The political process among the ancient Indo-Aryans appears to have originally started with semi-nomadic tribal units called Jana (meaning tribe). Early Vedic texts attest several Janas or tribes of the Aryans, living in semi-nomadic tribal state, fighting among themselves and with other Non-Aryan tribes for cows, sheeps and green pastures. These early Vedic Janas later coalesced into Janapadas of the Epic Age. Term "Janapada" literally means the foothold of a tribe. The derivative meaning of Janapada from ...

See also:

Mahajanapadas, Mahajanapadas - Overview, Mahajanapadas - Kasi, Mahajanapadas - Kosala, Mahajanapadas - Anga, Mahajanapadas - Magadha, Mahajanapadas - Vajji or Vriji, Mahajanapadas - Malla, Mahajanapadas - Chedi or Cheti, Mahajanapadas - Vamsa or Vatsa, Mahajanapadas - Kuru, Mahajanapadas - Panchala, Mahajanapadas - Machcha or Matsya, Mahajanapadas - Surasena, Mahajanapadas - Assaka or Ashmaka, Mahajanapadas - Avanti, Mahajanapadas - Gandhara, Mahajanapadas - Kamboja

Read more here: » Mahajanapadas: Encyclopedia II - Mahajanapadas - Overview

See also:

Mahajanapadas, Mahajanapadas - Overview, Mahajanapadas - Kasi, Mahajanapadas - Kosala, Mahajanapadas - Anga, Mahajanapadas - Magadha, Mahajanapadas - Vajji or Vriji, Mahajanapadas - Malla, Mahajanapadas - Chedi or Cheti, Mahajanapadas - Vamsa or Vatsa, Mahajanapadas - Kuru, Mahajanapadas - Panchala, Mahajanapadas - Machcha or Matsya, Mahajanapadas - Surasena, Mahajanapadas - Assaka or Ashmaka, Mahajanapadas - Avanti, Mahajanapadas - Gandhara, Mahajanapadas - Kamboja

Read more here: » Mahajanapadas: Encyclopedia II - Mahajanapadas - Magadha

The Mallas are frequently mentioned in Buddhist and Jain works. They were a powerful people dwelling in Eastern India. Panduputra Bhimasena is said to have conquered the chief of the Mallas in course of his expedition of Eastern India. Mahabharata mention Mallas along with the Angas, Vangas, and Kalingas as eastern tribes. The Mallas were republican people with their dominion consisting of nine territories (Kalpa Sutra; Nirayavali Sutra), one of each of the nine confederated clans. Two of these confederations...one with Kusinara (modern Kasi ...

See also:

Mahajanapadas, Mahajanapadas - Overview, Mahajanapadas - Kasi, Mahajanapadas - Kosala, Mahajanapadas - Anga, Mahajanapadas - Magadha, Mahajanapadas - Vajji or Vriji, Mahajanapadas - Malla, Mahajanapadas - Chedi or Cheti, Mahajanapadas - Vamsa or Vatsa, Mahajanapadas - Kuru, Mahajanapadas - Panchala, Mahajanapadas - Machcha or Matsya, Mahajanapadas - Surasena, Mahajanapadas - Assaka or Ashmaka, Mahajanapadas - Avanti, Mahajanapadas - Gandhara, Mahajanapadas - Kamboja

Read more here: » Mahajanapadas: Encyclopedia II - Mahajanapadas - Malla

The History of India can be traced in fragments as far back as 700,000 years ago. The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world, dates back at least 5,000 years. According to the Indo-Aryan migration hypothesis, the so-called Aryans from the north-west of the Indian subcontinent migrated between 2000 BCE and 1500 BCE, possibly from Central Asia or the Middle East; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants apparently resulted in classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkish ...

