Events
Battles, foundings, treaties and turning points. Click a year to open the map at that moment.
70th century BCE · 1
| c. 7,000 BCE |
Farming begins at Mehrgarh Cultural / religious
Among the earliest evidence of wheat, barley and cattle domestication in the Indian subcontinent. |
Mehrgarh | Mehrgarh Cultural Tradition |
55th century BCE · 1
| c. 5,500 BCE | Pottery appears at Mehrgarh Cultural / religious | Mehrgarh | Mehrgarh Cultural Tradition |
50th century BCE · 1
| c. 5,000 BCE |
Earliest cotton and copper at Mehrgarh Cultural / religious
Cotton seeds and copper beads among the earliest in the world. |
Mehrgarh | Mehrgarh Cultural Tradition |
40th century BCE · 1
| c. 4,000 BCE | Hakra-ware villages at Bhirrana and Kunal Cultural / religious | Bhirrana |
33rd century BCE · 1
| c. 3,300 BCE |
Early Harappan phase begins Cultural / religious
Regional cultures lay the foundations of the cities. |
Harappa | Early Harappan Cultures |
30th century BCE · 1
| c. 3,000 BCE | Neolithic pit-dwellings at Burzahom Cultural / religious | Burzahom | Neolithic Kashmir (Burzahom) |
29th century BCE · 1
| c. 2,900 BCE | Ash mounds of the southern Neolithic Cultural / religious | Sanganakallu | South Indian Neolithic (Ash-mound cultures) |
26th century BCE · 1
| c. 2,600 BCE |
Mature Harappan urban phase begins Cultural / religious
Planned cities with drains, granaries and standardised bricks appear. |
Mohenjo-daro | Indus / Harappan Civilization |
25th century BCE · 1
| c. 2,500 BCE | Dholavira's reservoirs and 'signboard' Cultural / religious | Dholavira | Indus / Harappan Civilization |
24th century BCE · 1
| c. 2,400 BCE | Lothal dockyard in use Cultural / religious | Lothal | Indus / Harappan Civilization |
23rd century BCE · 1
| c. 2,300 BCE |
Harappan trade with Mesopotamia ('Meluhha') Cultural / religious
Mesopotamian texts refer to ships from Meluhha. |
Lothal | Indus / Harappan Civilization |
20th century BCE · 1
| c. 2,000 BCE | Copper hoards and OCP settlements in the doab Cultural / religious | Ganga-Yamuna doab | Ochre Coloured Pottery Culture |
17th century BCE · 1
| c. 1,700 BCE | Malwa culture at Navdatoli Cultural / religious | Navdatoli | Malwa Culture |
15th century BCE · 1
| c. 1,500 BCE |
Composition of the Rigveda begins Cultural / religious
Oldest layer of the Vedic corpus. |
Sapta Sindhu | Early Vedic Communities |
14th century BCE · 1
| c. 1,400 BCE | Jorwe farming villages at Inamgaon Cultural / religious | Inamgaon | Jorwe Culture |
13th century BCE · 1
| c. 1,300 BCE | Cemetery H culture at Harappa Cultural / religious | Harappa | Late Harappan Cultures |
11th century BCE · 1
| c. 1,100 BCE | Iron comes into use in the Ganga plain Cultural / religious | Atranjikhera | Later Vedic Polities |
10th century BCE · 2
| c. 1,000 BCE |
Painted Grey Ware settlements spread in the doab Cultural / religious
Iron use and larger agrarian settlements. |
Hastinapura | Later Vedic Polities |
| c. 1,000 BCE | Later Vedic texts: Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda Cultural / religious | Kuru-Panchala region | Later Vedic Polities |
8th century BCE · 1
| c. 800 BCE | Early Upanishads composed Cultural / religious | Videha | Videha |
7th century BCE · 1
| c. 700 BCE | Second urbanisation: Northern Black Polished Ware Cultural / religious | Kaushambi |
6th century BCE · 4
| c. 599 BCE |
Birth of Vardhamana Mahavira Cultural / religious
Traditional date; many scholars prefer c. 540 BCE. |
Kundagrama, Vaishali | Vajji / Vrijji Confederacy |
| c. 563 BCE |
Birth of Siddhartha Gautama at Lumbini Cultural / religious
Traditional date; debated (c. 563 or c. 480 BCE). |
Lumbini | Shakya |
| c. 528 BCE | The Buddha's enlightenment at Bodh Gaya Cultural / religious | Bodh Gaya | |
| c. 527 BCE |
Mahavira's nirvana at Pavapuri Cultural / religious
Traditional date. |
Pavapuri |
5th century BCE · 2
