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Outline of South Asian history

{{Short description|Overviews of and topical guides to the history of South Asia}}

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the history of South Asia.

The broader region in and around the historical Indian subcontinent, which includes the contemporary geopolitical entities of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and the island countries of Maldives and Sri Lanka.

{{HistoryOfSouthAsia}}

Chronology

class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:100%; text-align:center;"
colspan=4 | Chronology of India
colspan=4|James Mill (1774–1836), in his The History of British India (1817),{{efn|Khanna 2007, p.xvii}} distinguished three phases in the history of the Indian subcontinent, namely Hindu, Muslim, and British civilisations.{{efn|Khanna 2007, p.xvii}}{{efn|Misra 2004, p.194}} This periodisation has been influential, but has also been criticised for the misconceptions it gave rise to.{{efn|Kulke 2004, p.7}} Another influential periodisation is the division into "ancient, classical, medieval and modern periods".{{efn|Flood 1996, p.21}}
World History{{efn|Bentley|1996}}

! James Mill's Periodisation{{efn|Khanna 2007, p.xvii}}

! ACMM{{efn|Flood 1996, p.21}}{{efn|Stein|2010}}

! Chronology of Indian History{{efn|Smart 2003, p. 52–53}}{{efn|Michaels 2004}}{{efn|Muesse 2011}}{{efn|Flood 1996, p. 21–22}}

(Bentley) style="text-align:center;"| Early Societes
(3500–2500 BCE)

| (Mill) style="text-align:center;"| Early Indian Civilizations

| (ACMM) rowspan="6" style="text-align:center;" | Ancient India

| (Details) style="text-align:center;"| Prehistoric Era
Indus Valley civilisation (c. 3300–1750 BCE)

(Bentley) rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Ancient Vedic Kingdoms
(2500–600 BCE)

| (Mill) rowspan="7" style="text-align:center;" | Hindu civilisations

| (Details) style="text-align:center;" | Early Vedic period
(c. 1750 – 1200 BCE)

(Details) style="text-align:center;" | Middle Vedic period
(from 1200 BCE)
(Details) style="text-align:center;" | Late Vedic period
(from 850 BCE)
(Bentley) rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Classical Civilisations
(600 BCE–500 CE)

| (Details) style="text-align:center;" | Second urbanisation
Early empires{{efn|Thapar|1977}}
(c. 600–200 BCE){{efn|Thapar|1977}}

(Details) style="text-align:center;" | Disintegration{{efn|Thapar|1977}} and regional states
(c. 200 BCE–300 CE){{efn|Michaels 2004, p.39}}
(ACMM) style="text-align:center;"| Classical India

| (Details) style="text-align:center;" | "Golden Age" (Gupta Empire)
(c. 320–650 CE){{efn|Michaels 2004, p.40}}

(Bentley) style="text-align:center;"| Post-classical age
(500–1000 CE)

| (ACMM) rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | Medieval India

| (Details) style="text-align:center;" | Regional Indian kingdoms and Beginning of Islamic raids
(c. 650–1100 CE){{efn|Michaels 2004, p.41}}

(Bentley) style="text-align:center;"| Transregional nomadic empires
(1000–1500 CE)

| (Mill) rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | Muslim civilisations

| (Details) style="text-align:center;"| Delhi Sultanate (north India)
(1206–1526 CE)
Vijayanagara Empire (south India)
(1336–1646 CE)

(Bentley) rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Modern age
(1500–present)

| (ACMM) rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Modern India

| (Details) style="text-align:center;"| Mughal Empire
(1526–1707)

(Mill) style="text-align:center;"| British civilisations

| (Details) style="text-align:center;"| Maratha Empire
British rule
(c. 1750 CE–1947)

(Mill) style="text-align:center;"| –

| (Details) style="text-align:center;"| Independent India

colspan=4 |

{| class="collapsible collapsed"

Notes and references for table
Notes

Different periods are designated as "classical Hinduism":

  • Smart calls the period between 1000 BCE and 100 CE "pre-classical". It's the formative period for the Upanishads and Brahmanism (Smart distinguishes "Brahmanism" from the Vedic religion, connecting "Brahmanism" with the Upanishads.{{efn|Smart 2003, p. 52, 83–86}}), Jainism and Buddhism. For Smart, the "classical period" lasts from 100 to 1000 CE, and coincides with the flowering of "classical Hinduism" and the flowering and deterioration of Mahayana-buddhism in India.{{efn|Smart 2003, p.52}}
  • For Michaels, the period between 500 BCE and 200 BCE is a time of "Ascetic reformism",{{efn|Michaels 2004, p.36}} whereas the period between 200 BCE and 1100 CE is the time of "classical Hinduism", since there is "a turning point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions".{{efn|Michaels 2004, p.38}}
  • Muesse discerns a longer period of change, namely between 800 BCE and 200 BCE, which he calls the "Classical Period". According to Muesse, some of the fundamental concepts of Hinduism, namely karma, reincarnation and "personal enlightenment and transformation", which did not exist in the Vedic religion, developed in this time.{{efn|Muesse 2003, p.14}}

