Map of early Iron Age Vedic India (ca. 9th c. BC). ealms or tribes are labelled black, non-Indo-Aryan tribes mentioned in early Vedic texts purple, Vedic shakhas in green. A shakha ( Sanskrit IAST śākhā, literally "branch" or "limb" is a Hindu theological school that specializes in learning Rivers are labelled blue. The Thar desert is marked orange. The Thar Desert ( Hindi: थार मरुस्थल also known as the Great Indian Desert, is

The Iron Age in the Indian subcontinent succeeds the Late Harappan (Cemetery H) culture, also known as the last phase of the Indus Valley Tradition. The term South Asia usually refers to the political entities of the Sub- Himalayan region - namely Republic of India, Pakistan, The South Asian Stone Age covers the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods in the South Asia. The Indus Valley Civilization (Mature period 2600&ndash1900 BCE abbreviated IVC, was an ancient Civilization that flourished in the Indus River basin The Cemetery H culture developed out of the northern part of the Indus Valley Civilization around 1900 BCE in and around the Punjab region which is located on the The Maurya Empire ( 322 – 185 BCE) ruled by the Mauryan dynasty was a geographically extensive and powerful political and military Middle kingdoms of India refers to the political entities in India from the 2nd century BC since the decline of the Maurya Empire, and the corresponding The Sātavāhanas ( Marathi: सातवाहन Telugu:శాతవాహనులు were a Dynasty which ruled from Junnar ( The Gupta Empire ( Hindi: गुप्त राजवंश was ruled by members of the Gupta dynasty from around 320 to 550 C During the late Middle Ages, several Islamic Empires were established in South Asia. The Vijayanagara Empire ( Kannada: ವಿಜಯನಗರ ಸಾಮ್ರಾಜ್ಯ Telugu: విజయనగర సామ్రాజ్యము was a South The Mughal Empire ( Persian and self-designation گورکانی; مغلیہ سلطنت) was an Islamic imperial power which ruled most The Maratha Empire ( Marathi: मराठा साम्राज्य Marāṭhā Sāmrājya; also transliterated Mahratta The Sikh Confederacy was a nation that existed from 1716 to 1799 For usage see British rule in India British Raj ( rāj, lit "reign" in Hindustani) primarily refers to the British The Partition of India was the partition of the British Indian Empire which led to the creation on August 14, 1947 and August 15, This is a timeline of Indian history. It includes the history of South Asia ( Indian subcontinent) especially the history of the regions now known This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia For geopolitical treatments see South Asia. The Cemetery H culture developed out of the northern part of the Indus Valley Civilization around 1900 BCE in and around the Punjab region which is located on the The term Indus Valley Tradition is used to refer to the cultures of the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra rivers stretching from the Neolithic Mehrgarh The cultures of the Punjab and Rajasthan in this phase spread eastward across the Gangetic plain. Punjab ( ਪੰਜਾਬ پنجاب, पंजाब پنجاب also Panjab (پنجاب meaning "Land of the Five Rivers") (c Rājasthān ( Devanāgarī: राजस्थान raːdʒəst̪ʰaːn is the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area The Indo-Gangetic Plain also known as the Northern plains and the North Indian River Plain is a large and fertile plain encompassing most of northern and eastern India, For this reason, the succession of Iron Age cultures of northern India and Pakistan are also known as the Indo-Gangetic Tradition. Geography Northern India lies mainly on continental India and a very small part of it lies on the Indian peninsula Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and

The Painted Gray Ware culture (ca 1200-800 BCE) and the Northern Black Polished Ware culture (ca 700-300 BCE) belong to the "Regionalization Era" of the Indo-Gangetic Tradition. The Painted Grey Ware culture (PGW is an Iron Age culture of Gangetic plain, lasting from roughly 1100 BC to 350 BC. The Northern Black Polished Ware culture (NBPW/NBP of the South Asia (ca This corresponds to the later phase of the Vedic period and Mahajanapadas and the rise of the Maurya Empire. The Vedic Period (or Vedic Age) is the period in the History of India during which the Vedas, the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism, were being Mahajanapadas ( Sanskrit: महाजनपद Mahājanapadas) literally "Great Kingdoms" (from Maha, "great" and Janapada The Maurya Empire ( 322 – 185 BCE) ruled by the Mauryan dynasty was a geographically extensive and powerful political and military Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka the Great belong to this period. Chandragupta Maurya (चन्द्रगुप्त मौर्य sometimes known simply as Chandragupta (born c Ashoka ( Devanāgarī: अशोकः IAST: Aśokaḥ, aɕoːkə(hə Prakrit Imperial title Devanampriya Priyadarsi

The earliest Iron Age site in South India is Hallur. Hallur is an archaeological site located in the Haveri district (which was carved out of Dharwad district) in the Indian state of Karnataka

India enters the classical period from the 6th century BC with the births of Mahavira and Gautama Buddha, followed by the Sanskrit grammar of Panini, the Edicts of Ashoka, and the emerging Middle kingdoms of India. The 6th century BC started the first day of 600 BC and ended the last day of 501 BC. Mahavira (महावीर lit Great Hero) (599 – 527 BCE is the name most commonly used to refer to the Indian sage Vardhamana ( Sanskrit: वर्धमान Siddhārtha Gautama ( Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual Teacher from Ancient India and the founder The Sanskrit grammar has a complex verbal system rich nominal Declension, and extensive use of Compound nouns It was studied and codified by Pāṇini ( IAST: Pāṇini Dēvanāgarī: sa पाणिनि a Patronymic meaning "descendant of {{IAST|Paṇi}} " was an ancient The Edicts of Ashoka are a collection of 33 inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka, as well as boulders and cave walls made by the Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan Middle kingdoms of India refers to the political entities in India from the 2nd century BC since the decline of the Maurya Empire, and the corresponding

References

• Kenoyer, J. M. 1998 Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization. Oxford University Press and American Institute of Pakistan Studies, Karachi.
• Kenoyer, J. M. 1991a The Indus Valley Tradition of Pakistan and Western India. In Journal of World Prehistory 5(4): 331-385.
• Kenoyer, J. M. 1995a Interaction Systems, Specialized Crafts and Culture Change: The Indus Valley Tradition and the Indo-Gangetic Tradition in South Asia. In The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity, edited by G. Erdosy, pp. 213-257. Berlin, W. DeGruyter.
• Shaffer, J. G. 1992 The Indus Valley, Baluchistan and Helmand Traditions: Neolithic Through Bronze Age. In Chronologies in Old Worlsfgagd Archaeology (3rd Edition), edited by R. Ehrich, pp. 441-464. Chicago, University of Chicago Press.

See also

• Kingdoms of ancient India
• Mahajanapadas
• Maurya Empire
• Iron Age China