| c. 483 BCE |
Mahaparinirvana of the Buddha Cultural / religious
Date debated (c. 483 or c. 400 BCE). |
Kushinagar | Malla |
| c. 483 BCE | First Buddhist Council at Rajagriha Cultural / religious | Rajgir | Haryanka Dynasty |
4th century BCE · 3
| c. 400 BCE |
Panini composes the Ashtadhyayi Cultural / religious
Sanskrit grammar was fixed in about 4,000 sutras. |
Shalatula, Gandhara | Gandhara |
| c. 383 BCE | Second Buddhist Council at Vaishali Cultural / religious | Vaishali | Shishunaga Dynasty |
| c. 302 BCE | Megasthenes at Pataliputra writes the Indica Cultural / religious | Pataliputra | Mauryan Empire |
3rd century BCE · 4
| c. 257 BCE |
Ashoka's Major Rock Edicts inscribed Cultural / religious
Edicts in Prakrit (Brahmi and Kharosthi) across the empire. |
Girnar | Mauryan Empire |
| c. 250 BCE | Third Buddhist Council at Pataliputra Cultural / religious | Pataliputra | Mauryan Empire |
| c. 249 BCE |
Ashoka visits Lumbini Cultural / religious
His pillar inscription records the visit. Lumbini's taxes were reduced to one-eighth. |
Lumbini | Mauryan Empire |
| c. 247 BCE | Mahinda brings Buddhism to Sri Lanka Cultural / religious | Mihintale | Anuradhapura Kingdom |
2nd century BCE · 4
| c. 150 BCE | Kharavela's Hathigumpha inscription Cultural / religious | Udayagiri, Bhubaneswar | Mahameghavahana (Chedi) of Kalinga |
| c. 150 BCE | Menander's reign; Milindapanha dialogues Cultural / religious | Sagala | Indo-Greek Kingdoms |
| c. 150 BCE | Bharhut stupa railings carved Cultural / religious | Bharhut | Shunga Dynasty |
| c. 113 BCE |
Heliodorus Pillar at Vidisha Cultural / religious
A Greek envoy's Garuda pillar to Vasudeva. |
Vidisha | Indo-Greek Kingdoms |
1st century BCE · 2
| c. 50 BCE | Sanchi gateways carved Cultural / religious | Sanchi | Satavahana Empire |
| c. 29 BCE | Pali Canon written down at Aluvihare Cultural / religious | Aluvihare | Anuradhapura Kingdom |
1st century CE · 4
| c. 46 CE | Takht-i-Bahi monastery founded Cultural / religious | Takht-i-Bahi | Indo-Parthian Kingdom |
| c. 50 CE | Roman trade at Arikamedu and Muziris Cultural / religious | Arikamedu | Early Cholas (Sangam era) |
| c. 52 CE | St Thomas traditionally lands at Muziris Cultural / religious | Kodungallur | Early Cheras (Sangam era) |
| c. 100 CE | Chaitya halls at Karla and Nashik Cultural / religious | Karla | Satavahana Empire |
2nd century CE · 1
| c. 150 CE |
Rudradaman's Junagadh inscription Cultural / religious
Early long Sanskrit inscription; repair of Sudarshana lake. |
Junagadh | Western Kshatrapas |
3rd century CE · 1
| c. 250 CE | Nagarjunakonda flourishes under the Ikshvakus Cultural / religious | Nagarjunakonda | Ikshvakus of Vijayapuri |
4th century CE · 2
| c. 350 CE |
Samudragupta's Prayaga prashasti Cultural / religious
Records Samudragupta's campaigns. |
Prayagraj | Gupta Empire |
| c. 400 CE | Kalidasa at the Gupta court Cultural / religious | Ujjain | Gupta Empire |
5th century CE · 7
| c. 402 CE |
Iron Pillar erected Cultural / religious
Rust-resistant wrought-iron pillar. |
Mehrauli, Delhi | Gupta Empire |
| c. 405 CE | Faxian travels in India Cultural / religious | Pataliputra | Gupta Empire |
| c. 427 CE | Nalanda Mahavihara founded Cultural / religious | Nalanda | Gupta Empire |
| c. 464 CE |
Manadeva I's Changu Narayan inscription Cultural / religious
Earliest dated inscription of Nepal. |
Changu Narayan | Licchavi Kingdom of Nepal |
| c. 477 CE | Kashyapa I builds Sigiriya Cultural / religious | Sigiriya | Anuradhapura Kingdom |
| c. 480 CE | Ajanta's later caves under Harishena Cultural / religious | Ajanta | Vakataka Dynasty |
| 499 CE |
Aryabhata writes the Aryabhatiya Cultural / religious
Place-value mathematics and astronomy. |
Kusumapura (Pataliputra) | Gupta Empire |
6th century CE · 1
| c. 550 CE | Colossal Buddhas carved at Bamiyan Cultural / religious | Bamiyan |