southern Andhra between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, and th…
- Nikumbha dynastyThe Nikumbhas were a minor dynasty attested in the Alwar country of Rajasthan and later in Kh…
- Nizam Shahi Sultanate of AhmadnagarThe Nizam Shahis ruled Ahmadnagar from 1490 to 1636, the Deccan sultanate that fought the Mug…
- NolambasThe Nolambas ruled Nolambavāḍi, the dry country on the Karnataka–Andhra border, from the eigh…
- The Northern SatrapsThe Northern Satraps were Śaka governors who ruled at Mathurā in the first centuries BCE and…
- NurpurNurpur was a Pathania state on the Punjab–Himachal border, renamed for the Mughal empress Nur…
- Oinwar dynastyThe Oinwars ruled Mithilā for two centuries after the fall of the Karṇāṭas, and their court p…
- Ostend CompanyThe Ostend Company was an imperial trading venture from the Austrian Netherlands that maintai…
- Pāla dynasty of KāmarūpaThe Pālas of Kāmarūpa ruled Assam from about 900 to 1100 CE, the last dynasty of the old Kāma…
- Pallava dynastyThe Pallavas ruled the northern Tamil country from Kāñcīpuram for six centuries, fought the C…
- PanchalaPanchala was a later Vedic kingdom of the upper Ganga–Yamuna Doab that, with its neighbour Ku…
- Pāṇḍuvaṃśins of Dakṣiṇa KosalaThe Pāṇḍuvaṃśins ruled Dakṣiṇa Kosala from Sirpur between the sixth and eighth centuries CE,…
- Paramāra dynasty of MalwaThe Paramāras ruled Malwa from Dhārā for five centuries, and their king Bhoja was the most ce…
- Paramāras of ArbudaThe Paramāras of Arbuda ruled the Mount Abu country from Chandrāvatī, and it was under their…
- Paramāras of Bhīnmāl and JālorThe Paramāras of Bhīnmāl and Jālor were a minor branch of the family holding southwestern Raj…
- Paramāras of VāgaḍaThe Paramāras of Vāgaḍa were a branch of the Malwa house that ruled the hill country between…
- Parivrājaka and Uccakalpa mahārājasThe Parivrājakas and the mahārājas of Uccakalpa were two feudatory houses of central India in…
- The Paurava kingdom of PorusThe Paurava kingdom was a Punjab state between the Jhelum and the Chenab whose king, called P…
- The PeshwasThe Peshwas were the hereditary chief ministers who ruled the Maratha empire from Pune for a…
- Portuguese IndiaPortuguese India was the first and the last European territorial presence in the subcontinent…
- Pottapi CholasThe Pottapi Cholas were a Telugu Choda branch ruling from Pottapi in the Cuddapah country bet…
- PrāgjyotiṣaPrāgjyotiṣa is the name the epics give to the kingdom of the Brahmaputra valley, ruled by Nar…
- Puars of Dhar and DewasThe Puars held Dhar and the two Dewas states in Malwa from 1728 to 1948, Maratha commanders w…
- PuruThe Puru were a Ṛgvedic tribe of the Punjab, remembered chiefly as the leading opponents of t…
- Puṣyabhūti dynastyThe Puṣyabhūtis were the dynasty of Thanesar whose king Harṣa ruled most of northern India fr…
- Qutb Shahi Sultanate of GolcondaThe Qutb Shahis ruled Golconda and the Telugu country from 1518 to 1687, founded Hyderabad, a…
- Rai dynasty of SindhThe Rai dynasty ruled Sindh from Alor for some hundred and forty years until 632 CE, a Buddhi…
- RājanyaRājanya was a people attested by copper coins bearing the legend of the Rājanya janapada, one…
- Rathores of MarwarThe Rathores ruled Marwar from the thirteenth century and founded Jodhpur in 1459, becoming w…
- Rattas of SaundattiThe Rattas ruled the Belgaum country of northern Karnataka from the ninth to the thirteenth c…
- Recherla NayakasThe Recherla Nayakas ruled the hill forts of Rachakonda and Devarakonda in Telangana through…
- Reddy kingdom of KondaviduThe Reddy kingdom of Kondavidu ruled coastal Andhra for a century from 1325, and its patronag…
- Reddy kingdom of RajahmundryThe Reddy kingdom of Rajahmundry was the northern half of the Reddy state, ruling the Godāvar…
- Renāṭi CholasThe Renāṭi Cholas ruled the Cuddapah country from the sixth to the eighth century, and their…
- Republic of IndiaThe Republic of India succeeded the British Raj in 1947 as a dominion and in 1950 as a republ…
- Rohilkhand and the RohillasRohilkhand was the state the Pashtun Rohillas built north of the Ganges in the eighteenth cen…
- Śailodbhava dynastyThe Śailodbhavas ruled the Koṅgoda country around Chilika lake in coastal Odisha between the…
- Saindhava dynastyThe Saindhavas ruled western Saurashtra from the eighth to the tenth century, styling themsel…
