YugMap Bharat, artharth India

🌍 World civilisations

World civilisations and India

While Harappan cities flourished, Mesopotamia was writing on clay; as the Mauryas rose, China built its first empire. Pick an era to see what was happening in India and across the world at the same time — every date from NCERT’s world history timelines.

Maps show India’s boundaries as officially depicted by the Government of India. Country shapes are today’s, for orientation only.

Before 1000 BCE: the first cities

🇮🇳 In India

  1. c. 2700 BCE Cities of the Harappan civilisation, use of script → Indus / Harappan Civilization

🌏 Elsewhere in the world

  1. 3600 BCE Use of the potter’s wheel and the wheel for transport (West Asia) 🏺 Mesopotamia
  2. 3200 BCE Writing begins in Mesopotamia 🏺 Mesopotamia

1000 BCE – 1 BCE: early empires

🇮🇳 In India

  1. c. 321 BCE The Mauryan empire is established → Mauryan Empire

🌏 Elsewhere in the world

  1. 776 BCE First Olympic games, in Greece 🏛 Greece
  2. c. 551 BCE The Chinese philosopher Confucius 🐉 China
  3. 546 BCE Persian empire, with its capital at Persepolis 🦁 Persia
  4. 510 BCE The Roman republic is established 🦅 Rome and Europe
  5. 336–323 BCE Alexander of Macedonia conquers Egypt and parts of West Asia 🏛 Greece
  6. 332 BCE Alexandria is founded in Egypt and becomes a major centre of learning 𓂀 Egypt
  7. 221 BCE An empire is established in China; construction of the Great Wall begins 🐉 China
  8. 73 BCE Spartacus leads a revolt of about 100,000 slaves 🦅 Rome and Europe
  9. 51–30 BCE Cleopatra, queen of Egypt 𓂀 Egypt

1 – 500 CE

🇮🇳 In India

  1. 320 The Gupta dynasty is established → Gupta Empire & Regional Powers
  2. 399 Fa Xian travels from China to India → Gupta Empire & Regional Powers

🌏 Elsewhere in the world

  1. 118 Paper is invented in China 🐉 China
  2. 132 The first seismograph is developed 🐉 China
  3. 221 End of the Han empire 🐉 China
  4. 226 Sasanid rule in Persia 🦁 Persia
  5. 270 Use of the magnetic compass in China 🐉 China
  6. 330 Christianity is introduced in Axum 🌍 Africa
  7. 429 Vandals from Europe set up a kingdom in North Africa 🌍 Africa

500 – 1000

🇮🇳 In India

  1. 712 Arabs conquer Sind → Post-Gupta / Early Medieval

🌏 Elsewhere in the world

  1. 584–618 The Grand Canal is built in China to transport grain 🐉 China
  2. 594 Buddhism is introduced in Japan ⛩ Japan
  3. 618 The Tang dynasty in China 🐉 China
  4. 622 Prophet Muhammad goes to Medina; the Hijri era begins 🕌 Arab lands and Turkey
  5. 661–750 The Umayyad caliphate 🕌 Arab lands and Turkey
  6. 800 Charlemagne, king of the Franks, is crowned Holy Roman Emperor 🦅 Rome and Europe
  7. 802 The Khmer state is founded in Cambodia 🛕 Cambodia (Khmer)
  8. 868 The first printed book, in China 🐉 China
  9. c. 990 The first city is built in North America 🌎 The Americas

1000 – 1300

🇮🇳 In India

  1. 1206 The Delhi Sultanate is established → Delhi Sultanate & Regional Kingdoms
  2. 1253–1325 Amir Khusrau introduces new forms of poetry and music → Delhi Sultanate & Regional Kingdoms

🌏 Elsewhere in the world

  1. 1030 A medical school is set up in Salerno, Italy 🦅 Rome and Europe
  2. 1066 William of Normandy invades England and becomes king 🦅 Rome and Europe
  3. 1075 Alp Arsalan establishes the Turkish empire 🕌 Arab lands and Turkey
  4. 1095 The first crusade is proclaimed 🦅 Rome and Europe
  5. 1120–1450 Zimbabwe emerges as a centre of gold and copper work and long-distance trade 🌍 Africa
  6. 1163 Construction of the cathedral of Notre Dame begins 🦅 Rome and Europe
  7. 1180 The Angkor empire in Cambodia at its height; temple complex at Angkor Wat 🛕 Cambodia (Khmer)
  8. 1206 Genghis Khan consolidates power 🐎 Mongols

1300 – 1500

🇮🇳 In India

  1. 1336 The Vijayanagara empire is established → Vijayanagara Empire
  2. 1498 Vasco da Gama reaches India → European Maritime Powers

