Textbook
History of Medieval India
The go-to single volume on the Sultanate, Mughals and regional kingdoms.
🏰 Era · Hind / Hindustan
Medieval India
550 CE – 1757
Harsha and the Chalukyas, the struggle for Kannauj, the Chola maritime empire, the Delhi Sultanate, Vijayanagara and the Deccan sultanates, the Mughals and the rise of the Marathas.
Open the map in: 🗺 640 CE Harsha🗺 850 CE Tripartite struggle🗺 1030 Cholas🗺 1320 Delhi Sultanate🗺 1600 Akbar
Polities
21
Rulers
223
Events
186
Personalities
95
Sites
33
Quiz questions
5,169
Periods of this era
Move along the chart to see which periods overlapped in any year; click a bar for the period, or empty space to open the map.
Post-Gupta / Early Medieval
c. 550 CE – c. 750 CE
Harsha, the Badami Chalukyas, Pallavas, Maitrakas and many regional kingdoms.
Tripartite Struggle
c. 750 CE – c. 1000
Palas, Gurjara-Pratiharas and Rashtrakutas contest Kannauj for two centuries.
Chola & Major Southern Kingdoms
c. 850 CE – 1300
The Chola maritime empire alongside the Western Chalukyas, Hoysalas, Kakatiyas and Pandyas.
Regional Kingdoms & Ghaznavid/Ghurid Expansion
c. 1000 – 1206
Rajput-era regional dynasties while the Ghaznavids and Ghurids push in from the northwest.
Delhi Sultanate & Regional Kingdoms
1206 – 1526
Five successive dynasties rule from Delhi while many regional kingdoms and sultanates flourish.
Vijayanagara Empire
1336 – 1646
A great southern empire under the Sangama, Saluva, Tuluva and Aravidu dynasties.
Bahmani & Deccan Sultanates
1347 – 1687
The Bahmani Sultanate and its five successor Deccan Sultanates.
Mughal Empire
1526 – 1857
From Babur's victory at Panipat to the deposition of Bahadur Shah II.
Sur Empire
1540 – 1556
Sher Shah Suri displaces Humayun and reforms administration and revenue.
Maratha Empire & Regional Powers
1674 – 1818
Shivaji's swarajya grows into a confederacy dominating much of India in the 18th century.
Great powers
Pallava Dynasty 275 CE – 897 CE Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) Dynasty 500 CE – 647 CE Chalukyas of Badami 543 CE – 753 CE Chahamanas (Chauhans) of Shakambhari 650 CE – 1194 Gurjara-Pratihara Empire 730 CE – 1036 Pala Empire 750 CE – 1161 Rashtrakuta Empire 753 CE – 982 CE Chola Empire 848 CE – 1279 Ghaznavid Empire 977 CE – 1186 Polonnaruwa Kingdom 1070 – 1232 Sultanate of the Maldives 1153 – 1968 Malla Dynasty of Nepal 1201 – 1769 Delhi Sultanate 1206 – 1526 Ahom Kingdom 1228 – 1826 Mewar (Sisodia) 1326 – 1949 Vijayanagara Empire 1336 – 1646 Bahmani Sultanate 1347 – 1527 Kingdom of Mysore 1399 – 1950 Kingdom of Kandy 1469 – 1815 Mughal Empire 1526 – 1857 Sur Empire 1540 – 1556 Maratha Empire 1674 – 1818 Nawabs of Bengal 1717 – 1765 Hyderabad State (Nizams) 1724 – 1948
📘 NCERT study guide
NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part II ↗ — free official textbook; each chapter links to the periods it covers on this site.