Including:

• History of India - The Paleolithic era
• History of India - The Neolithic era
• History of India - The Bronze age
• History of India - Vedic civilization
• History of India - The Mahajanapadas
• History of India - The Magadha empire
• History of India - Shishunaga dynasty
• History of India - Nanda dynasty
• History of India - Maurya dynasty
• History of India - Shunga dynasty
• History of India - Early Middle Kingdoms - the golden age
• History of India - Satavahana empire
• History of India - Kushan empire
• History of India - Gupta dynasty
• History of India - Late Middle Kingdoms - the classical age
• History of India - Harsha's empire
• History of India - The Chalukyas and Pallavas
• History of India - Chola empire
• History of India - The Pratiharas, Palas and Rashtrakutas
• History of India - The Rajputs
• History of India - The Islamic Sultanates
• History of India - Vijayanagar empire
• History of India - The Mughal era
• History of India - The Maratha confederacy
• History of India - The Kingdom of Mysore
• History of India - The Punjab
• History of India - Company rule
• History of India - The British Raj
• History of India - The independence movement
• History of India - Independent India
• History of India - Textbooks and Surveys

Read more here: » History of India: Encyclopedia - History of India

Earliest reference to Angas occurs in Atharava Veda (V.22.14) where they find mention along with the Magadhas, Gandharis and the Mujavatas, all apparently as a despised people. The Jaina Prajnapana ranks the Angas and the Vangas in the first group of Aryan peoples. According to Buddhist texts like Anguttara Nikaya, Anga was one of the sixteen great nations (solas Mahajanapadas) which had flourished in central and north-west India in sixth century BCE. Anga also finds mention in the Jaina Bhag ...

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Kosala was an ancient Indian kingdom, corresponding roughly in area with the region of Oudh. Its capital was Ayodhya. In sixth century BCE, Kosala formed one of the sixteen powerful kingdoms (Mahajanapadas) of Buddhist traditions, but was weakened by a series of wars with the neighboring kingdom of Magadha and finally (4th cent. B.C.) was absorbed by it. Kosala was the setting of much Sanskrit epic literature including the Ramayana. Buddha and Mahavira, founder of Jainism, taught in the kingdom.

Kamboja was the ancient name of a country, and the Indo-Iranian warrior tribe, the Kambojas, settled therein. The country is listed as one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas or great nations in ancient Buddhist texts, and was located in the Uttarapatha in extreme north-west of the Indian sub-continent, contiguous to the kingdom of Gandhara. It initially included the Pamirs, Badakshan, and territories as far as the Zeravshan valley in the doab of Oxus/Jaxartes. It approximated what is known today as the ...

Including:

• Kamboja - Related Uses
• Kamboja - Some Time/Space Variants of Kamboja

Read more here: » Kamboja: Encyclopedia - Kamboja

Bairat is a town in northern Jaipur District of Rajasthan, India. Bairat is located 52 km north of Jaipur, and 66km west of Alwar. Bairat - History. The ancient name of the town was Viratnagar, and its history goes back to the time of the Mahabharata. Viratnagar was the capital of the ancient Indian kingdom (Mahajanapada) of Machcha or Matsya. The kingdom came under the control of the neighboring Chedi kingdom in the 5th century, and was later part of the Mauryan Empire. The ruins of the B ...

Including:

• Bairat - History

Read more here: » Bairat: Encyclopedia - Bairat

Avanti ( modern Malwa ) was an important kingdom of western India and was one of the four great monarchies in India when Buddhism arose, the other three being Kosala, Vatsa and Magadha. Avanti was divided into north and south by river Vetravati. Initially, Mahissati (Sanskrit Mahishamati) was the capital of Southern Avanti, and Ujjaini (Sanskrit Ujjayini) was of northern Avanti, but at the times of Mahavira and Buddha, Ujjaini was the capital of integrated Avanti. The country of Avanti roughly corresponded to modern Ma ...

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Matsya (Fish in Sanskrit) was the first Avatara of Vishnu. According to legend, the king Manu was washing his hands in a river when a little fish swam into his hands and begged him to save it. He put it in a jar, which it soon outgrew; he successively moved it to a tank, a river and then the ocean. The fish then warned him that a Great Flood would occur in a week that would destroy all life. Manu therefore built a boat which the fish towed to a mountaintop when the flood came, and thus ...

