Ancient India was the site of several thriving empires, beginning with the Maurya Empire (ca. 321-185 BCE), the first to encompass most of present-day India. Like the Maurya Empire, the Gupta Empire (320-500s CE) was centered on the Gangetic plain. Vedic Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism spread throughout India during Gupta rule. The third empire to unite most of present-day India was the Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526), a succession of five dynasties of Turkic-Afghan origin. The sultanate succeeded in protecting India from the Mongol armies that swept across Central Asia and into Persia and Arabia, and Delhi became an attractive refuge for Muslim elites fleeing south.
Featuring full-color photographs and maps, summaries of key people and key sites, primary source documents, a chronology, glossary, bibliography, and further resources, Empires of Ancient India discusses the rich and diverse cultural traditions of ancient India, the major religions that originated and thrived here, the social system that formed under Vedic Hinduism, and the influential economic and political institutions that were established by the rulers of ancient India.
The text is accompanied by excerpts from Ashoka, Harisena, and the legendary Manu, as well as from accounts left by foreign visitors, such as the Greek ambassador Megasthenes, the Chinese monks Faxian and Xuanzang, and the Muslim scholars al-Biruni and Juzjani.