Outline_of_South_Asian_history

Outline of South Asian history

Overviews of and topical guides to the history of South Asia

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the history of South Asia.

The broader region in and around the historical Indian subcontinent, which includes the contemporary geopolitical entities of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and the island countries of Maldives and Sri Lanka.

Chronology

More information Chronology of India, World History ...

Chronology of India

James Mill (1774–1836), in his The History of British India (1817),^[a] distinguished three phases in the history of the Indian subcontinent, namely Hindu, Muslim, and British civilisations.^[b]^[c] This periodisation has been influential, but has also been criticised for the misconceptions it gave rise to.^[d] Another influential periodisation is the division into "ancient, classical, medieval and modern periods".^[e]

World History^[f]

James Mill's Periodisation^[g]

ACMM^[h]^[i]

Chronology of Indian History^[j]^[k]^[l]^[m]

Early Societes
(3500–2500 BCE)

Early Indian Civilizations

Ancient India

Prehistoric Era
Indus Valley civilisation (c. 3300–1750 BCE)

Ancient Vedic Kingdoms
(2500–600 BCE)

Hindu civilisations

Early Vedic period
(c. 1750 – 1200 BCE)

Middle Vedic period
(from 1200 BCE)

Late Vedic period
(from 850 BCE)

Classical Civilisations
(600 BCE–500 CE)

Second urbanisation
Early empires^[n]
(c. 600–200 BCE)^[o]

Disintegration^[p] and regional states
(c. 200 BCE–300 CE)^[q]

Classical India

"Golden Age" (Gupta Empire)
(c. 320–650 CE)^[r]

Post-classical age
(500–1000 CE)

Medieval India

Regional Indian kingdoms and Beginning of Islamic raids
(c. 650–1100 CE)^[s]

Transregional nomadic empires
(1000–1500 CE)

Muslim civilisations

Delhi Sultanate (north India)
(1206–1526 CE)
Vijayanagara Empire (south India)
(1336–1646 CE)

Modern age
(1500–present)

Modern India

Mughal Empire
(1526–1707)

British civilisations

Maratha Empire
British rule
(c. 1750 CE–1947)

–

Independent India

Notes and references for table

Notes Different periods are designated as "classical Hinduism":

Smart calls the period between 1000 BCE and 100 CE "pre-classical". It's the formative period for the Upanishads and Brahmanism (Smart distinguishes "Brahmanism" from the Vedic religion, connecting "Brahmanism" with the Upanishads.^[t]), Jainism and Buddhism. For Smart, the "classical period" lasts from 100 to 1000 CE, and coincides with the flowering of "classical Hinduism" and the flowering and deterioration of Mahayana-buddhism in India.^[u]
For Michaels, the period between 500 BCE and 200 BCE is a time of "Ascetic reformism",^[v] whereas the period between 200 BCE and 1100 CE is the time of "classical Hinduism", since there is "a turning point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions".^[w]
Muesse discerns a longer period of change, namely between 800 BCE and 200 BCE, which he calls the "Classical Period". According to Muesse, some of the fundamental concepts of Hinduism, namely karma, reincarnation and "personal enlightenment and transformation", which did not exist in the Vedic religion, developed in this time.^[x]

References

Khanna 2007, p.xvii
Khanna 2007, p.xvii
Misra 2004, p.194
Kulke 2004, p.7
Flood 1996, p.21
Bentley
Khanna 2007, p.xvii
Flood 1996, p.21
Stein
Smart 2003, p. 52–53
Michaels 2004
Muesse 2011
Flood 1996, p. 21–22
Thapar
Thapar
Thapar
Michaels 2004, p.39
Michaels 2004, p.40
Michaels 2004, p.41
Smart 2003, p. 52, 83–86
Smart 2003, p.52
Michaels 2004, p.36
Michaels 2004, p.38
Muesse 2003, p.14

Sources

Bentley, Jerry H. (June 1996), "Cross-Cultural Interaction and Periodization in World History", The American Historical Review, 101 (3): 749–770, doi:10.2307/2169422, JSTOR 2169422
Flood, Gavin D. (1996), An Introduction to Hinduism, Cambridge University Press
Khanna, Meenakshi (2007), Cultural History Of Medieval India, Berghahn Books
Kulke, Hermann; Rothermund, Dietmar (2004), A History of India, Routledge
Michaels, Axel (2004), Hinduism. Past and present, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press
Misra, Amalendu (2004), Identity and Religion: Foundations of Anti-Islamism in India, SAGE
Muesse, Mark William (2003), Great World Religions: Hinduism
Muesse, Mark W. (2011), The Hindu Traditions: A Concise Introduction, Fortress Press
Smart, Ninian (2003), Godsdiensten van de wereld (The World's religions), Kampen: Uitgeverij Kok
Thapar, Romila (1977), A History of India. Volume One, Penguin Books

James Mill (1773–1836), in his The History of British India (1817), distinguished three phases in the history of India, namely Hindu, Muslim, and British civilisations. This periodisation has been influential, but has also been criticised for the misconceptions it gave rise to. Another influential periodisation is the division into "ancient, classical, medieval and modern periods", although this periodisation has also been criticised.^[1]

Romila Thapar notes that the division into Hindu-Muslim-British periods of Indian history gives too much weight to "ruling dynasties and foreign invasions",^[2] neglecting the social-economic history which often showed a strong continuity.^[2] The division into Ancient-Medieval-Modern periods overlooks the fact that the Muslim conquests occurred gradually during which time many things came and went off, while the south was never completely conquered.^[2] According to Thapar, a periodisation could also be based on "significant social and economic changes", which are not strictly related to the change of ruling powers.^[3]^{[note 1]}

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[1] Khanna 2007, p.xvii

[2] Khanna 2007, p.xvii

[3] Misra 2004, p.194

[4] Kulke 2004, p.7

[5] Flood 1996, p.21

[6] Bentley

[7] Khanna 2007, p.xvii

[8] Flood 1996, p.21

[9] Stein

[10] Smart 2003, p. 52–53

[11] Michaels 2004

[12] Muesse 2011

[13] Flood 1996, p. 21–22

[14] Thapar

[15] Thapar

[16] Thapar

[17] Michaels 2004, p.39

[18] Michaels 2004, p.40

[19] Michaels 2004, p.41

[20] Smart 2003, p. 52, 83–86

[21] Smart 2003, p.52

[22] Michaels 2004, p.36

[23] Michaels 2004, p.38

[24] Muesse 2003, p.14

[28] [N 1]
See also Tanvir Anjum, Temporal Divides: A Critical Review of the Major Schemes of Periodization in Indian History.

[FOOTNOTEThapar197819–20-25] [1]
Thapar 1978, p. 19–20.

[FOOTNOTEThapar197819-26] [2]
Thapar 1978, p. 19.

[FOOTNOTEThapar197820-27] [3]
Thapar 1978, p. 20.

[a]

[b]

[c]

[d]

[e]

[f]

[g]

[h]

[i]

[j]

[k]

[l]

[m]

[n]

[o]

[p]

[q]

[r]

[s]

[t]

[u]

[v]

[w]

[x]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[note 1]

Outline_of_South_Asian_history

Outline of South Asian history

Chronology

By period

Paleolithic and Mesolithic age

Neolithic age

Bronze Age

Iron Age and Vedic period

Middle kingdoms

Late medieval period

Early modern period

European colonial period

Kingdoms of Sri Lanka

History of South Asia, by region

By South Asian subregion

By country and national subdivision

History of South Asia, by subject

See also

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

External links

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