Northern South Asia (820–1971 CE): Empires, Colonialism, and the Birth of Modern Nations

Medieval Empires and Dynastic Rule

From the early medieval period onward, Northern South Asia experiences significant dynastic changes. Islamic empires begin exerting influence from the 11th century with the Ghaznavids and later the Delhi Sultanate, reshaping cultural and political landscapes through trade, conquest, and cultural exchanges. Simultaneously, Afghanistan becomes a crucial frontier region, witnessing invasions and rule by various Turkic and Persian dynasties, including the Timurids and the early Mughals.

Nepal and Bhutan remain largely isolated, developing distinctive Himalayan cultures and systems of governance. In Nepal, the medieval period is characterized by the rule of various dynasties, such as the Mallas, who foster rich cultural and architectural traditions.

Mughal Ascendancy and Cultural Synthesis

The rise of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century under rulers like Babur, Akbar, and Aurangzeb marks a pinnacle of political and cultural achievement. The Mughals integrate diverse traditions, fostering a unique synthesis of Persian, Indian, and Central Asian cultures. Monumental architecture flourishes, exemplified by the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort. Administrative systems established under Akbar provide stability and governance across the empire, extending influence into modern-day Pakistan, Bangladesh, and parts of Afghanistan.

British Colonial Expansion

The weakening Mughal Empire in the 18th century facilitates the expansion of the British East India Company, climaxing with the pivotal Battle of Plassey in 1757. British dominance consolidates rapidly, leading to direct British rule following the Indian Rebellion of 1857–58. Afghanistan, however, remains fiercely independent, becoming a contested region between British India and Imperial Russia, sparking several Anglo-Afghan wars.

Meanwhile, Nepal under the Shah Dynasty and Bhutan under the leadership of the Wangchuck Dynasty maintain autonomy, though both engage diplomatically and militarily with British India. Bhutan eventually signs treaties with Britain, securing internal sovereignty while ceding some frontier territories.

Rise of Nationalist Movements

Nationalist movements emerge by the late 19th century, notably with the establishment of the Indian National Congress in 1885. Parallel to this, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan spearheads educational reforms for Muslims, founding the Muhammadan-Anglo Oriental College in 1875 (later Aligarh Muslim University), laying the foundation for Muslim political activism.

Afghanistan sees modernization and centralization efforts under leaders like Amir Abdur Rahman Khan (1880–1901), who solidifies borders and establishes the Durand Line with British India, a source of enduring tension.

Independence, Partition, and the Emergence of Modern States

Intense nationalist struggles, notably under Mahatma Gandhi and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, culminate in independence and the partition of British India in 1947, creating the independent dominions of India and Pakistan. The partition triggers massive migrations and communal violence, significantly reshaping the region.

Afghanistan navigates neutrality during this period, balancing relations between emerging global powers, while Nepal and Bhutan maintain independent monarchies, cautiously opening diplomatic relations with neighboring nations and beyond.

Post-Independence Challenges and Conflicts

The new states face immediate challenges, including economic stabilization, integration of princely states, and border disputes, notably over Kashmir. Pakistan experiences internal turmoil, leading to the separation of East Pakistan and the birth of Bangladesh in 1971, following a violent liberation struggle. India maintains democratic governance, embarking on industrialization and social reforms.

Afghanistan becomes a focal point of Cold War rivalry, undergoing rapid modernization, yet experiencing deep internal divisions, leading to instability that intensifies in subsequent decades.

Nepal and Bhutan cautiously engage in modernization while striving to preserve traditional identities. Bhutan introduces controlled development policies under the monarchy, and Nepal gradually opens to external influence.

Legacy of the Epoch

The epoch from 820 to 1971 profoundly shapes Northern South Asia, witnessing transitions from medieval empires to colonial subjugation, culminating in complex realities of independent nation-states. Legacies include cultural syncretism, unresolved regional tensions (particularly over Kashmir and the Durand Line), and socio-political structures inherited from colonial rule. These dynamics continue influencing contemporary geopolitics and societal developments across Northern South Asia.

The time of the earlier Malla kings is not one of consolidation but is instead a period of upheaval in and around Nepal.

In the twelfth century, Muslim Turks set up a powerful kingdom in India at Delhi, and in the thirteenth century they expand their control over most of northern India.

During this process, all of the regional kingdoms in India undergo a major reshuffling and considerable fighting before they eventually fall under Delhi's control.

This process results in an increasing militarization of Nepal's neighbors and sections of Nepal as well.

For example, in western Nepal, around Dullu in the Jumla Valley, an alternative seat of political and military power grows up around a separate dynasty of Mallas (who are not related to the Mallas of the Kathmandu Valley), who reign until the fourteenth century.

These Khasa kings expand into parts of western Tibet and send raiding expeditions into the Kathmandu Valley between 1275 and 1335.

In 1312 the Khasa king, Ripumalla, visits Lumbini and had his own inscription carved on Ashoka's pillar.

He then enters the Kathmandu Valley to worship publicly at Matsyendranath, Pashupatinath, and Svayambhunath.

These acts are all public announcements of his overlordship in Nepal and signify the temporary breakdown of royal power within the valley.

At the same time, the rulers in Tirhut to the south lead raids into the valley until they are in turn overrun by agents of the Delhi Sultanate.

