Indian History

Haryana is known for being the territory over which were fought some of the decisive and famous battles that changed much of the history of India. Chief among them are the battle of Mahabharata and the three battles of Panipat. The Indus Valley Civilization, or the Harappan Civilization, one of the world's first and oldest civilizations, was located in part of what is now Haryana. Banawali in Hisar District of Haryana was a major city of the Indus Valley Civilization. Rakhigarhi is another city of the Indus Valley Civilization that is situated in the present day Haryana. Haryana was an important centre of Vedic civilization. King Harshavardhana, one of the greatest kings of ancient India made Thanesar near Kurukshetra in the state of Haryana his capital in the 7th century AD. Prithviraj Chauhan, the last Hindu king in Delhi, founded forts at Tarori and Hansi in the 12th century. Haryana came under the control of Muslim ruler after Prithviraj Chauhan was defeated by Muhammad G

Three dynasties, the Karkota, the Utpala and the Loharas, ruled over Kashmir from 800 AD to 1200 AD. Of the Karkota dynasty, Lalitaditya Muktapida (724-760) and Jayapida Vinyaditya (779-810) were the two most famous rulers. The Karkota dynasty was overthrown by the Utpalas in the middle of the ninth century AD. The most illustrious ruler of the Utpala dynasty was Avantivarman (855-83) who devoted more time to internal administration than to conquests. He is credited to have founded new cities including Suyyapura (Sopar) and Avavntipur. The Utpalas were supplanted by the Loharas. Harsha was the last important ruler of the Lohara dynasty. After his death Kashmir faced a quick succession of weak Lohara rulers and finally the dynasty came to an end in 1172 AD. Though Muhammad bin Qasim, the conqueror of Sind, invaded Kashmir, he was not able to subjugate the region. Mahmud of Ghazni’s attempt to conqueror also ended in failure. Shah Mir dynasty was founded in 1339. Alauddin (1343-54) trans

All the great Mughal rulers, with the exception of Auragzeb, were patrons of music. Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan took keen interest in music. Abul Fazal, the court historian of Akbar mentions that thirty six singers enjoyed the patronage of Akbar’s court. Of them, Tansen was the most famous. According to Abul Fazal, the author of Akbarnama, ‘a singer like him has not been in India for the last thousand years.’ Tansen was earlier a court musician of Rama Chandra, a Raja of Bhatta (Rewa). The famous Sufi saint Shaikh Salim Chishti was great admirer of Tansen. Tansen was conferred the title of Kanthabharanvani Vilas by Akbar. Tansen’s son Tantarng also sang in the court of Akbar. Among the thirty six names of musicians in the court of Akbar, most of the singers were Indian and hailed from either Gwalior or Dhar. Ramdas who had been formerly in the court of Islam Shah was second only to Tansen. His son Surdas was also a musician. The musicians enjoying the patronage of the fourth Mug

Five separate Sultanates arose in the Deccan, one after another, on the break-up of the Bahmanai kingdom. Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda was one of them. The founder of this dynasty was Sultan Quli Hamadani who was given the charge of the region of Golconda by the Bahmani ruler in 1494. Sultan Quli Hamadani was given the title of Qutbul Mulk by the Bahmani ruler. Taking advantage of the weakening of the Bahmani kingdom, he declared independce in 1512. His reign was characterized by his constant struggles with the rulers of the Vijayanagar empire. Qutbul Mulk was killed by his son Jamshid in 1543 at the age of ninety-eight. Jamshid ruled for seven years. His rule was characterized by chaos and his boneheaded obstinacy made his unpopular. His brother Ibrahim, fearing his life, went to the protection of Vijayanagar rulers. Jamshid was succeeded by his son Subhan. Taking advantage of the prevailing discontent in the empire, Ibrahim succeeded in becoming the ruler of the Qutb dynasty. Ibrah

A 17th century life-size portrait of fourth Mughal emperor Jahangir was sold for a record Rs 10 crore at Bonhams Indian and Islamic Sale in London. The painting is attributed to Abul Hasan or Nadir al-Zaman or " wonder of the age " as he was called by Jahangir, who was the Mughal Emperor from 1605-1627. Abul Hasan and his father Aga Reza of Herat were the famous painters of the court of Jahangir. Jahangir was an excellent connoisseur of paintings. The emperor was also an art critic who could tell the names of the individual painters in a composite piece.  Other important painters of his court were Muhammad Nadir and Muhammad Murad from Samarqand, Ustad Mansur , Bishan Das , Manohar and Govardhan . Most of the subjects of Mughal paintings were inspired by the court life and the natural life.

His tenure of office was marked by the First Sikh War (1845). The English army occupied Lahore and dictated peace terms to the Sikhs (Treaty of Lahore, 1846). Hardinge introduced the principle of giving preference to English educated Indians in public employment- a policy which gave great fillip to English education but changed its character. He is also credited to have suppressed human sacrifice by the Khonds .

Women occupied a very honourable position in the Viajayanagr society. Some of them were very learned and were eminent litterateurs. Monogamy was the general practice, but kings and nobility followed polygamous practices. Early marriages were common among the Brahmins. The plight of the widows was pitiable, but they could remarry.  The state encouraged widow remarriage by not levying any marriage tax on their marriage. Women of the nobility and higher castes were carefully educated. Music and dancing formed an important part of their curriculum. Women were also wrestlers, astrologers, accountants, writers, musicians and even went to the battlefield.  Another group of women were the courtesans who played a very important role in society. They were two classes: (a) those who were attached to the temples, and (b) those who lived independently. Their case was not homogeneous and it was open to women of any community to join their sisterhood. Courtesans were highly educated and cultured and