Turkish Regime
| 800BC?:
| Zaratushtra establishes the Zoroastrian(Parsee) religion.
|
| 550BC:
| Zoroastrian Cyrus establishes Achaemenian empire that extended from Greece to Sindhu. The most famous of these kings was Darius. |
| 330BC:
| Darius III is defeated by Alexander the Great. Alexander's
generals rule Persia for some years. They are replaced by Parthian
rulers. Parthians are Zoroastrian too.
|
| 211BC
| The great Sassanians (Zoroastrian) establish their rule in Persia. The Sassanians are constantly at war with the Romans.
|
| 630AD
| Early 7th century sees the rise of Islam. In
630s the Arabs (Islamic rulers of Arabia) defeat Romans. Romans retreat
to east and fight Arabs for nearly 700 years. In 1453, Turk Ottoman
defeats the Roman Byzantine rule and annexes Turkey from them. |
| 630AD
| Arabs defeat the Sassanians too. All the locals of Persia are
forcibly converted to Islam. A small group of Zoroastrians leaves for
Mumbai, where Chalukya kings give them refuge.
|
| 715AD
| Mohammad Bin Qasim leads the Arabs to invade Sindh. Raja Dabir
ruler of Sindh, has given refuge to many Sassanian princes. Qasim
defeats Raja Dabir and the neighboring king of Multan too. Their
progress to west is checked by a defeat in Malwa. For the next 300
years, the Pratihars and the Gujara kings are successful in keeping the
Arab power at bay. |
| 1000AD
| Muhmmad of Gazni defeats the Hindushahi
kings of Peshawar and the Muslim ruler of Multan. He raids India 17
times in 25 years. He raids Nagarkot, Thanesar, Kanauj, Mathura, and
richest of all the Somnath
temple in Gujarat. It is believed that he killed 50,000 Hindus who
defended Somnath. The riches of his loot helped him build lavish
palaces and mosques in Gazni.
|
| 1190AD
| Muhammad of Ghur is defeated by Prithviraj Chauhan
the ruler of Delhi. Ghuri returns prepared next year; defeats and
captures Prithviraj. Delhi falls into the hands of invaders. In 1194AD
Muhammad Ghuri defeats and kills Jaichandra. The whole of
Northern India comes under Islamic rule. Muhammad Ghuri leaves his
ex-slave General Qutbuddin Aibak to rule in Delhi and returns to Ghur. |
| 1398AD
| Timur (Timar Lane), sacks Delhi and Mathura. The Tughlak power is devasted by this attack. Timur leaves his nominee to rule in Punjab.
|
| 1739AD
| Persian Nader Shah invades Delhi. Already weak Mughal power is crushed by this attack.
|
| 1761AD
| Ahemad Shah Abdali attacks North
India. In the battle of Panipat, Peshwas defeat Ahemad Shah Abdali. He
suffers great losses in this battle, and returns to Persia. The Peshwas
suffer a hard blow. |
Epilogue
Internal confilcts failed to keep Rajputs united. Jaichandra's daughter
Sanyogita, married his rival Prithviraj. Despite, Prithiviraj's plea
for help, Jaichandra remained in Ghadwal when Prithviraj was defeated
by Ghuri. Two years later, Ghuri defeated Jaichandra too ...
Prithviraj Chauhan was the last Hindu King
to rule in Delhi. After which started the saga of destruction of Hindu,
Buddhist and Jain religion. Thousands of monks, priests, sadhus, common
men & women were mercilessly killed. Thousands were converted to
Islam, at the point of the sword. Non-muslims had to pay extra taxes
like Jazia, and pilgrimage tax. Statues of Hindu gods and sculptures
were destructed.
About 60,000 Hindu temples were
destroyed through out the Islamic rule. Roughly 3,000 were converted
into Masjids. (Example the Jama Masjid in Delhi, the Babri Masjid of
Ayodhya.) The Hindu temples were built in deep forests during this time
(example Bhimashankar in Maharashtra), so that they were safe from
Muslim attack.
After the Senas of Bengal were defeted (1250s) the Buddhist University of Nalanda was destroyed. 9 million scriptures
in the University were burned. It is said that the university burned
for months! The place where Astronomy, Physics, Medicine, Philosophy,
Theology, Mathematics, Sanskrit and Grammar were taught, the place
where students from all over Asia came to learn, all that remained were
ruins.
Kings like Akbar, Jehangir and Shah Jahan were
exceptions, who were tolerant to all beliefs. By 1707 AD, nearly 1000
years after the first Islamic invasion, Hindus under Marathas had
nearly put an end to the Islamic rule in India.
Within 200 years, Arabs had wiped out
the original religions of North Africa, Western Europe and Central
Asia. They came to India with the same intention. But even after 700
years of tyrannical rule, they did not succeed.
Hindushahi: 717 - 920AD
Kabul valley and Gandhara (modern Afghanistan and Pakistan) was
occupied by Turko-Hephthalic kings. Because of spread of Hinduism in
these kingdoms, they were popularly known as Hindu Shahi kings.
Byzantine Empire: 330 - 1453AD
Greek speaking, Orthodox Christians of this Empire called themselves Romans. They are identifed as Byzantium, after the original name of the capital city Constantinople.
In 1204, a large Crusading army attacked and
partially destroyed Constantinople. In 1453, Ottomans captured
Constantinople. They began its conversion to a Turkish city by
converting the famous Hagia Sophia church into a mosque. (This mosque
was recently converted into a museum.)
Turks also closed the trade route
between Europe and India which was through Constantinople. This led the
daring Europeans find the sea route to India. Protugese Vasco-da-Gama
found the sea-route to India via Cape of Good Hope. Columbus went west
to find sea route to India, but reached the American shores. Europeans
established their colonies in South Asia and the Americas