Chapter 1
Through the Eyes of Travellers
Perceptions of society, c. tenth to seventeenth century
📄 Read the chapter (PDF) ↗
Chapter 2
Bhakti-Sufi Traditions
Changes in religious beliefs and devotional texts, c. eighth to eighteenth century
📄 Read the chapter (PDF) ↗
Chapter 3
An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara
c. fourteenth to sixteenth century
📄 Read the chapter (PDF) ↗
Chapter 4
Peasants, Zamindars and the State
Agrarian society and the Mughal Empire, c. sixteenth–seventeenth century
📄 Read the chapter (PDF) ↗
Turning points
- c. 550 CE Fall of the imperial Guptas · Gupta Empire
- c. 618 CE Pulakeshin II defeats Harsha on the Narmada · Chalukyas of Badami
- 712 CE Muhammad ibn Qasim conquers Sindh · Umayyad Caliphate — Sindh province
- c. 816 CE Nagabhata II captures Kannauj · Gurjara-Pratihara Empire
- 1000 Mahmud of Ghazni begins his raids on India · Ghaznavid Empire
- 1010 Brihadisvara Temple completed · Chola Empire
- 1025 Chola naval expedition to Srivijaya · Chola Empire
- 1026 Mahmud of Ghazni raids Somnath · Ghaznavid Empire
- 1153 The Maldives converts to Islam · Sultanate of the Maldives
- 1192 Second Battle of Tarain · Ghurid Empire
- 1206 Delhi Sultanate founded · Mamluk (Slave) Dynasty
- 1228 Sukaphaa founds the Ahom kingdom · Ahom Kingdom
- 1336 Vijayanagara founded · Sangama Dynasty
- 1347 Bahmani Sultanate founded · Bahmani Sultanate
- 1398 Timur sacks Delhi · Tughlaq Dynasty
- 1469 Birth of Guru Nanak
- 1498 Vasco da Gama reaches Calicut · Zamorins of Calicut
- 1526 First Battle of Panipat · Mughal Empire
- 1540 Battle of Kannauj · Sur Empire
- 1556 Second Battle of Panipat · Mughal Empire
- 1565 Battle of Talikota · Tuluva Dynasty
- 1576 Battle of Haldighati · Mewar (Sisodia)
- 1600 East India Company chartered · British East India Company
- 1616 Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal arrives in Bhutan · Bhutan under the Zhabdrung (Druk Desi)
🧭 Through the eyes of travellers
Visitors from other lands who wrote about India in this era — a favourite exam topic.
Xuanzang
c. 602 CE – c. 664 CE
Chinese pilgrim who studied at Nalanda and visited Harsha's court
🗺 India in their time
Ibn Battuta
c. 1304 – c. 1369
Moroccan traveller who served as qadi of Delhi under Muhammad bin Tughlaq
🗺 India in their time
Abdur Razzaq
1413 – 1482
Persian envoy who described Vijayanagara under Deva Raya II
🗺 India in their time
Domingo Paes
active c. 1520
Portuguese traveller who described Krishnadevaraya's capital
🗺 India in their time
François Bernier
1620 – 1688
French physician who wrote Travels in the Mogul Empire
🗺 India in their time Personalities
Aryabhata
c. 476 CE – c. 550 CE
Mathematician-astronomer who wrote the Aryabhatiya
Varahamihirac. 505 CE – c. 587 CE
Astronomer-astrologer who wrote the Brihat Samhita
Appar (Tirunavukkarasar)active c. 620 CE
Nayanar saint who converted Mahendravarman I to Shaivism
Brahmaguptac. 598 CE – c. 668 CE
Mathematician who gave rules for zero in the Brahmasphutasiddhanta
Banabhattaactive c. 630 CE
Author of the Harshacharita and Kadambari
Xuanzangc. 602 CE – c. 664 CE
Chinese pilgrim who studied at Nalanda and visited Harsha's court
Ravikirtiactive c. 634 CE
Composer of the Aihole inscription of Pulakeshin II
Yijing (I-tsing)635 CE – 713 CE
Chinese monk who studied at Nalanda in the 670s-680s
Kumarila Bhattaactive c. 700 CE
Leading philosopher of the Purva Mimamsa school
Padmasambhavaactive c. 770 CE
Guru Rinpoche, who brought Vajrayana Buddhism to Tibet and Bhutan
Andalactive c. 800 CE
The only woman among the twelve Alvars; composed the Tiruppavai
Adi Shankaracharyac. 788 CE – c. 820 CE
