The
history of India begins with evidence of human activity of
Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including
Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago. The
Indus Valley Civilisation, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the
Indian subcontinent from c. 3300 to 1300 BCE in present-day Pakistan and northwest India, was the first major civilisation in South Asia. A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture developed in the
Mature Harappan period, from 2600 to 1900 BCE. This
Bronze Age civilisation collapsed before the end of the second millennium BCE and was followed by the
Iron Age Vedic Civilisation, which extended over much of the
Indo-Gangetic plain and which witnessed the rise of major polities known as the
Mahajanapadas. In one of these kingdoms,
Magadha,
Mahavira and
Gautama Buddha were born in the 6th or 5th century BCE and propagated their
Shramanic philosophies.
Most of the subcontinent was conquered by the
Maurya Empire during the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE. It became fragmented, with various parts ruled by numerous
Middle kingdoms for the next 1,500 years. This is known as the classical period of Indian history, during which time India has sometimes been estimated to have had the
largest economy of the ancient and mediaeval world, with its huge population generating between one fourth and one third of the world's income up to the 18th century. Much of northern and central India was united in the 4th century CE, and remained so for two centuries, under the
Gupta Empire. This period, witnessing a
Hindu religious and intellectual resurgence, is known as the "
Golden Age of India". From this time, and for several centuries afterwards, southern India, under the rule of the
Chalukyas,
Cholas,
Pallavas, and
Pandyas, experienced its own golden age. During this period, aspects of Indian civilisation, administration, culture, and religion (
Hinduism and
Buddhism) spread to much of
Asia.
Kingdoms in southern India had maritime business links with the Roman Empire from around 77 CE. Muslim rule in the subcontinent began in 8th century CE when the Arab general
Muhammad bin Qasim conquered
Sindh and
Multan in southern
Punjab in modern day Pakistan, setting the stage for several successive invasions from Central Asia between the 10th and 15th centuries CE, leading to the formation of
Muslim empires in the Indian subcontinent such as the
Delhi Sultanate and the
Mughal Empire. Mughal rule came from Central Asia to cover most of the northern parts of the subcontinent. Mughal rulers introduced Central Asian art and architecture to India. In addition to the Mughals and various Rajput kingdoms, several independent Hindu states, such as the
Vijayanagara Empire, the
Maratha Empire,
Eastern Ganga Empire and the
Ahom Kingdom, flourished contemporaneously in southern, western, eastern and northeastern India respectively. The Mughal Empire suffered a gradual decline in the early 18th century, which provided opportunities for the
Afghans,
Balochis,
Sikhs, and
Marathas to exercise control over large areas in the northwest of the subcontinent until the British
East India Company gained ascendancy over South Asia.
Beginning in the mid-18th century and over the next century, large areas of India were annexed by the British East India Company. Dissatisfaction with Company rule led to the
Indian Rebellion of 1857, after which the
British provinces of India were directly administered by the
British Crown and witnessed a period of both rapid development of infrastructure and economic decline. During the first half of the 20th century, a nationwide
struggle for independence was launched by the
Indian National Congress and later joined by the
Muslim League. The subcontinent gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, after the British provinces were
partitioned into the dominions of India and Pakistan and the
princely states all
acceded to one of the new states.