The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to ancient India: Ancient India is the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

from prehistoric times to the start of

Medieval India Medieval India was a long period of post-classical history in the Indian subcontinent between the ancient and modern periods. It is usually regarded as running approximately from the break-up of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century to the star ...

, which is typically dated (when the term is still used) to the end of the

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an Indian empire during the classical period of the Indian subcontinent which existed from the mid 3rd century to mid 6th century CE. At its zenith, the dynasty ruled over an empire that spanned much of the northern Indian ...

around 500 CE.

General history of Ancient India

An elaborate periodisation may be as follows:

Pre-history (Neolithic Age) (c. 8000–3500 BCE)

* Indian Pre-history Age (–3300 BCE) * Bhirrana culture (7570–6200 BCE) *

Mehrgarh Mehrgarh is a Neolithic archaeological site situated on the Kacchi Plain of Balochistan, Pakistan, Balochistan in Pakistan. It is located near the Bolan Pass, to the west of the Indus River and between the modern-day Pakistani cities of Quetta, ...

culture ()

Proto-history (Bronze Age) (c. 3500–1800 BCE)

Indus Valley Civilisation The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in the Northwestern South Asia, northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 Common Era, BCE to 1300 BCE, and in i ...

(), including the "first urbanisation" * Ahar–Banas culture () * Ochre Coloured Pottery culture (–1200 BCE) * Cemetery H culture (–1300 BCE)

Iron Age (c. 1800–200 BCE)

* Iron Age India () ** Vedic civilization () *** Black and red ware culture (–700 BCE) in Western Ganges plain *** Northern Black Polished Ware (–500 BCE)Strickland, K. M., R. A. E. Coningham, et al., (2016)
"Ancient Lumminigame: A Preliminary Report on Recent Archaeological Investigations at Lumbini's Village Mound"
in Ancient Nepal, Number 190, April 2016, p. 10. ***

Painted Grey Ware culture The Painted Grey Ware culture (PGW) is an Iron Age in India, Iron Age Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan Archaeological culture, culture of the western Gangetic plain and the Ghaggar-Hakra River, Ghaggar-Hakra valley in the Indian subcontinent, conve ...

( or 700–300 BCE)Neogi, Sayantani, Charles A. I. French, Julie A. Durcan, Rabindra N. Singh, and Cameron A. Petrie, (2019)
"Geoarchaeological insights into the location of Indus settlements on the plains of northwest India"
in Quaternary Research, Volume 94, March 2020, p. 140. ** Brihadratha dynasty () ** Gandhara Kingdom () ** Kuru Kingdom () ** Indian Iron Age kingdoms () ** Pandyan Kingdom ()

Pre-Classical Period (c. 600 BCE–200 CE)

* Pradyota dynasty (–544 BCE) *

Haryanka dynasty The Haryanka dynasty was the ruling dynasty of Magadha, according to the Buddhist text Mahavamsa between 544 BC and 413 BC though some scholars favour a later chronology (5th century BCE to first half of 4th century BCE). Initially, the capi ...

(–413 BCE) * Shaishunaga dynasty (–345 BCE) * Nanda Empire () *

Maurya Empire The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary source ...

(–185 BCE) *

Sangam period The Sangam literature ( Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam''), historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' ( Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ''), connote ...

() ** Pandyan Kingdom (–1650 CE) ** Chera Kingdom (–1102 CE) ** Chola Kingdom (–1279 CE) * Kalinga Empire (until 250 BCE) * Maha-Megha-Vahana Empire (–300 CE) * Satavahana Empire (230 BCE–220 CE) * Kuninda Kingdom (–350 CE) * Shunga Empire (–73 BCE) * Kanva dynasty (–26 BCE) *

Indo-Greek Kingdom The Indo-Greek Kingdom, also known as the Yavana Kingdom, was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era Ancient Greece, Greek kingdom covering various parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India. The term "Indo-Greek Kingdom" ...

(180 BCE–10 CE) * Kanva Empire (75–26 BCE) *

Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire (– CE) was a Syncretism, syncretic empire formed by the Yuezhi in the Bactrian territories in the early 1st century. It spread to encompass much of what is now Afghanistan, Eastern Iran, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbe ...