- Śālaṅkāyana dynastyThe Śālaṅkāyanas ruled the Vengī country of coastal Andhra in the fourth and fifth centuries…
- Śālastambha dynastyThe Śālastambhas ruled Kāmarūpa for two and a half centuries after the Varmans, a dynasty the…
- ŚālvaŚālva was a people of the country between Rajasthan and Haryana, named in the later Vedic lit…
- Samma dynastyThe Sammas ruled Sindh from Thatta for nearly two centuries from 1351, a period regarded as t…
- Śarabhapurīya dynastyThe Śarabhapurīyas ruled Dakṣiṇa Kosala, the upper Mahanadi basin of modern Chhattisgarh, in…
- Sātavāhana EmpireThe Sātavāhanas were the first great power of the Deccan, ruling from the Konkan to the Andhr…
- Sayyid dynastyThe Sayyids ruled Delhi from 1414 to 1451, in the aftermath of Timur's invasion, when the Sul…
- Scindias of GwaliorThe Scindias ruled Gwalior and much of central India from 1731 to 1948, and under Mahadji Sci…
- Sena dynastyThe Senas were the last Hindu dynasty to rule Bengal, displacing the Pālas in the twelfth cen…
- SendrakasThe Sendrakas were a feudatory family of the Deccan in the sixth to eighth centuries, holding…
- Seuṇa Yādavas of DevagiriThe Seuṇa Yādavas ruled the Marathi-speaking Deccan from the hill fortress of Devagiri for ov…
- Shah dynasty of NepalThe Shah dynasty ruled Gorkha from 1559 and Nepal from 1769 until the monarchy was abolished…
- Shah Mir dynasty of KashmirThe Shah Mirs ruled Kashmir from 1339 to 1561, the dynasty under which the valley became Musl…
- Shimla Hill StatesThe Shimla Hill States were some twenty-eight small principalities of the Sutlej–Yamuna water…
- Sikh EmpireThe Sikh Empire ruled the Punjab and the northwest from Lahore between 1799 and 1849, the las…
- ŚilāhārasThe Śilāhāras ruled the Konkan coast and the Kolhapur country in three branches for five cent…
- Sindas of YelburgaThe Sindas were a feudatory family of northern Karnataka under the Western Chalukyas, ruling…
- SirmurSirmur was a hill state of the Himachal foothills whose recovery from Gorkha occupation in 18…
- Sisodia dynasty of MewarThe Sisodias ruled Mewar from 1326 until 1949, the senior house among the Rajput dynasties, a…
- Śiśunāga dynastyThe Śiśunāgas were a Magadhan dynasty of the fifth and fourth centuries BCE, credited with th…
- Somavaṃśī dynastyThe Somavaṃśīs moved from Dakṣiṇa Kosala into coastal Odisha in the tenth century and unified…
- Soomra dynastyThe Soomras ruled Sindh for three centuries after the fall of the Habbaris, the first dynasty…
- Spiti and Lahaul chiefshipsSpiti and Lahaul were trans-Himalayan valleys governed by local chiefs under Ladakhi and then…
- SuketSuket was one of the older hill states of Himachal, ruled by a Sen dynasty from which Mandi s…
- Śuṅga dynastyThe Śuṅgas were the dynasty that replaced the Mauryas in 185 BCE, ruling Magadha and central…
- Sur EmpireThe Sur Empire ruled northern India for sixteen years after Sher Shah Suri drove Humayun out…
- ŚūrasenaŚūrasena was a mahājanapada of the Mathurā country, the kingdom in whose territory the Kṛṣṇa…
- Telugu CholasThe Telugu Cholas were a group of related dynasties in the Andhra country claiming Chola desc…
- Thakuri periodThe Thakuri period covers the four and a half centuries between the Licchavis and the Mallas…
- Tomaras of DelhiThe Tomaras ruled the Delhi region before the Chauhans, and are credited with founding the se…
- Tomaras of GwaliorThe Tomaras ruled Gwalior for a century and a quarter from 1394, and under Mān Singh Tomar th…
- Traikūṭaka dynastyThe Traikūṭakas ruled the northern Konkan and the Gujarat coast in the third to fifth centuri…
- Trakhan dynasty of GilgitThe Trakhan dynasty ruled Gilgit from the fourteenth century until the Dogra conquest, in a v…
- TrigartaTrigarta was a polity of the Jalandhar Doab and the Kangra hills, named as a corporation in P…
- Tughlaq dynastyThe Tughlaqs ruled Delhi from 1320 to 1414, took the Sultanate to its greatest extent under M…
- Turk Shahi dynastyThe Turk Shahis ruled the Kabul valley and Gandhāra from the seventh to the ninth century CE,…
- Twipra kingdomThe Twipra kingdom was ruled by the Manikya dynasty from the fourteenth century until 1949, a…
- UddehikaUddehika was a people of central India, in the country around Vidiśā, attested by a copper co…