🌏 Elsewhere in the world

  1. 1325 The Aztec capital at Tenochtitlan, Mexico 🌎 The Americas
  2. 1337–1453 The Hundred Years War between England and France 🦅 Rome and Europe
  3. 1348 The Black Death, a form of plague, spreads through Europe 🦅 Rome and Europe
  4. 1368 The Ming dynasty in China 🐉 China
  5. 1453 The Ottoman Turks capture Constantinople 🕌 Arab lands and Turkey
  6. 1465 The Incas establish control over Peru 🌎 The Americas
  7. 1492 Columbus reaches the West Indies 🌎 The Americas

1500 – 1700

🇮🇳 In India

  1. 1526 Babur establishes Mughal control over north India — the first battle of Panipat → Mughal Empire
  2. 1556–1605 Akbar consolidates Mughal rule → Mughal Empire
  3. 1600 The British East India Company is established → European Maritime Powers
  4. 1632–53 Construction of the Taj Mahal → Mughal Empire

🌏 Elsewhere in the world

  1. 1517 Martin Luther attempts to reform the Catholic Church 🦅 Rome and Europe
  2. 1521 The Spanish conquest of Mexico 🌎 The Americas
  3. 1543 Copernicus puts forward his theory of the solar system 🦅 Rome and Europe
  4. 1572 The Spanish conquest of Peru 🌎 The Americas
  5. 1603 The Tokugawa Shogunate is established in Japan ⛩ Japan
  6. 1644 Manchu rule in China begins, lasting nearly 300 years 🐉 China

1700 – 1900

🇮🇳 In India

  1. 1757 Robert Clive defeats Siraj-ud-daula, Nawab of Bengal, at the Battle of Plassey → East India Company Rule
  2. 1799 Ranjit Singh founds the Sikh kingdom in Punjab → Sikh Empire
  3. 1829 The practice of sati is made illegal → East India Company Rule
  4. 1853 Railway and telegraph lines are introduced → East India Company Rule
  5. 1857 The Great Revolt → East India Company Rule
  6. 1885 The Indian National Congress is founded → British Crown Rule (Raj)

🌏 Elsewhere in the world

  1. 1776 US Declaration of Independence 🌎 The Americas
  2. 1789 The French Revolution begins 🦅 Rome and Europe
  3. 1821 Simon Bolivar leads Venezuela to independence 🌎 The Americas
  4. 1861 Russian serfs are freed ❄ Russia
  5. 1861–65 Civil War in the USA 🌎 The Americas
  6. 1869 The Suez Canal, one of the world’s most important trade routes, opens 𓂀 Egypt
  7. 1872 Japan’s first railway opens, from Tokyo to Yokohama ⛩ Japan
  8. 1896 The Olympics are held for the first time in Athens 🏛 Greece

1900 – 2000

🇮🇳 In India

  1. 1921 The Non-Cooperation Movement → British Crown Rule (Raj)
  2. 1931 Alam Ara by Ardeshir Irani, the first Indian talkie → British Crown Rule (Raj)
  3. 1942 The Quit India Movement → British Crown Rule (Raj)
  4. 1947 India becomes independent → Dominion of India
  5. 1950 India becomes a republic → Republic of India

🌏 Elsewhere in the world

  1. 1903 The Wright brothers invent the aeroplane 🌎 The Americas
  2. 1906 Mahatma Gandhi advocates satyagraha in South Africa to resist racist laws 🌍 Africa
  3. 1914–18 The First World War 🦅 Rome and Europe
  4. 1917 The Russian Revolution ❄ Russia
  5. 1923 Turkey becomes a republic under Mustapha Kemal 🕌 Arab lands and Turkey
  6. 1939–45 The Second World War 🦅 Rome and Europe
  7. 1945 The USA drops atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ⛩ Japan
  8. 1949 The People’s Republic of China is formed 🐉 China
  9. 1957 Ghana becomes the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to become independent 🌍 Africa
  10. 1957 Russia launches the spacecraft Sputnik ❄ Russia
  11. 1969 US astronauts land on the moon 🌎 The Americas
  12. 1990 Nelson Mandela is freed in South Africa 🌍 Africa
✍ Practise world civilisations Exam-style questions and flashcards made from this page. ✍ Take the quiz 🃏 Flashcards 🌏 India and the World

How we check: every entry is taken from the timelines in NCERT’s Class 11 textbook ‘Themes in World History’, and only where the timeline gives a date; our build fails unless each entry’s wording is found in the chapter itself. For India’s own links with these lands — trade, travellers, faith — see India and the World. 📘 kehs101 ↗ 📘 kehs102 ↗ 📘 kehs103 ↗ 📘 kehs106 ↗