Exponent of Advaita Vedanta who founded four mathas
All 96 personalities of this era →
🏛 Sites & monuments
| Site | Type | From |
|---|---|---|
| Bamiyan Buddhas Destroyed in 2001. |
Religious monument | c. 550 CE |
| Badami Cave Temples | Religious monument | 578 CE |
| Ellora Caves Includes the monolithic Kailasa temple. |
Religious monument | c. 600 CE |
| Mahabalipuram Shore Temple and rathas. |
Religious monument | c. 630 CE |
| Pattadakal UNESCO group of monuments. |
Religious monument | c. 740 CE |
| Somapura Mahavihara, Paharpur | Religious monument | c. 780 CE |
| Khajuraho | Religious monument | c. 950 CE |
| Brihadisvara Temple | Religious monument | 1010 |
| Polonnaruwa | Capital / fort | 1070 |
| Minaret of Jam | Religious monument | c. 1190 |
| Qutb Minar | Capital / fort | c. 1199 |
| Konark Sun Temple | Religious monument | c. 1250 |
| Hampi Capital of Vijayanagara. |
Capital / fort | 1336 |
| Makli Necropolis | Religious monument | c. 1350 |
| Sixty Dome Mosque, Bagerhat | Religious monument | c. 1450 |
| Golconda Fort | Capital / fort | 1518 |
| Rohtas Fort | Capital / fort | 1541 |
| Lahore Fort | Capital / fort | 1566 |
| Fatehpur Sikri Akbar's planned capital. |
Capital / fort | 1571 |
| Temple of the Tooth, Kandy | Religious monument | c. 1595 |
| Kathmandu Durbar Square | Capital / fort | c. 1600 |
| Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) | Religious monument | 1604 |
| Basilica of Bom Jesus, Goa | Religious monument | 1605 |
| Punakha Dzong | Capital / fort | 1637 |
| Red Fort, Delhi | Capital / fort | 1648 |
| Taj Mahal | Religious monument | 1653 |
| Gol Gumbaz | Religious monument | 1656 |
| Malé Friday Mosque | Religious monument | 1658 |
| Galle Fort | Capital / fort | 1663 |
| Raigad Fort Shivaji's capital. |
Capital / fort | 1674 |
| Paro Taktsang (Tiger's Nest) | Religious monument | 1692 |
| Fort William, Calcutta | Capital / fort | 1696 |
| Rang Ghar, Sivasagar Ahom royal pavilion. |
Capital / fort | 1746 |
📚 Recommended reading for this era
Reference
Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals (2 vols)
The detailed two-volume treatment for readers who want more than the single-volume textbook.
Textbook
Themes in Indian History, Parts I–III (Class 12)
Source-based chapters on Harappa, Vijayanagara, the Mughal court and 1857 — essential for UPSC.
Reference
A History of South India
The classic survey of the south, from prehistory to the fall of Vijayanagara.
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📄 Research papers
Paper🏛 Library access
🇮🇳 Indian scholarship
How feudal was Indian feudalism?
The case for 'Indian feudalism' after the Guptas: land grants, decline of trade and dependent peasants.
Paper🏛 Library access
🇮🇳 Indian scholarship
Was there feudalism in Indian history?
The best-known critique of the feudalism model; read it alongside R. S. Sharma's reply.
Paper🏛 Library access
🇮🇳 Indian scholarship
Political Processes and Structure of Polity in Early Medieval India: Problems of Perspective
Proposes 'integration' — the spread of state society into new regions — as the key to early medieval India.
Paper🏛 Library access
The Cosmopolitan Vernacular
How Kannada, Telugu and other regional languages became languages of kingship alongside Sanskrit.
Paper🏛 Library access
Inscribing the Other, Inscribing the Self: Hindu-Muslim Identities in Pre-Colonial India
Uses Andhra inscriptions to show how identities were described in the Kakatiya and Sultanate era.
Paper🏛 Library access
Temple Desecration and Indo-Muslim States
A documented, case-by-case study of temple destruction and its political context, 1192–1760.