- Uśīnara and the ŚibiUśīnara and Śibi were related peoples of the Punjab, remembered in Vedic and Buddhist literat…
- Utpala dynastyThe Utpalas ruled Kashmir from 855 to 1003 CE, a period that produced the valley's great hydr…
- Vāghela dynastyThe Vāghelas were the last Hindu dynasty of Gujarat, ruling from Patan for sixty years until…
- VaidumbasThe Vaidumbas were a dynasty of the Rayalaseema uplands between the ninth and twelfth centuri…
- Vajji confederacyThe Vajji confederacy was a league of clans in north Bihar governed by an assembly at Vaiśālī…
- Vākāṭaka dynastyThe Vākāṭakas ruled the northern Deccan from the third to the fifth century CE, were bound to…
- Valluvanāḍ and Palakkad chieftainciesValluvanāḍ and Palakkad were central Kerala chieftaincies caught between Calicut and Cochin,…
- Varman dynasty of BengalThe Varmans ruled eastern Bengal from Vikramapura in the eleventh and twelfth centuries CE, b…
- Varman dynasty of KāmarūpaThe Varmans were the first historically documented dynasty of Assam, ruling Kāmarūpa from abo…
- VatsaVatsa was a mahājanapada at the confluence of the Ganga and the Yamuna, ruled from Kauśāmbī,…
- Velanāṭi CholasThe Velanāṭi Cholas governed coastal Andhra for the Chola empire from the late eleventh centu…
- Vēḷir chieftainciesThe Vēḷir were the chieftains of the Tamil country who ruled the hill and forest tracts betwe…
- Velugoti Nayaks of VenkatagiriThe Velugoti Nayaks of Venkatagiri were Velama chiefs who served Vijayanagara, held their ter…
- VemakaVemaka was a people of the eastern Punjab attested only by a small series of copper coins bea…
- VenāḍVenāḍ was the southern Kerala principality that emerged from the Chera collapse and grew into…
- Vijayanagara EmpireVijayanagara was the last great empire of southern India, founded on the Tungabhadra in 1336,…
- Viṣṇukuṇḍin dynastyThe Viṣṇukuṇḍins ruled coastal Andhra and Telangana for two centuries from about 420 CE, the…
- Vṛṣṇi corporationThe Vṛṣṇi corporation was a clan body of the Mathurā country attested by a coin issued in the…
- Wangchuck dynasty of BhutanThe Wangchuck dynasty has ruled Bhutan since 1907 and is the only monarchy of the Indian Hima…
- Western Chalukyas of KalyāṇiThe Western Chalukyas ruled the Deccan from Kalyāṇi between 973 and 1189 CE, fought the Chola…
- Western Ganga dynastyThe Western Gangas ruled southern Karnataka for some six centuries from about 350 CE, and the…
- Western SatrapsThe Western Satraps, or Kṣatrapas, were a series of Indo-Scythian (Śaka) ruling houses that g…
- Wodeyars of MysoreThe Wodeyars ruled Mysore from 1399 to 1950, first as Vijayanagara feudatories, then as an in…
- Yadu and the Yādava lineageYadu was a Ṛgvedic people whose name became, in later tradition, the great Yādava lineage of…
- Yajvapāla dynastyThe Yajvapālas ruled the Narwar country of central India in the second half of the thirteenth…
- YaudheyaThe Yaudheyas were a martial corporation of the country between the Sutlej and the Yamuna, th…
- Zamorins of CalicutThe Zamorins ruled Calicut from the twelfth century and made it the greatest port of the Mala…
- Zanskar, Guge and PurangZanskar, Guge and Purang were the western Tibetan kingdoms founded by the surviving Tibetan r…
Places & Regions10
- DelhiDelhi is the capital of India and one of the longest continuously inhabited urban regions in…
- GandharaGandhara was an ancient region centred on the Peshawar Valley, Swat Valley, and Taxila in pre…
- HampiHampi is the ruined capital of the Vijayanagara Empire on the Tungabhadra River in Karnataka,…
- Himachal PradeshHimachal Pradesh is a mountain state in northwestern India formed in stages after 1948 from a…
- KannaujKannauj, ancient Kanyakubja, is a city on the Ganga in present-day Uttar Pradesh that served…
- MotihariMotihari is the headquarters town of East Champaran district in Bihar, best known as the site…
- PataliputraPataliputra was the capital of the Magadha kingdom and later of the Mauryan and, intermittent…
- PurushapuraPurushapura, present-day Peshawar, was the imperial capital of the Kushan Empire under Kanish…
- Shimla under the BritishShimla was the summer capital of British India from 1864 to 1947, a hill station in the Himal…
- TaxilaTaxila, or Takshashila, was an ancient city in the Gandhara region of the northwestern subcon…
Sites & Monuments13
- BanawaliBanawali is an Indus site in Haryana with occupation running from the pre-Harappan through th…