The worst blow comes in 1345-46, when Sultan Shams ud-din Ilyas of Bengal leads a major pillaging expedition into the Kathmandu Valley, resulting in the devastation of all major shrines.

In fact, none of the existing buildings in the valley proper date from before this raid.

The early Malla period, a time of continuing trade and the reintroduction of Nepalese coinage, sees the steady growth of the small towns that become Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhadgaon.

Royal pretenders in Patan and Bhadgaon struggle with their main rivals, the lords of Banepa in the east, relying on the populations of their towns as their power bases.

The citizens of Bhadgaon view Devaladevi as the legitimate, independent queen.

The betrothal in 1354 of her granddaughter to Jayasthitimalla, a man of obscure but apparently high birth, eventually leads to the reunification of the land and a lessening of strife among the towns.

The death of Delhi Sultanate leader Balban in 1287 had created a fierce struggle for power between the Afghans and the newer Turkish nobility, during which the princes of several Hindu states, notably the large kingdoms of Gujarat and Malwa, have ceased tribute payments to Delhi.

Qaiqabad, the ninth and last of ruler of the Delhi Sultanate’s so-called Slave dynasty, is assassinated in 1290 and his throne usurped by the Khaljis, who establish a new dynasty.

Kublai, a recluse since the death of his favorite wife and the son he had chosen as heir, dies at seventy-nine in February 1294, his control over the other khanates greatly diminished.

By this time, the separation of the four khanates of the Mongol Empire (the Chagatai Khanate in Central Asia, the Golden Horde in Russia, the Ilkhanate in Persia, and the Yuan Dynasty in China) have deepened.

Temür was born the third son of Zhenjin of the Borjigin and Kökejin (Bairam-Egechi) of the Khunggirad on October 15, 1265.

Because Kublai's first son Dorji died early, his second son and Temür's father, Zhenjin, became the crown prince.

However, he died in 1286 when Temür was twenty-one years old.

Kublai remained close to Zhenjin's widow Kökejin, who was high in his favor.

Like his grandfather Kublai, Temür is a follower of Buddhism.

Temür had followed his grandfather Kublai to suppress the rebellion of Nayan (Naiyan) and other rival relatives in 1287, after which he and Kublai's official, Oz-Temür, came to guard the Liao River area and Liaodong in the east from Nayan's ally, Qadaan, and defeated him.

Kublai had appointed Temür the princely overseer of Karakorum and surrounding areas in July 1293.

Three Chagatai princes submitted to him while he was defending Mongolia.

After Kublai Khan diesin 1294, Kublai's old officials urge the court to summon a kurultai in Shangdu.

Because Zhenjin's second son Darmabala had already died in 1292, only his two sons, Gammala and Temür, are left to succeed.

It is proposed that they hold a competition over who has better knowledge of Genghis Khan's sayings.

Temür wins and is declared the emperor.

John of Montecorvino, traveling by sea from Nestorian Meliapur in Bengal, reaches China in 1294, appearing in the capital "Cambaliech" (now Beijing), only to find that Kúblaí Khan had just died, and Temür had succeeded to the Mongol throne.

Though the latter does apparently not embrace Christianity, he throws no obstacles in the way of the zealous missionary, who soon wins the confidence of the ruler in spite of the opposition of the Nestorians already settled here.

The Turks, the ultimate victors in the contest for control of the Delhi Sultanate, had established the ruling Khalji dynasty in 1290 under the elderly Jalal-ud-Din Firuz Khalji.

The second Khalji ruler, 'Ala'-ud-Din Khalji, who had assassinated his uncle to usurp his throne, determines to replenish Delhi’s treasury by subjugating the rebellious Hindu princes.

Initiating a series of raids and sieges, …

…'Ala'-ud-Din attacks Gujarat in 1297 and subdues it within the year.

With the defeat of Karandev of the Vaghela dynasty, the last Hindu ruler of Gujuarat, the region not only becomes part of the Muslim empire but the Rajput hold over Gujarat is lost forever.

Alauddin Khilji sends his generals to conquer Gujarat on February 24, 1299.

Against advice, the sultan attacks the Mongols of the Chagati Khanate.

The advance guard of the Khilji army defeats the Mongols and pursues them as they withdraw.

However, the Mongol general Qutlugh Khwaja tricks the Khijli commander into a position where he is surrounded and killed by the Mongols.

In face of Alauddin's continued offensives, however, the Mongols have to retreat north.

The Mongols, after taking some time to rally, attack at the worst time possible for Alauddin Khilji—when he is occupied with besieging Chittor.

A Mongol army of twelve thousand, now traveling light, moves to Delhi in a swift attack; many governors cannot send their troops to Delhi in time.

Alauddin Khilji is forced to retreat to Siri for about two months.

The Mongols attack and pillage not only the surrounding areas, but Delhi itself.

Alauddin Khilji continues to hold the fortress at Siri; the Mongols withdraw the siege after a few months and leave the area.

Barani, a contemporary historian at that time, attributes this "marvel" to the prayers of the Sufi mystic Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya.

The colossal Surya temple at Konarak in Orissa, the most immense and ambitious of northern Indian Hindu temple complexes, takes the form of the giant horse-drawn sacred chariot associated with Surya the sun god, to whom the temple is dedicated.

Believed to have been begun by king Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty in about 1240, the temple is never completed; by the end of the thirteenth century, the Muslim conquest has put an end to Hindu art in northern India.