The Long View
Free study material · concepts, shortcuts & solved questions
Memory hook — six eras, one arc: Villages became cities (Indus), cities became kingdoms (Vedic/Mahajanapadas), kingdoms became one empire (Maurya), the empire broke and rebuilt itself twice (Gupta, then regional kingdoms), invaders built a Sultanate, and one dynasty outlasted them all until the British arrived (Mughals) — before two indigenous powers, the Marathas and the Sikhs, briefly filled the vacuum.
| Era | Approx. dates |
|---|---|
| Indus Valley Civilisation | c. 3300–1300 BCE (mature phase 2600–1900 BCE) |
| Vedic Period | c. 1500–600 BCE |
| Mahajanapadas & Magadhan dynasties | c. 600–185 BCE |
| Post-Mauryan / Classical | 185 BCE–606 CE |
| Early medieval regional kingdoms | 606–1206 CE |
| Delhi Sultanate | 1206–1526 CE |
| Vijayanagara & Bahmani | 1336–1646 CE |
| Mughal Empire | 1526–1857 CE |
| Maratha ascendancy | 1674–1818 CE |
| Sikh Empire | 1799–1849 CE |
Why this sequencing matters for the exam: questions rarely ask "when did X happen" in isolation — they ask "which of these four events happened in what order," or "which ruler was a contemporary of which other ruler." Anchor every dynasty to who came immediately before and after it, not just to a date.