- ChanhudaroChanhudaro is an Indus site in Sindh, ancient India (modern-day Pakistan), excavated in the 1…
- DholaviraDholavira is an Indus city on an island in the Rann of Kutch, remarkable for its water-harves…
- GanweriwalaGanweriwala is a large Indus site in the Cholistan desert of the Punjab, ancient India (moder…
- Great BathThe Great Bath is a large watertight tank on the citadel mound at Mohenjo-daro, ancient India…
- HarappaHarappa is the Indus site in the Punjab, ancient India (modern-day Pakistan), that gave the c…
- KalibanganKalibangan is an Indus site in Rajasthan on the dry bed of the Ghaggar, notable for a ploughe…
- LothalLothal is an Indus site in Gujarat, excavated in the 1950s, containing a large brick basin wi…
- MehrgarhMehrgarh is a Neolithic settlement in Balochistan, ancient India (modern-day Pakistan), occup…
- Mohenjo-daroMohenjo-daro is the largest known city of the Indus civilization, on the right bank of the In…
- RakhigarhiRakhigarhi in Haryana is among the largest Indus sites, and the source of the first ancient g…
- SurkotadaSurkotada is a small fortified Indus site in Kutch, best known for horse bones whose identifi…
- Wari-BateshwarWari-Bateshwar is an early historic fortified settlement in central Bangladesh, ancient India…
Concepts22
- The Aryan questionThe Aryan question concerns how Indo-Aryan languages came to be spoken in South Asia, and is…
- Cannabis in the HimalayaCannabis in the Himalaya refers to the wild and cultivated Cannabis populations native to the…
- Cemetery H cultureThe Cemetery H culture is the late and post-urban phase in the Punjab, named for a burial gro…
- Charter ActsThe Charter Acts were a series of British parliamentary statutes, passed roughly every twenty…
- Doctrine of LapseThe Doctrine of Lapse was a policy applied by the East India Company under Governor-General L…
- India and Rome comparedA comparative framework used by historians of the ancient world to pair successive Indian emp…
- Indian martial artsIndian martial arts are a family of combat systems native to the Indian subcontinent, ranging…
- Indian Ocean trade in medieval IndiaIndian Ocean trade in medieval India refers to the maritime commercial networks, dominated on…
- Indus city planningIndus cities were laid out on a broadly regular plan with oriented streets, standardised bric…
- Indus scriptThe Indus script is the writing system of the Indus civilization, surviving in several thousa…
- Indus trade with MesopotamiaThe Indus civilization traded with Mesopotamia by sea and land, and is generally identified w…
- Indus Valley Civilization: Hindu perspectivesIndus Valley Civilization: Hindu perspectives surveys the interpretive tradition, both schola…
- Indus water and drainageThe Indus cities were served by wells, bathing platforms and covered street drains on a scale…
- Indus weights and measuresThe Indus civilization used a standardised system of cubical stone weights following a binary…
- Names for IndiaIndia has been known by a range of names across history and languages — including Bharata, Hi…
- Ochre Coloured PotteryOchre Coloured Pottery is a Chalcolithic ware of the Ganges-Yamuna Doab, dated to roughly the…
- Permanent SettlementThe Permanent Settlement was a land revenue system introduced in 1793 by Governor-General Lor…
- Sarasvati river debateThe Sarasvati debate concerns whether the river praised in the Rigveda is the now-dry Ghaggar…
- Science in ancient IndiaA survey of scientific and technical achievement in ancient and early medieval India, across…
- Subhas Chandra Bose and the freedom struggleThis entry examines the long-running historiographical debate over how much credit Subhas Cha…
- Warfare in ancient IndiaWarfare in ancient India spans the tribal conflicts described in the Rigveda and the epics th…
- Wootz steelWootz steel is a high-carbon crucible steel developed in South India by the mid-first millenn…
Events67
- 1937 provincial electionsThe 1937 provincial elections were the first held under the Government of India Act of 1935,…
- 2008 Mumbai attacksA coordinated series of shooting and bombing attacks carried out by ten Lashkar-e-Taiba gunme…
- Ahom-Mughal warsA series of intermittent 17th-century conflicts between the Ahom kingdom of Assam and the Mug…
