Textbook
Our Pasts I, II & III (Classes 6–8)
The simplest possible start: short, illustrated and the base of countless exam questions.
Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti
Saint / religious leader
c. 1141 – c. 1236
Sufi saint who established the Chishti order in India at Ajmer.
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
Vima Kadphises
Emperor, Kushan Empire · c. 95 CE – c. 127 CE
Gautamiputra Satakarni
King, Satavahana Empire · c. 106 CE – c. 130 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
Events in their lifetime
| 1148 | Kalhana begins the Rajatarangini |
| 1153 | The Maldives converts to Islam |
| 1153 | Parakramabahu I rules Sri Lanka |
| c. 1161 | End of the Pala dynasty The Senas became the leading power in Bengal. |
| 1175 | Muhammad of Ghor takes Multan |
| 1178 | Battle of Kasahrada: Ghurids defeated Muhammad of Ghor was repulsed from Gujarat. |
| 1186 | Ghurids take Lahore, ending the Ghaznavids The last Ghaznavid ruler, Khusrau Malik, was captured. |
| c. 1190 | Minaret of Jam built |
| 1191 | First Battle of Tarain Prithviraj Chauhan defeated Muhammad of Ghor, who retreated wounded. |
| 1192 | Second Battle of Tarain Prithviraj Chauhan was defeated and killed, opening north India to the Ghurids. |
| 1194 | Battle of Chandawar Jayachandra was killed and the Ghurids took Kannauj and Varanasi. |
| c. 1200 | Destruction of Nalanda |
| c. 1203 | Destruction of Vikramashila |
| c. 1204 | Bakhtiyar Khalji takes Nadia Lakshmana Sena fled to east Bengal and Turkish rule began in Bengal. |
| 1206 | Delhi Sultanate founded |
| 1211 | Iltutmish becomes sultan |
| 1221 | Chinggis Khan pursues Jalal ad-Din to the Indus Jalal ad-Din escaped across the Indus and Iltutmish refused him asylum. |
| 1228 | Sukaphaa founds the Ahom kingdom |
| 1229 | Iltutmish receives caliphal investiture |
| 1236 | Razia Sultana ascends the throne |
Contemporaries
Sorted by how long their lives overlapped. The bar shows when, within Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti’s life.
Chinggis Khan
Invader / conqueror · c. 1162 – c. 1227
Mongol conqueror who reached the Indus in 1221
Overlap: 65 years
Kamban
Poet / writer · active c. 1180
Author of the Tamil Ramavataram (Kamba Ramayanam)
Overlap: 60 years
Jayadeva
Poet / writer · active c. 1180
Author of the Gita Govinda
Overlap: 60 years
Chand Bardai
Poet / writer · active c. 1190
Court poet credited with the Prithviraj Raso
Overlap: 60 years
Basavanna
Social reformer · c. 1134 – c. 1196
Lingayat reformer who founded the Anubhava Mantapa
Overlap: 55 years
Bhaskaracharya (Bhaskara II)
Scientist / mathematician · c. 1114 – c. 1185
Mathematician who wrote the Lilavati
Overlap: 44 years
Kalhana
Scholar / historian · active c. 1148
Author of the Rajatarangini, the chronicle of Kashmir
Overlap: 37 years
Hemachandra
Scholar / historian · c. 1088 – c. 1173
Jain polymath at the court of Kumarapala
Overlap: 32 years
Sekkizhar
Poet / writer · active c. 1135
Author of the Periya Puranam on the Nayanar saints
Overlap: 24 years
📚 Recommended reading
Textbook
Themes in Indian History, Parts I–III (Class 12)
Source-based chapters on Harappa, Vijayanagara, the Mughal court and 1857 — essential for UPSC.
Textbook
An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I (Class 11)
The standard base for art and architecture questions — stupas, temples and sculpture.
We may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. See all recommended books →