(30–375 CE) * Indo-Scythian Kingdom ( –395 CE)

Classical Period (c. 200–550 CE)

There are varying definitions of this period. *

(–650 CE) * Later Gupta dynasty () * Vakataka Empire () * Pallava Empire (–901 CE) *

Kadamba dynasty The Kadamba dynasty were an ancient royal family from modern Karnataka, India, that ruled northern Karnataka and the Konkan from Banavasi in present-day Uttara Kannada, Uttara Kannada district in India. The kingdom was founded by Mayurash ...

(–1347 CE) *

Western Ganga dynasty Western Ganga was an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka in India which lasted from about 350 to 999 CE. They are known as "Western Gangas" to distinguish them from the Eastern Ganga Dynasty, Eastern Gangas who in later centuries r ...

(–1024 CE) * Vishnukundina Empire (–624 CE) * Maitraka dynasty () * Rai dynasty (–632 CE)

Culture in ancient India

Art in ancient India

* Music in ancient India **

Carnatic music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...

Hindustani music Hindustani classical music is the Indian classical music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' ...

Language in ancient India

Vedic Sanskrit Vedic Sanskrit, also simply referred as the Vedic language, is the most ancient known precursor to Sanskrit, a language in the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan subgroup of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is atteste ...

* Proto-Dravidian * Ancient scripts of the Indian subcontinent ** Tamil-Brahmi ** Pallava script **

Gupta script The Gupta script (sometimes referred to as Gupta Brahmi script or Late Brahmi script)Sharma, Ram. '' 'Brahmi Script' ''. Delhi: BR Publishing Corp, 2002 was used for writing Sanskrit and is associated with the Gupta Empire of the Indian subcon ...

** Kadamba script

Religion in ancient India

* History of Jainism * History of Hinduism **

Historical Vedic religion The historical Vedic religion, also called Vedism or Brahmanism, and sometimes ancient Hinduism or Vedic Hinduism, constituted the religious ideas and practices prevalent amongst some of the Indo-Aryan peoples of the northwest Indian subcontin ...

***

Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...

***

Vedic mythology The historical Vedic religion, also called Vedism or Brahmanism, and sometimes ancient Hinduism or Vedic Hinduism, constituted the religious ideas and practices prevalent amongst some of the Indo-Aryan peoples of the northwest Indian subcontin ...

***

Vedic priesthood Priests of the Vedic religion are officiants of the ''yajna'' service. Yajna is an important part of Hinduism, especially the Vedas. Persons trained for the ritual and proficient in its practice were called ( ' regularly- sacrificing'). As me ...

History of Buddhism The history of Buddhism can be traced back to the 5th century BCE. Buddhism originated from Ancient India, in and around the ancient Kingdom of Magadha (Mahajanapada), Magadha, and is based on the teachings of the renunciate Siddhartha Gautama, ...

Sport in ancient India

* Traditional games of India

Science and technology in ancient India

* Science and technology in ancient India **

Indian mathematics Indian mathematics emerged in the Indian subcontinent from 1200 BCE until the end of the 18th century. In the classical period of Indian mathematics (400 CE to 1200 CE), important contributions were made by scholars like Aryabhata, Brahmagupta, ...

Indian astronomy Astronomy has a long history in the Indian subcontinent, stretching from History of India, pre-historic to History of India (1947–present), modern times. Some of the earliest roots of Indian astronomy can be dated to the period of Indus Valle ...

** List of Indian inventions and discoveries * Indian martial arts ** Malla-yuddha **

Kalaripayattu Kalaripayattu (), also known simply as Kalari, is an Indian martial art that originated on the southwestern coast of India, in what is now Kerala, during the 3rd century BCE. Etymology Kalaripayattu is a martial art which developed out of co ...

* Ancient Indian medicine ** Siddha medicine **

Ayurveda Ayurveda (; ) is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practised throughout India and Nepal, where as much as 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayur ...

Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

** Dravidian architecture * Indian in Sanskrit epics

Organizations concerned with ancient India

Museums with ancient Indian exhibits

* India (clockwise) ** National Museum, New Delhi ** Patna Museum ** Indian Museum, Kolkata **

Government Museum, Bangalore Government Museum, Bengaluru, established in 1865 by the Kingdom of Mysore, Mysore State with the guidance of Surgeon Edward Balfour who founded the Government Museum, Chennai, museum in Madras and supported by the Chief Commissioner of Mysore, ...

** Goa State Museum ** Kutch Museum, Bhuj,

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

* United Kingdom **

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, London

Notes

;Subnotes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

Ancient India - The British Museum

Ancient India - World History Encyclopedia

TimeMaps Civilization: Ancient India
{{Authority control

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...