- Anglo-Maratha WarsThe Anglo-Maratha Wars were three conflicts fought between the British East India Company and…
- Anglo-Mysore WarsThe Anglo-Mysore Wars were four conflicts fought between 1767 and 1799 between the Kingdom of…
- Anglo-Sikh WarsThe Anglo-Sikh Wars were two conflicts between the East India Company and the Sikh Empire, fo…
- August OfferThe August Offer was a set of constitutional proposals issued by Viceroy Lord Linlithgow on 8…
- Aurangzeb and the MarathasThe Mughal-Maratha wars were a 27-year series of campaigns (1681–1707) fought by Emperor Aura…
- Bangladesh Liberation WarThe Bangladesh Liberation War was the 1971 conflict in which East Pakistan, led by the Awami…
- Battle of BuxarThe Battle of Buxar, fought in 1764 on the Ganges in present-day Bihar, was a decisive victor…
- Battle of PlasseyThe Battle of Plassey, fought on 23 June 1757 at the village of Palashi in Bengal, was the de…
- Battle of SamugarhThe Battle of Samugarh, fought on 29 May 1658 near Agra, was the decisive engagement of the M…
- Battles of PanipatThe three Battles of Panipat, fought in 1526, 1556, and 1761 on the same plain north of Delhi…
- Bengal famine of 1943A famine in the Bengal province of British India in 1943 that caused large-scale death from s…
- Cabinet Mission planThe Cabinet Mission plan was a proposal put forward in May 1946 by a three-member British cab…
- Carnatic WarsA series of three conflicts fought between 1746 and 1763 in which the British and French East…
- Champaran SatyagrahaA 1917 civil resistance campaign led by Mohandas Gandhi among indigo cultivators in Champaran…
- Chandragupta Maurya and JainismJain tradition holds that Chandragupta Maurya abdicated, became a mendicant under Bhadrabahu,…
- Chauri Chaura incidentThe Chauri Chaura incident was a clash on 4 February 1922 in which a crowd associated with th…
- Civil Disobedience MovementThe Civil Disobedience Movement was a mass campaign of organized, non-violent law-breaking le…
- Communal AwardThe Communal Award was a decision announced by British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald in Aug…
- Cripps MissionThe Cripps Mission was a March 1942 British initiative, led by Sir Stafford Cripps, offering…
- Decline of the Indus citiesThe Indus cities were progressively abandoned in the early second millennium BCE, in a proces…
- Direct Action DayDirect Action Day was a general strike and demonstration called by the All-India Muslim Leagu…
- Elections before Indian independenceElections before Indian independence were a series of increasingly broad but communally struc…
- Elections in IndiaElections in India are the process by which India, since its first general election in 1952,…
- Gandhi-Irwin PactA March 1931 agreement between Mohandas Gandhi and Viceroy Lord Irwin that suspended the Civi…
- Ghadar movementThe Ghadar movement was a revolutionary organization of Indian emigrants on the Pacific coast…
- Gorkha rule in Himachal and UttarakhandGorkha rule in Himachal and Uttarakhand refers to the roughly two-decade period, from 1790 to…
- Government of India Act 1858The Government of India Act 1858 was a British parliamentary statute that transferred rule of…
- Government of India Act 1935The Government of India Act 1935 was a British statute that granted provincial autonomy to Br…
- Great Famine of 1876-78A severe famine that struck large parts of British India between 1876 and 1878, following dro…
- Hijacking of IC 814The hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight IC 814 was a seven-day hostage crisis beginning 24 De…
- Ilbert Bill controversyA political controversy of 1883–84 sparked by a proposed law that would have allowed Indian j…
- Indian general election, 1951-52The Indian general election of 1951-52 was the first election held under India's new constitu…
- Indian Independence Act 1947The Indian Independence Act 1947 was the Act of the British Parliament that partitioned Briti…
- Indian independence movementThe Indian independence movement was the sustained political, social, and armed struggle agai…
- Individual SatyagrahaIndividual Satyagraha was a deliberately limited civil disobedience campaign launched by Moha…
- Jallianwala Bagh massacreThe 13 April 1919 killing of unarmed civilians by troops under Brigadier-General Reginald Dye…
- Kalinga WarThe Kalinga War (c.
