Brief history of North India - A series
Indus Valley Civilization
Ahoy! This is my second series on ‘History of North India’ (Check out the first series). Anyways, let us get right into it!
In this series, we will be looking at a brief History of North India. Following are the main civilizations and empires we will be talking about in posts of this series:
Indus Valley Civilization
Vedic Period (Mahajanapadas)
Maurya Empire
Gupta Empire
Medieval Period (Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire)
Colonial Period (British India)
Independent India (Present)
In this post, we will be looking into the Indus Valley Civilization. Information on the Indus Valley Civilization:
Location and other introductions: Located in the area of Western India and Pakistan. The population was estimated at anywhere between two and five million people.
Time Period: 3300 - 1300 BC
Phases: Early Harappan Phase, Mature Harappan Phase, Late Harappan Phase
Major Cities: Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro
Weather and Climate: The Rainfall in the Indus Valley was probably much more than double the amount received now as both agriculture and forestry flourished. The presence of animals in the swamps, like elephants and rhinoceros in Sindh and western Punjab, is provided by the seals recovered from Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, which date back to 3200 BC. In the first two phases (Early &mature phase), the climate was warm and wet due to a stable monsoon pattern, which was better for growing crops. A stable climate ensured a surplus of farm produce during these phases, slowly leading to the evolution of cities.
Decline: Archaeological evidence shows that after 700 years of stability, the civilization declined. Most of the Indus settlements had been abandoned or had shrunk in size by about 1800 BC. Many factors contributed to the end of the Indus civilization, but climate change is emerging as a primary reason for its gradual demise. Geological evidence shows that the region's climate grew colder and drier, in part perhaps because of a weakened monsoon. By 1800 BC, the Ghaggar-Hakra River, parallel to the Indus river and that some scholars suggest is the Saraswati, the lost sacred river of Rig Veda, was severely diminished. As a result, cities were abandoned and though some of the population remained, many migrated to more fertile lands in the east around the Ganga and Yamuna River. The downfall of the civilization, in turn, was marked by a decrease in temperature and decline in monsoon rainfall in the region. Around the same time, evidence from other research areas suggests, the flow of the Indus River also reduced which led to migration of the people further east toward the River Ganga. This conclusion is also consistent with the changing cropping pattern of the region during the same period.