References

{{notelist|30em}}

Sources

  • {{Citation | last =Bentley | first =Jerry H. |date=June 1996 | title =Cross-Cultural Interaction and Periodization in World History | journal =The American Historical Review |volume=101 |issue=3 |pages=749–770 | doi=10.2307/2169422| jstor =2169422 }}
  • {{Citation | last =Flood | first =Gavin D. | year =1996 | title =An Introduction to Hinduism | publisher =Cambridge University Press}}
  • {{Citation | last =Khanna | first =Meenakshi | year =2007 | title =Cultural History Of Medieval India | publisher =Berghahn Books}}
  • {{Citation | last1 =Kulke | first1 =Hermann | last2 =Rothermund | first2 =Dietmar | year =2004 | title =A History of India | publisher =Routledge}}
  • {{Citation | last =Michaels | first =Axel | year =2004 | title =Hinduism. Past and present | place =Princeton, New Jersey | publisher =Princeton University Press}}
  • {{Citation | last =Misra | first =Amalendu | year =2004 | title =Identity and Religion: Foundations of Anti-Islamism in India | publisher =SAGE}}
  • {{Citation | last =Muesse | first =Mark William | year =2003 | title =Great World Religions: Hinduism | url =http://www.docshut.com/rquv/lectures-on-great-world-religions-hinduism.html}}
  • {{Citation | last =Muesse | first =Mark W. | year =2011 | title =The Hindu Traditions: A Concise Introduction | publisher =Fortress Press}}
  • {{Citation | last =Smart | first =Ninian | year =2003 | title =Godsdiensten van de wereld (The World's religions) | place =Kampen | publisher =Uitgeverij Kok}}
  • {{Citation | last =Thapar | first =Romila | year =1977 | title =A History of India. Volume One | publisher =Penguin Books}}

|}

James Mill (1773–1836), in his The History of British India (1817), distinguished three phases in the history of India, namely Hindu, Muslim, and British civilisations. This periodisation has been influential, but has also been criticised for the misconceptions it gave rise to. Another influential periodisation is the division into "ancient, classical, medieval and modern periods", although this periodisation has also been criticised.{{sfn|Thapar|1978|p=19–20}}

Romila Thapar notes that the division into Hindu-Muslim-British periods of Indian history gives too much weight to "ruling dynasties and foreign invasions",{{sfn|Thapar|1978|p=19}} neglecting the social-economic history which often showed a strong continuity.{{sfn|Thapar|1978|p=19}} The division into Ancient-Medieval-Modern periods overlooks the fact that the Muslim conquests occurred gradually during which time many things came and went off, while the south was never completely conquered.{{sfn|Thapar|1978|p=19}} According to Thapar, a periodisation could also be based on "significant social and economic changes", which are not strictly related to the change of ruling powers.{{sfn|Thapar|1978|p=20}}{{refn|group=note|See also Tanvir Anjum, [https://www.academia.edu/6647852/Temporal_Divides_A_Critical_Review_of_the_Major_Schemes_of_Periodization_in_Indian_History Temporal Divides: A Critical Review of the Major Schemes of Periodization in Indian History].}}

By period

= Paleolithic and Mesolithic age =

({{Circa|500,000}}–125,000 BCE)

= Neolithic age =

= Bronze Age =

Bronze Age India (3500–1500 BCE)

= Iron Age and Vedic period =

{{Main|Vedic period}}

= Middle kingdoms =

{{main|Middle kingdoms of India}}

= Late medieval period =

Late medieval period   (1206–1596)

= Early modern period =

Early modern period   (1526–1858)

= European colonial period =

Colonial period   (1510–1961 CE)

= Kingdoms of Sri Lanka =

{{Main|History of Sri Lanka}}

History of South Asia, by region

= By South Asian subregion =

= By country and national subdivision =

History of South Asia, by subject

History of architecture in South Asia

See also

References

= Notes =

{{reflist|group=note|2}}

= Citations =

{{Reflist|30em}}

= Sources =

{{refbegin}}

  • {{Citation | last =Flood | first =Gavin D. | year =1996 | title =An Introduction to Hinduism | publisher =Cambridge University Press}}
  • {{Citation | last =Hiltebeitel | first =Alf | year =2002 | title =Hinduism. In: Joseph Kitagawa, "The Religious Traditions of Asia: Religion, History, and Culture" | publisher =Routledge | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=kfyzAAAAQBAJ| isbn =9781136875977 }}
  • {{Citation | last =Michaels | first =Axel | year =2004 | title =Hinduism. Past and present | place =Princeton, New Jersey | publisher =Princeton University Press}}
  • {{Citation | last =Samuel | first =Geoffrey | year =2010 | title =The Origins of Yoga and Tantra. Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century | publisher =Cambridge University Press}}
  • {{Citation | last =Thapar | first =Romila | year =1978 | title =Ancient Indian Social History: Some Interpretations | publisher =Orient Blackswan | url =https://www.philoshistorydepartment.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/8/7/12870319/ancient_indian_social_history_some_interpretation_by_romila_thapar.pdf | url-status =dead | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20150214082038/http://www.philoshistorydepartment.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/8/7/12870319/ancient_indian_social_history_some_interpretation_by_romila_thapar.pdf | archive-date =14 February 2015 | access-date =14 February 2015}}

{{refend}}

External links

{{Sister project links|South Asian history}}

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South Asian history