- Kannauj TriangleThe Kannauj Triangle, also called the Tripartite Struggle, was a roughly 150-year contest fro…
- Kheda SatyagrahaThe Kheda Satyagraha was a 1918 no-tax campaign in Gujarat led by Mohandas Gandhi and Vallabh…
- Khilafat movementThe Khilafat movement was a pan-Islamic political campaign by Indian Muslims between 1919 and…
- Linguistic reorganisation of IndiaThe linguistic reorganisation of India was the mid-20th-century restructuring of Indian state…
- Montagu-Chelmsford reformsThe Montagu-Chelmsford reforms were a set of constitutional changes to British Indian governa…
- Morley-Minto reformsThe Morley-Minto reforms, enacted as the Indian Councils Act of 1909, enlarged Indian represe…
- Mountbatten PlanThe Mountbatten Plan, announced on 3 June 1947 by Viceroy Louis Mountbatten, set out the part…
- Mughal-Maratha warsThe Mughal-Maratha wars were a prolonged series of conflicts between the Mughal Empire and th…
- Nehru Report (1928)The Nehru Report was a 1928 draft constitution for India written by an all-parties committee…
- Non-Cooperation MovementThe Non-Cooperation Movement was a mass campaign of boycott and civil disengagement from Brit…
- Partition of Bengal (1905)The 1905 division of the Bengal Presidency by Viceroy Lord Curzon into two provinces along br…
- Partition of IndiaThe Partition of India in 1947 divided British India into the independent dominions of India…
- Poona PactThe Poona Pact was a September 1932 agreement between Mohandas K.
- Purna SwarajPurna Swaraj ("complete self-rule") was the declaration of full political independence as the…
- Quit India MovementThe Quit India Movement was a mass civil disobedience campaign launched by the Indian Nationa…
- Radcliffe LineThe Radcliffe Line is the boundary drawn in 1947 by British lawyer Cyril Radcliffe to partiti…
- Revolt of 1857A large-scale uprising against East India Company rule that began among sepoys of the Bengal…
- Round Table ConferencesA series of three conferences held in London between 1930 and 1932 in which representatives o…
- Rowlatt ActA 1919 law passed by the Imperial Legislative Council that extended emergency wartime powers…
- Royal Indian Navy mutinyA five-day uprising by Indian ratings of the Royal Indian Navy in February 1946, beginning in…
- Salt MarchThe Salt March was a 24-day protest walk led by Mohandas Gandhi in March–April 1930 from Saba…
- Simon CommissionThe Simon Commission was a British parliamentary body appointed in 1927 to review the working…
- Surat Split (1907)The Surat Split was the December 1907 breakup of the Indian National Congress into rival Mode…
- Swadeshi movementThe Swadeshi movement was a campaign to boycott British goods and promote Indian-made product…
- Timur's invasion of IndiaTimur's invasion of India was a campaign by the Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur, known as Tamerl…
- Vellore MutinyThe Vellore Mutiny of 1806 was an uprising by Indian sepoys of the Madras Army against the Br…
- Vernacular Press ActThe Vernacular Press Act of 1878 was a colonial law empowering British Indian magistrates to…
Art & Architecture6
- Dancing GirlThe Dancing Girl is a small bronze figurine from Mohenjo-daro, ancient India (modern-day Paki…
- Indus craft and beadworkIndus craft production included carnelian, steatite and faience beads, shell bangles, copper…
- Indus sealsIndus seals are small carved squares of steatite bearing an animal, an inscription and a boss…
- Indus terracotta figurinesTerracotta figurines are the commonest human and animal images from the Indus civilization, f…
- Pashupati sealThe Pashupati seal is a steatite seal from Mohenjo-daro, ancient India (modern-day Pakistan),…
- Priest-KingThe Priest-King is a small steatite bust from Mohenjo-daro, ancient India (modern-day Pakista…