Popular history
Incarnations: A History of India in 50 Lives
Indian history told through fifty remarkable lives, from the Buddha to Ambedkar.
Kabir
Saint / religious leader
c. 1440 – c. 1518
Bhakti poet-saint of Varanasi known for his dohas.
Their world
Move along the chart to see their age in any year, who ruled and what happened; click anything to open it.
The map shows their realm around their lifetime and where the events of their lifetime took place.
Hover a dot for the event; click it to open the full map in that year.
Rulers of the time
Kujula Kadphises
Emperor, Kushan Empire · c. 30 CE – c. 80 CE
Vima Taktu
Emperor, Kushan Empire · c. 80 CE – c. 95 CE
Kanishka I
Emperor, Kushan Empire · c. 127 CE – c. 150 CE
Vasishthiputra Pulumavi
King, Satavahana Empire · c. 130 CE – c. 159 CE
Huvishka
Emperor, Kushan Empire · c. 150 CE – c. 190 CE
Yajna Sri Satakarni
King, Satavahana Empire · c. 170 CE – c. 199 CE
Vasudeva I
Emperor, Kushan Empire · c. 190 CE – c. 230 CE
Sri Gupta
Maharaja, Gupta Empire · c. 240 CE – c. 280 CE
Mahasena
King, Anuradhapura Kingdom · c. 274 CE – c. 301 CE
Ghatotkacha
Maharaja, Gupta Empire · c. 280 CE – c. 319 CE
Chandragupta I
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 319 CE – c. 335 CE
Samudragupta
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 335 CE – c. 375 CE
Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya)
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 375 CE – c. 415 CE
Kumaragupta I
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 415 CE – c. 455 CE
Skandagupta
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 455 CE – c. 467 CE
Dhatusena
King, Anuradhapura Kingdom · c. 455 CE – c. 473 CE
Budhagupta
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 477 CE – c. 495 CE
Kashyapa I
King, Anuradhapura Kingdom · c. 477 CE – c. 495 CE
Pulakeshin I
King, Chalukyas of Badami · c. 543 CE – c. 566 CE
Kirtivarman I
King, Chalukyas of Badami · c. 566 CE – c. 597 CE
Simhavishnu
King, Pallava Dynasty · c. 575 CE – c. 600 CE
Prabhakaravardhana
King, Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) Dynasty · c. 580 CE – c. 605 CE
Mangalesha
King, Chalukyas of Badami · c. 597 CE – c. 609 CE
Mahendravarman I
King, Pallava Dynasty · c. 600 CE – c. 630 CE
Events in their lifetime
| 1443 | Abdur Razzaq's embassy to Vijayanagara |
| c. 1450 | Kabir's poetry in Varanasi |
| c. 1450 | Sixty Dome Mosque at Bagerhat |
| 1451 | Bahlul Lodi founds the Lodi dynasty |
| 1459 | Rao Jodha founds Jodhpur Mehrangarh fort became the Rathore capital. |
| 1469 | Birth of Guru Nanak |
| c. 1469 | Kingdom of Kandy emerges |
| 1482 | Nepal valley divides into three Malla kingdoms |
| 1490 | Bijapur and Ahmadnagar break from the Bahmanis |
| 1498 | Vasco da Gama reaches Calicut The direct sea route from Europe to India was opened. |
| 1504 | Sikandar Lodi founds Agra Agra became the Lodi and later Mughal capital. |
| 1505 | Portuguese reach Sri Lanka |
| 1509 | Krishnadevaraya's accession |
| 1509 | Battle of Diu Portuguese naval supremacy in the Arabian Sea was established. |
| 1510 | Portuguese capture Goa Goa became the capital of the Portuguese Estado da Índia until 1961. |
Contemporaries
Sorted by how long their lives overlapped. The bar shows when, within Kabir’s life.
Srimanta Sankardev
Saint / religious leader · c. 1449 – c. 1568
Assamese saint who founded Ekasarana Dharma and the sattras
Overlap: 69 years
Annamacharya
Artist / musician · c. 1408 – c. 1503
Telugu composer of devotional songs to Venkateswara
Overlap: 63 years
Vasco da Gama
Traveller / envoy · c. 1460 – c. 1524
Portuguese navigator who reached Calicut in 1498
Overlap: 58 years
Guru Nanak
Saint / religious leader · 1469 – 1539
Founder of Sikhism and the first Sikh Guru
Overlap: 49 years
Guru Ravidas
Saint / religious leader · active c. 1500
Bhakti saint whose hymns appear in the Guru Granth Sahib
Overlap: 48 years
Abdur Razzaq
Traveller / envoy · 1413 – 1482
Persian envoy who described Vijayanagara under Deva Raya II
Overlap: 42 years
Mahmud Gawan
Statesman / administrator · 1411 – 1481
Bahmani prime minister who built a great madrasa at Bidar
Overlap: 41 years
Malik Muhammad Jayasi
Poet / writer · c. 1477 – c. 1542
Author of the Awadhi epic Padmavat
Overlap: 41 years
Surdas
Poet / writer · c. 1478 – c. 1583
Blind Bhakti poet of the Sursagar
Overlap: 40 years
Afanasy Nikitin
Traveller / envoy · died c. 1475
Russian merchant who described the Bahmani kingdom
Overlap: 35 years
Purandara Dasa
Artist / musician · c. 1484 – c. 1564
Called the 'father of Carnatic music'
Overlap: 34 years
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Saint / religious leader · 1486 – 1534
Bhakti saint of Bengal who inspired Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Overlap: 32 years
Nicolò de' Conti
Traveller / envoy · 1395 – 1469
Venetian merchant who visited Vijayanagara around 1420
Overlap: 29 years
Domingo Paes
Traveller / envoy · active c. 1520
Portuguese traveller who described Krishnadevaraya's capital
Overlap: 28 years
Tenali Ramakrishna
Poet / writer · active c. 1520
Telugu poet famed for his wit at Krishnadevaraya's court
Overlap: 28 years
Allasani Peddana
Poet / writer · active c. 1520
Called 'Andhra Kavita Pitamaha', chief of the Ashtadiggajas
Overlap: 28 years
Mirabai
Saint / religious leader · c. 1498 – c. 1547
Rajput princess and Bhakti poet devoted to Krishna
Overlap: 20 years
Tansen
Artist / musician · c. 1500 – c. 1589
Musician at Akbar's court and one of the Navaratnas
Overlap: 18 years
Bairam Khan
General / commander · 1501 – 1561
Regent and guardian of the young Akbar
Overlap: 17 years
Hemu (Hemchandra Vikramaditya)
General / commander · c. 1501 – c. 1556
Sur general defeated at the Second Battle of Panipat
Overlap: 17 years
Guru Angad
Saint / religious leader · 1504 – 1552
Second Sikh Guru who standardised the Gurmukhi script
Overlap: 14 years
Francis Xavier
Saint / religious leader · 1506 – 1552
Jesuit missionary whose remains lie in Goa
Overlap: 12 years
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