South Asia (c. 500 to 1499)

Indian civilization is dated around 1500 BC or more. In northern India, after the fall (550 CE) of the Gupta Empire, the region divided into a complex and fluid network of smaller kingly states. Early Muslim incursions began in the west in 711 CE, when the Arab Umayyad Empire annexed much of present-day Pakistan. Arab military advance was largely halted at that point, but Islam still spread in India, largely due to the influence of Arab merchants along the western coast. Post-classical dynasties in Southern India included those of the Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas, the Hoysalas, the Cholas, and the Islamic Mughals, the Marathas and the Mysores. Science, engineering, art, literature, astronomy, and philosophy flourished under the patronage of these kings.

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