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Ancient Buddhist and Brahmanical texts reveal that Uttarapatha was the name of northern division of Jambudvipa of ancient Indian traditions. Initially, the term Uttarapatha referred to the northern high road ..the main trade route that followed along the river Ganges, crossed the Indo-Gangetic watershed, ran through the Punjab to Taxila (Gandhara) and further to Zariaspa or Balkh (Bactria) in Central Asia. The eastern terminus of the Uttarapatha was Tamraliptika or Tamluk located at the mouth of Gang ...

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Gandhāra (also Ghandara, Ghandahra, Chandahara, and Persian Gandara) is the name of an ancient kingdom in eastern Afghanistan and north-west province of Pakistan. Gandhara was located mainly on southern side of Kabul River. In the east, it extended beyond Indus River and included within its boundaries parts of the valley of Kashmir (Political History of Ancient India, 1996, p 151). Gandhara - Geography. The Gandharas were settled since the Vedic times on the south bank of Kabul ...

Including:

• Gandhara - Geography
• Gandhara - Ancient Gandhara
• Gandhara - Persian rule
• Gandhara - Gandhara under the Mauryas
• Gandhara - Gandhara under Greek rule
• Gandhara - Language
• Gandhara - Gandharan proselytism
• Gandhara - Gandharan art
• Gandhara - Timeline
• Gandhara - External link

Read more here: » Gandhara: Encyclopedia - Gandhara

Magadha was an ancient kingdom of India, mentioned in both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. It was also one of the four main kingdoms of India at the time of Buddha, having risen to power during the reigns of Bimbisara (c. 544-491 BCE) and his son Ajatashatru (c. 491-460 BCE). The core of the kingdom was that portion of Bihar lying south of the Ganges, with its capital at Rajagriha (modern Rajgir). Magadha expanded to include most of Bihar and parts of Bengal with the conquest of Anga, and then expanded up the Ganges valley annexing ...

Including:

• Magadha - History
• Magadha - Kings of Magadha

Read more here: » Magadha: Encyclopedia - Magadha

By 500 BC, sixteen monarchies and 'republics' known as the Mahajanapadas stretched across the Indo-Gangetic plains from modern-day Afghanistan to Bangladesh. The largest of these nations were Magadha, Kosala, Kuru and Gandhara. The right of a king to his throne, no matter how it was gained, was usually legitimized through religious right and genealogies concocted by priests who ascribed to the king divine origins. Hindu rituals at that time were complicated and conducted by the priestly class. It is thought that the Upanishads, late V ...

See also:

History of India, History of India - The Paleolithic era, History of India - The Neolithic era, History of India - The Bronze age, History of India - Indus Valley Civilization, History of India - Vedic civilization, History of India - The Mahajanapadas, History of India - The Magadha empire, History of India - Shishunaga dynasty, History of India - Nanda dynasty, History of India - Maurya dynasty, History of India - Shunga dynasty, History of India - Early Middle Kingdoms - the golden age, History of India - Satavahana empire, History of India - Kushan empire, History of India - Gupta dynasty, History of India - Late Middle Kingdoms - the classical age, History of India - Harsha's empire, History of India - The Chalukyas and Pallavas, History of India - Chola empire, History of India - The Pratiharas Palas and Rashtrakutas, History of India - The Rajputs, History of India - The Islamic Sultanates, History of India - Vijayanagar empire, History of India - The Mughal era, History of India - The Maratha confederacy, History of India - The Kingdom of Mysore, History of India - The Punjab, History of India - Company rule, History of India - The British Raj, History of India - The independence movement, History of India - Independent India, History of India - Textbooks and Surveys

Read more here: » History of India: Encyclopedia II - History of India - The Mahajanapadas

By 500 BC, sixteen monarchies and 'republics' known as the Mahajanapadas stretched across the Indo-Gangetic plains from modern-day Afghanistan to Bangladesh. The largest of these nations were Magadha, Kosala, Kuru and Gandhara. The right of a king to his throne, no matter how it was gained, was usually legitimized through religious right and genealogies concocted by priests who ascribed divine origins to the rulers. There is some controversy about how closely the political entities of this period can be represented by those mentioned in the ...

