A TIMELINE OF THE EAST

C. 2500–1700 BC:
Some of the earliest cities develop near the Indus River

C. 1500 BC:
The oldest sacred books of Hinduism are written in Sanskrit

600–500 BC:
The game of chess appears in the North of India

528 BC:
Buddha gives his first sermon in Sarnath

326 BC:
Alexander the Great invades India and nearly faces defeat

C. 320 AD:
The Gupta Empire in northern India begins

629:
The first mosque in India is built

1526:
Bābur creates the Mughal Empire

C. 1548:
Guru Nanak begins teaching Sikhism

1600:
The East India Company receives a Royal Charter to trade in India

1611:
Nur Jahan marries the Mughal emperor

1653:
The Taj Mahal is completed

1848:
Savitribai Phule opens the first school for girls

1858:
The British Crown rules India

1905:
The Swadeshi Movement begins

1930:
C. V. Raman
receives the Nobel Prize in Physics

1939-1945
Over 2 million Indian soldiers fight in WWII

1947:
India and Pakistan gain independence

1971: Bangladesh breaks from Pakistan to become its own nation

2013:
India’s Space agency launches a Mars space probe