Ancient and Medieval Indian History

Tamerlane attacked India during the reign of Nasir-ud-din Mahmud. Tamerlane defeated four armies of the Sultanate on December 15, 1398. For eight days Delhi was plundered, its population massacred and over 100,000 war prisoners were killed as well. 

The chief organizer of the campaigns of Alauddin was Malik Kafur. Malik Kafur was a slave who became a head general in the army of Alauddin Khilji. Malik Kafur led two campaigns in south India, the first was against Warangal and other against Dwar Samudra. 

The title 'Devanam Priya' was given to Ashoka.  Ashoka was a Buddhist in the same way as Harsha was a Budhist or Kumarapala was a Jain. But in the view of the people of the day, he was a Hindu monarch following one of the recognized sects.  He gave himself the title, Devanam Priya, which means the beloved of the gods. 

Saka era started from 78 A.D. The Satavahana king Shalivahana is credited with the initiation of the era known as Shalivahana Saka to celebrate his victory against the Sakas in the year 78 CE. So the Saka era started from 78 A.D. ears are counted in the Saka Era, which starts its year 0 in the year 78 of the Common Era. 

Akbar defeated Rana Pratap in the battle of Haldighati in the year 1576. The Battle of Haldighati was fought between the Mughal Empire and the forces of Mewar on June 21, 1576 at Haldighati in Rajasthan, India. It was a decisive victory for the Mughal Emperor Akbar against Maharana Pratap Singh of Mewar.

The king who did not allow anybody to laugh in his court was Balban. Ghiyas-ud-din Balban was born in a well-to-do Turk family of the Ilbari tribe and was the ninth sultan of the Mamluk dynasty. Balban imposed a rigorous discipline on himself. No valet ever saw him without a cap or socks or shoes and throughout his long period of kingship, he never laughed aloud before others, nor had anyone the courage to laugh aloud in his presence. 

Magasthenese was the Ambassador of Seleucus Nikator. Megasthenes was a Greek ethnographer in the Hellenistic period, author of the work Indica. He was born in Asia Minor and became an ambassador of Seleucus I Nikator of Syria. 

Amoghavarsha was the Rashtrakuta ruler to have sacrificed his fingers to Mahalakshmi. Amoghavarsha was a Rashtrakuta emperor and one of the great emperors of India. He deeply cared for his subjects and once when a calamity threatened to harm them, he offered his fingers as a sacrifice to the goddess Mahalakshmi. 

The Capital of Harshavardhana's kingdom was Kannauj. Harsha was the grandson of a Gupta Princess. At 16, he became the king, when his brother Rajyavardhana was killed. Harsha ruled from Thaneswar. He consolidated his kingdom, with the help of his widowed sister, the queen of Kannauj.  

Emperor Kanishka belonged to the Kushan Dynasty. The rule of Kanishka,fifth Kushan king, who flourished for about 13 years from c. 127.  Kanishka was the son of Vima Kadphises and the grandson of Sadashkana. Kanishka's era was used as a calendar reference by the Kushans for about a century, until the decline of the Kushan realm. 

Saiyad dynasty ruled India during 1437-1451. The Sayyid dynasty was the fourth dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate from 1437 to 1451. They succeeded the Tughlaq dynasty and ruled Delhi sultanate until they were displaced by the Lodi dynasty. 

“Monolithic Rathas” of the Pallavas are found at Kanchipuram.

The famous Kailash Temple was built by the Satvahanas. Kailash Temple is a famous temple, one of the 34 monasteries and temples, extending over more than 2 km, which were dug side by side in the wall of a high basalt cliff in the complex located at Ellora, India. 

Bindusara was not a contemporary of Gautama Buddha, Bimbisara and Prasenjit. There are many accounts of Bimbisara in the Jain texts since he was a contemporary of Gautama Buddha. Wife of Bimbisara was the sister of Prasenjit.  

The name of the ruined capital of Vijaynagar Empire was Halebid. Halebid is located in Hassan District, Karnataka, India. Halebid was the regal capital of the Hoysala Empire in the 12th century. This city was ruined two times by Bahmani Sultanate. 

The last battle that Humayun fought with Sher Shah was at Bilgram. After Humayun's defeat at Bilgram in 1540, Sher Shah of the Sur dynasty occupied Agra Fort and garrisoned it.

Chandragupta Maurya's empire extended in the North-West up to Hindu kush. Mainstream scholarship asserts that Chandragupta received vast territory in the west of the Indus, including the Hindu Kush and the Balochistan province of Pakistan. 

Samudragupta was related to the Licchavis on his mother's side. The Licchavis were the most famous clan amongst the ruling confederate clans of the Vajji Mahajanapada of ancient India. Samudragupta was described as the grandson of the Licchavis from his mother's side, in Allahabad Pillar inscription. 

The coins of the Guptas reveal their love for music. The Guptas had good proficiency in music and were accomplished lyrists. This fact is amply demonstrated in their lyrist type coins. These coins are unique, very special and rare. 

The Indus Valley Civilization was discovered in 1921. In 1912, Harappan seals were discovered by J. Fleet, prompting an excavation campaign under Sir John Hubert Marshall in 1921-22 and resulting in the discovery of the civilization at Harappa by Sir John Marshall. 

Ala-ud-din Khilji was not a slave before he became a king. He was the nephew as well as the son-in-law of Jalal-ud-Din Khilji. During the reign of Jalal-ud-Din Khilji, Alauddin Khilji was appointed the Governor of Awadh and Kara. However, he wanted to consolidate his position by becoming the ruler of the Khilji dynasty. So, he killed Jalal-ud-Din Khilji, marched to Delhi and proclaimed himself as the king.  

Porus was defeated by Alexander at the Battle of Hydaspes.

After the decline of the Guptas, a large part of North India was reunited by Harshavardhana. Under Harshavardhana, North India was reunited briefly, but neither the Guptas nor Harsha controlled a centralized state, and their administrative styles rested on the collaboration of regional and local officials. 

The 'Battle of Ten Kings' was fought on the banks of Parushni (Ravi). The Battle of the Ten Kings is a battle alluded to in Mandala 7 of the Rigveda. The battle took place on the banks of the Parusni (Ravi) and the warriors of Sudas are described as white-robed, wearing hair-knots on the right side of their heads, having flying banners, while the ten kings do not sacrifice. 

The Kalpa Sūtra is a Jain text containing the biographies of the Jain Tirthankaras, notably Parshvanatha and Mahavira, including the latter's Nirvāṇa. Bhadrabahu I is considered the author of the text and it is traditionally said to have been composed about one hundred and fifty years after the Nirvāṇa of Mahavira (traditionally 599 – 527 BCE).