See also:

History of India, History of India - The Paleolithic era, History of India - The Neolithic era, History of India - The Bronze age, History of India - Indus Valley Civilization, History of India - Vedic civilization, History of India - The Mahajanapadas, History of India - Persian and Greek invasion, History of India - Achaemenid Empire, History of India - Alexander the Great, History of India - Greco-Buddhist period, History of India - The Magadha Empire, History of India - Shishunaga dynasty, History of India - Nanda Dynasty, History of India - Maurya dynasty, History of India - Shunga dynasty, History of India - Early Middle Kingdoms - the golden age, History of India - Satavahana Empire, History of India - Kushan Empire, History of India - Gupta dynasty, History of India - Huna invasion, History of India - Indo-Sassanians, History of India - Late Middle Kingdoms - the classical age, History of India - Harsha's empire, History of India - The Chalukyas and Pallavas, History of India - Chola empire, History of India - The Pratiharas Palas and Rashtrakutas, History of India - The Rajputs, History of India - Vijayanagar Empire, History of India - The Islamic Sultanates, History of India - Delhi Sultanate, History of India - The Mughal era, History of India - Mughal Empire, History of India - The Maratha confederacy, History of India - The Kingdom of Mysore, History of India - The Punjab, History of India - Durrani Empire, History of India - Colonial era, History of India - Company rule, History of India - The British Raj, History of India - The independence movement, History of India - Republic of India, History of India - Textbooks and surveys

Read more here: » History of India: Encyclopedia II - History of India - The Mahajanapadas

Military history of India - From Vedic times to the Greek incursion. The Vedas and other associated texts contain references to warfare. The two great epics of India, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, are centered around conflicts and refer to military formations, theories of warfare and esoteric weaponry. Valmiki's Ramayana describes Ayodhya's military as defensive rather than aggressive. The city, it says, was strongly fortified and was surrounded by a deep moat. Ramayana describes Ayodhya in following words: " ...

See also:

Military history of India, Military history of India - The Bronze age, Military history of India - Indus Valley Civilization, Military history of India - Aryans, Military history of India - The Mahajanapadas, Military history of India - From Vedic times to the Greek incursion, Military history of India - The Magadha empire, Military history of India - Shishunaga dynasty, Military history of India - Nanda dynasty, Military history of India - Maurya dynasty, Military history of India - Early Middle Kingdoms the golden age, Military history of India - Satavahana dynasty, Military history of India - Kushan empire, Military history of India - Gupta dynasty, Military history of India - Late Middle Kingdoms - the classical age, Military history of India - Harsha's empire, Military history of India - The Chalukyas and Pallavas, Military history of India - The Chola empire, Military history of India - The Pratiharas Palas and Rashtrakutas, Military history of India - The Rajputs, Military history of India - The Sultanate era, Military history of India - Samoothiris of Kozhikode, Military history of India - Muzzafarid dynasty, Military history of India - Vijayanagar empire, Military history of India - The effects of the Mongol wars, Military history of India - The Mughal era, Military history of India - Mughals, Military history of India - The Maratha empire, Military history of India - State of Travancore, Military history of India - Kingdom of Mysore, Military history of India - Punjab, Military history of India - The European incursions, Military history of India - The Napoleonic wars, Military history of India - Company rule, Military history of India - The 1857 Sepoy war, Military history of India - The British Raj, Military history of India - The British-Indian army, Military history of India - The Afghan wars, Military history of India - The world wars, Military history of India - Opposition: the Indian National Army, Military history of India - The independence movement, Military history of India - Independent India, Military history of India - Major wars, Military history of India - Other Operations, Military history of India - Missile program, Military history of India - Nuclear program, Military history of India - Overview and recent developments, Military history of India - Military collaborations with other nations, Military history of India - Disasters, Military history of India - Awards

Read more here: » Military history of India: Encyclopedia II - Military history of India - The Mahajanapadas

Ancient Sanskrit texts like Ashtadhyayi (IV.4.168-175), Ramayana (IV/41-43), Mahabharata (VII/11/16-17; VIII/8/18-20)) and numerous Puranas (Bhuvanakosa list of countries) refer to many Janapadas of ancient times. Panini's Ashtadhyayi furnishes a list of fifteen Kshatriya monarchical Janapadas viz Salveya, Gandhari, Magadha, Kalinga, Surasena, Kosala, Ajada, Kuru, Salva, Pratyagratha, Kalakuta, Ashmaka, Kamboja, Avanti and Kunti. Besides, there were those foll ...

