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2600 BCE
Decline of Mohenjo Dara and Harappa
Mohenjo Daro and Harappa were two cities of the ancient culture of the Indo’s valley. This city was populated between the years 2600 BC and the 1800 BC. It had important developments like wáter wells, sewerages and bathrooms inside the houses. These cities were located along the river Indo. There are several versions about the decline of these two cities. Some of them say that were destroyed by invaders, that a disease broke them and that the river Indo razed with everything. -
1500 BCE
Aryan Invasion
The aryans were a nomadic town who came from Central Asia. They passed through the russian steppes and Asia Minor. This town had men dedicated to war and hunting. Then, they settled in Punjab - India. From this city, they classified the people into four social stratums: the Kshatríyas (politicians and priests), the Vaisyas (merchants and craftsmen) and the Shudrás (slaves, serfs and workers). These social divisions could not be mixed. This invasion occurred in the year 1500 BC. -
269 BCE
Reign of Asoka
Asoka (Chandragupta Maurya´s grandson) was the third governor of the Maurya Empire. During the Asoka government, the empire progressed in matters related to politics and foreign trade. Asoka dominated most of India, Pakistan and part of Afghanistan from 269 before Christ until 232 before Christ. He extended the empire, which was inhabited by peoples of more than 60 different beliefs and languages. Asoka managed to expand its territory because of its great ability and military power. -
261 BCE
Battle of Kalinga
Asoka began to practice the teachings of Buddhism because he had remorse about the bloody conquests that had taken place in Kalinga (during this time the governor was known as Asoka the cruel). He wanted to purify his soul. After this, Asoka began to govern under three standards of conduct: a government without violence, a government with religious tolerance, and a government that promotes the value of respect for parents, teachers and elders. -
231 BCE
Maurya Empire
The Maurya Empire was the first empire established in India, was founded in the year 321 BC and dissolved in the year 180 BC. In this time there was progress related to agriculture, administration and security. Maurya and Asoka were the most important leaders of this empire, which weakened after the death of Emperor Asoka, the empire disintegrated, and Pusyamitra, the founder of the Shunga Dynasty, took advantage to overthrow Brihadratha, the last governor of the Maurya Empire. -
6 BCE
Siddartha Gautama
Siddharta Gautama, the Buddha, was a wise man. He founded Buddhism in India in the year 6 BC. Buddhism is a religion that teaches to achieve much well-being. This well-being is achieved through meditation which helps to develop qualities that are related to conscience, kindness and wisdom. Buddhism is the fourth most important religion in the world and Hinduism is the third. The difference between these two religions is that Buddhism does not believe in deities, whereas Hinduism does. -
320
Gupta Dynasty
The Gupta dynasty was a government that existed between the years 320 and 550 after Christ. This dynasty governed under a period of much prosperity, which was reflected in its cultural development: study of solar and lunar eclipses, use of the concept of number zero, creation of instruments to operate, construction of temples and sculptures, philosophers proposed the idea of a round earth and a new literature emerged; for this reason, this period of time was known as the Golden Age.
