Time Events
1800 BC Iron Age in India.
1750 BC Nomadic shepherds, the Aryans, enter India from Central Asia and the Russian steppes.
1700 BC Indus Valley Civilization comes to an end but is continued by the Cemetery H culture.
1500 BC Early Vedic Period (to 1000 BC)
1300 BC Cemetery H culture comes to an end
1200 BC Rigveda (to 1000 BC)
1000 BC Middle and Late Vedic period (to 500 BC)
910 BC Yajnavalkya writes the Shatapatha Brahmana, in which he describes the motions of the sun and the moon.
877 BC Birth of Parsvanatha, 23rd Jain Tirthankara
777 BC Nirvana of Parsvanatha 23rd Jain Tirthankara
700 BC The Upanishads, a sacred text of Hinduism, were written.
600 BC Sixteen Maha Janapadas (“Great Realms” or “Great Kingdoms”) emerge.
600 BC The Upanishads written
599 BC Mahavira, 24th Tirthankar of Jainism is born
563 BC Gautam Buddha, founder of Buddhism is born in Lumbini
538 BC Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Achaemenid Empire conquers northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent.
527 BC Nirvana of Mahavira
483 BC Death of Gautama Buddha in Kushinagar
400 BC Siddharta Gautama ‘Buddha’ of the Shakya polity in S. Nepal, founds Buddhism (older date: 563“483 BC)
350 BC Panini, a resident of Gandhara, describes the grammar and morphology of Sanskrit in the text Ashtadhyayi. Panini’s standardized Sanskrit is known as Classical Sanskrit.
333 BC Persian rule in the northwest ends after Darius III is defeated by Alexander the Great, who establishes the Macedonian Empire after inheriting the Persian Achaemenid Empire.
326 BC Ambhi king of Taxila surrenders to Alexander.
321 BC Mauryan Empire is founded by Chandragupta Maurya in Magadha after he defeats the Nanda dynasty and Macedonian Seleucid Empire. Mauryan capital city is Patliputra (Modern Patna in Bihar)
305 BC Chandragupta Maurya defeats Seleucus Nicator of the Seleucid Empire.
304 BC Seleucus gives up his territories in the subcontinent (Afghanistan/Baluchistan) to Chandragupta in exchange for 500 elephants. Seleucus offers his daughter in marriage to Chandragupta to seal their friendship.
273 BC Ashoka the Great regarded as the greatest ancient Indian emperor, grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, ascends as emperor of the Mauryan Empire.
269 BC Ashoka the Great, grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, becomes the emperor of India
266 BC Ashoka conquers and unifies most of South Asia, along with Afghanistan and eastern Iran.
265 BC Kalinga War takes place between Ashoka and the kingdom of Kalinga.
261 BC Conquest of Kalinga
260 BC Ashoka begins displaying religious tolerance, grants animal rights, builds hospitals for people and animals, treats his subjects as equals regardless of caste or creed, and promotes non-violence and republicanism.
232 BC Ashoka dies and is succeeded by Kunala.
230 BC Simuka declares independence from Mauryan rule and establishes the Satavahana Empire.
200 BC Kuninda Kingdom established.
184 BC The Mauryan Empire, which shrunk considerably, collapsed after its emperor Brihadrata was assassinated by his general Pusyamitra Sunga who then established the Sunga dynasty.
180 BC Establishment of the Indo-Greek kingdom.
80 BC Establishment of the Indo-Scythian kingdom.
65 BC The Pandyan king sends ambassadors to the Greek and Roman lands.
57 BC Beginning of Vikram Era