See also:

Janapadas, Janapadas - Origins, Janapadas - Lists

Read more here: » Janapadas: Encyclopedia II - Janapadas - Lists

The political process among the ancient Indo-Aryans appears to have originally started with semi-nomadic tribal units called Jana (Latin gens). Early Vedic texts attest several Janas or tribes of the Aryans, living in semi-nomadic tribal state, fighting among themselves and with other Non-Aryan tribes for cows, sheeps and green pastures. These early Rigvedic Janas in the course of the early Indian Iron Age coalesced into the g ...

See also:

Janapadas, Janapadas - Origins, Janapadas - Lists

Read more here: » Janapadas: Encyclopedia II - Janapadas - Origins

Amongst the 16 Mahajanapadas, the kingdom of Magadha rose to prominence under a number of dynasties that peaked in power under the reign of Asoka Maurya, one of India's most legendary and famous emperors. The kingdom of Magadha had emerged as a major power following the subjugation of two neighbouring kingdoms, and possessed an unparalleled military. History of India - Shishunaga dynasty. According to tradition, the Shishunaga dynasty founded the Magadha Empire in 684 BC, whose capital was Rajagriha, later ...

See also:

History of India, History of India - The Paleolithic era, History of India - The Neolithic era, History of India - The Bronze age, History of India - Indus Valley Civilization, History of India - Vedic civilization, History of India - The Mahajanapadas, History of India - The Magadha empire, History of India - Shishunaga dynasty, History of India - Nanda dynasty, History of India - Maurya dynasty, History of India - Shunga dynasty, History of India - Early Middle Kingdoms - the golden age, History of India - Satavahana empire, History of India - Kushan empire, History of India - Gupta dynasty, History of India - Late Middle Kingdoms - the classical age, History of India - Harsha's empire, History of India - The Chalukyas and Pallavas, History of India - Chola empire, History of India - The Pratiharas Palas and Rashtrakutas, History of India - The Rajputs, History of India - The Islamic Sultanates, History of India - Vijayanagar empire, History of India - The Mughal era, History of India - The Maratha confederacy, History of India - The Kingdom of Mysore, History of India - The Punjab, History of India - Company rule, History of India - The British Raj, History of India - The independence movement, History of India - Independent India, History of India - Textbooks and Surveys

Read more here: » History of India: Encyclopedia II - History of India - The Magadha empire

History of India - Indus Valley Civilization. The transition of settlements from agricultural to complex urban communities occurred sometime between the early settlements at Mehrgarh, and c. 3000 BC. This period marked the beginning of the earliest urban society in India, known as the Indus Valley Civilization, also called the Harappan civilization, which thrived between 2600 BC and 1900 BC. It was centred along the Indus Rivers and its tributaries, including the Ghaggar-Hakra Saraswati, and extended into the Gan ...

See also:

History of India, History of India - The Paleolithic era, History of India - The Neolithic era, History of India - The Bronze age, History of India - Indus Valley Civilization, History of India - Vedic civilization, History of India - The Mahajanapadas, History of India - The Magadha empire, History of India - Shishunaga dynasty, History of India - Nanda dynasty, History of India - Maurya dynasty, History of India - Shunga dynasty, History of India - Early Middle Kingdoms - the golden age, History of India - Satavahana empire, History of India - Kushan empire, History of India - Gupta dynasty, History of India - Late Middle Kingdoms - the classical age, History of India - Harsha's empire, History of India - The Chalukyas and Pallavas, History of India - Chola empire, History of India - The Pratiharas Palas and Rashtrakutas, History of India - The Rajputs, History of India - The Islamic Sultanates, History of India - Vijayanagar empire, History of India - The Mughal era, History of India - The Maratha confederacy, History of India - The Kingdom of Mysore, History of India - The Punjab, History of India - Company rule, History of India - The British Raj, History of India - The independence movement, History of India - Independent India, History of India - Textbooks and Surveys

Read more here: » History of India: Encyclopedia II - History of India - The Bronze age