1. Archaeologists discovered two 4000-year-old cities, along the banks of the Indus River in Pakistan. These expertly constructed cities were parts of an advanced civilization similar to ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. We don’t know what the ancient people of the Indus River Valley called themselves, because although they left written records we are not able to decipher it. Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa – circa 2000 BCE Archaeologists named the cities Mohenjo-Daro, which means “hill of the dead,” and Harappa, after a nearby city. The people of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa lived in sturdy brick houses with bathrooms and sewers. Their drainage system was centuries ahead of their time. Isalen Cooper Year 8 Jaguars History 23 rd October 2009 Ruins of Mohenjo-Daro

2. Archaeologists have found artefacts and the remains of fine jewellery, including stones from far away places. This shows that the people of the Indus Valley civilization valued art and traded with other cultures. Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa – circa 2000 BCE We don’t know what happened to the Indus River Valley civilization. It seems to have been abandoned about 1700BC. It is possible that a great flood weakened the civilization. The moving tectonic plates that created the Himalayas may have caused a devastating earthquake. It is also possible that the people may have been defeated by another culture. Well at Mohenjo-Daro Aerial View Artefact

3. India is a very exciting and busy place with over 1,147,995,904 people living there!! Also there are many fascinating things about India from their heritage to their culture and religion. So I thought I would pick the most interesting things I found out about India before the English took over! The first people to have reached India were from Africa around 40,000 BC. They were called the Harappan civilization. When they first got to India, the civilization were hunters and gatherers. But by around 4000 BC these people had begun farming! But sadly By 2000 BC the Harappan civilization had collapsed. People aren't sure what made them collapse, but most people think that the likely reason is that there wasn't enough water to support all these people.

4. Buddhism started in India with a prince named Siddhartha. He saw suffering on the street and this had convinced him to give up his position as prince and search for the truth which he thought was a way to stop suffering. He later ran away from home but finally arrived at his truth by meditating under a bo tree. It motivated him to make up the Four Noble Truths, which he thought was a way to end suffering. Although Buddhism started in India there are now only a few Buddhists left there as the main religion now is Hinduism. In 325 BC, northern India was conquered by Alexander the Great, but Alexander didn't stay for very long though. Alexander did have an effect on India, he left behind a lot of Greek soldiers to make sure everything was going to be ok. These soldiers had with them many different professions and they ended up starting to make small Greek cities. Also the Indians started to learn about the Greek culture, and the Greeks started to learn about the Indian culture.

5. India Before The British Arrived Did You Know??? Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur founded the Mughal Empire in India after defeating Ibrahim Lodhi in the Battle of Panipat in 1526. Babur was succeeded by his eldest son Humayun. Humayun failed in asserting a strong monarchical authority. He inherited a freshly won empire with a host of troubles; the Afghan nobles, the Rajputs and worst of all, his three treacherous brothers.

6. Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun in the battles of Chausa and Kanauj in 1540. Sher Khan, known as Sher Shah Suri, was an Afghan leader who took over the Mughal Empire after defeating Humayun in 1540. Sher Shah occupied the throne of Delhi for not more than five years, but his reign proved to be a landmark in the Sub-continent. Humayun's heir, Akbar, was born in exile and was only 13 years old when his father died.

7. Humayun's heir, Akbar, was born in exile and was only 13 years old when his father died. Akbar's reign holds a certain prominence in history; he was the ruler who actually fortified the foundations of the Mughal Empire. Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur Akbar

8. India before the British by Thomas India was a wealthy place before the Brits arrived. 15 th century, Vasco da Gama wins a trading treaty for Portuguese merchants after bombarding the Indian port of Calicut into submission. 16th century, Britain's East India Company is established when Elizabeth I grants a charter to a 'Company of Merchants trading into the East Indies. The Mughal School of painting reaches a peak of perfection in the reign of Jahangir.

9. 17 th century, the Persian ruler Nadir Shah enters Delhi and removes much of the accumulated treasure of the Mughal Empire. Real power has declined gradually and imperceptibly throughout the 17th century, ever since the expansive days of Akbar's empire (15-16 Cent).Akbar's empire Yet it is in the 17th century that news of the wealth, splendour, architectural brilliance and dynastic violence of the Moghul dynasty first impresses the rest of the world.

10. India before the British by Adrianna Babar (1482-1530), a Turkish-Mongol prince from Afghanistan and the founder of the Mogul Empire, invaded India in 1526. His grandson Jelaleddin Mahmomet Akbar (1542-1605) was the greatest of the Mogul emperors and under his 49 years reign, conquered all of Northern India and Afghanistan, extending his rule as far south as the Godvari River. The Moguls were Muslims who ruled over a Hindu majority. Akbar maintained his rule by his religious tolerance and Mogul military might, much like the British later. But after his death, the empire began to decline. This decline continued with the rule of Aurangzeb (1658-1707), who became emperor in 1658. Mogul control in south India came under more pressures with the increase of strong attacks by the Hindu Maratha princes. To worsen matters, Aurangzeb, who lacked Akbar's religious tolerance, imposed special taxes on Hindus, destroying their temples and forced them to convert to Islam. Soon after Aurangzeb's death, the empire began breaking up, enabling the British to step into the void. AurangzebA Hindu temple

11. With the decline of Mogul central authority, the period between 1707 and 1761 witnessed the rise of the provinces against Delhi. This resurgence highlighted both political and economic decentralization as Mogul military powers dropped. The provinces became increasing independent from the central authority both economically and politically. Assisted by intra-regional as well as inter-regional trade in local raw produce and artifacts, these provinces became virtual kingdoms. Bengal, Bihar, and Avadh in Northern India were among the new independent regions where these developments were most apparent. Their rulers became almost independent warlords recognizing the Mogul Emperor in name only. These provinces laid the foundations for the princely states under the Raj. A temple near Bihar The city of Bengal