Indian History: Ancient and Medieval Periods

Guru Teg Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru, was executed by Aurangzeb in 1675 for refusing to convert to Islam and protecting religious freedom. He was publicly executed in Chandni Chowk, Delhi. Guru Arjun Dev was earlier executed by Jahangir, not Aurangzeb.

Akbar was famous for his policy of friendly relations with Rajputs through matrimonial alliances and the Rajput nobility integration into his administration. He married Rajput princesses and gave high positions to Rajput rulers. Babar and Humayun had conflicts, while Aurangzeb was hostile.

Sanghamitra, Emperor Ashoka's daughter, went to Sri Lanka to spread Buddhism as a missionary. She carried a sapling of the Bodhi tree and established the Bhikkhuni order. Ashoka sent her, but did not go himself. Samudragupta and Chitragupta are not associated with Sri Lanka.

The Pallavas were pioneers of Dravidian temple architecture, developing the rock-cut temples at Mahabalipuram and structural temples like Kailasanatha temple in Kanchipuram. They introduced many architectural features that became standard in South Indian temple building.

Aryabhatta was a renowned ancient Indian astronomer and mathematician who lived around 476-550 CE. He calculated pi accurately, proposed that Earth rotates, and developed astronomical theories. Bhanabhatta was a novelist, Vishakadatta a playwright, and Nagarjuna a philosopher.

The Sangam literature was composed in Tamil language during the Sangam period (3rd century BCE to 3rd century CE) in ancient Tamilakam. It is the earliest known literature of South India. Kannada, Telugu, and Sanskrit were not the languages of Sangam literature.

Alexander the Great invaded India in 326 BC and stayed for approximately 19 months before his army refused to continue further east. This period includes his battles against King Porus, most notably the Battle of Hydaspes, and his campaign in the Punjab region before he turned back towards Babylon.

Artisans of the Gandhara school of art predominantly used grey sandstone, schist, and stucco for their sculptures, particularly when depicting Buddhist imagery influenced by Greco-Roman styles.