History of Uttar Pradesh

Prehistory and mythology

Archaeological investigations have shed new light on the prehistoric civilization of what is now Uttar Pradesh. The remains of several human skeletons found in the area of Partapgarh (Pratapgarh) have been dated to about 10,000 bce. Other knowledge of the area prior to the 7th century bce has been gained largely through Vedic literature (of the ancient Indian Vedic religion) and the two great Indian epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, which describe the Gangetic Plain within Uttar Pradesh. The setting of the Mahabharata is the area around Hastinapur, in the western part of the present-day state, while the Ramayana is set in and around Ayodhya, the birthplace of Rama (an incarnation of the god Vishnu and the hero of the story). Another fountainhead of mythology in the state is the area around the holy cities of Mathura, where Krishna (another incarnation of Vishnu) was born, and nearby Vrindavan.

The Buddhist-Hindu period

A systematic history of India and the area of Uttar Pradesh dates to the end of the 7th century bce, when 16 mahajanapadas (great states) in northern India were contending for supremacy. Of those, seven fell entirely within the present-day boundaries of Uttar Pradesh. From the 5th century bce to the 6th century ce, the region was mostly under the control of powers centred outside the modern boundaries of the state, first at Magadha in present-day Bihar and later at Ujjain in present-day Madhya Pradesh. Among the great kings who ruled over the region were Chandragupta (reigned c. 321–297 bce) and Ashoka (3rd century bce), both Mauryan emperors, as well as Samudra Gupta (4th century ce) and Chandra Gupta II (reigned c. 380–415). A later famous ruler, Harsha (reigned c. 606–647), was based within the state’s present borders. From his capital at Kanyakubja (present-day Kannauj), he was able to control the whole of Uttar Pradesh as well as parts of what are now Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Rajasthan.

Meanwhile, by the 6th century bce, the ancient Vedic religion had largely evolved into Brahmanism, which in turn would evolve into classical Hinduism by the 2nd century bce. According to tradition, it was during that period—likely sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries bce—that the Buddha preached his first sermon at Sarnath, near Varanasi. The religion he founded, Buddhism, spread not only across India but also to many distant lands, such as China and Japan. The Buddha is said to have attained parinirvana (complete nirvana) at Kushinagara (now in Kasia, in eastern Uttar Pradesh).

At first, Buddhist and Brahmanic or Hindu culture flourished side by side. Sculptures and architecture replete with Buddhist symbolism reached their zenith during the 3rd-century-bce reign of Ashoka. Hindu art experienced its greatest development during the period of rule by the Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th century ce). After the death of Harsha, about 647, there was a gradual downfall of Buddhism accompanied by a revival of Hinduism. The chief architect of that revival, the philosopher Shankara, born in southern India, visited Varanasi, traveled through the plains of Uttar Pradesh, and is thought to have established the famous temple at Badrinath (now in Uttarakhand) in the Himalayas.

The Muslim period

Although Muslim incursions into the area occurred as early as 1000–30 ce, Muslim rule over northern India was not established until the last decade of the 12th century, when Muʿizz al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Sām (Muḥammad Ghūrī) defeated the Gahadavalas (who occupied much of Uttar Pradesh) and other competing dynasties. For nearly 600 years Uttar Pradesh, like much of India, was ruled by one Muslim dynasty or another, each centred in or near Delhi. During the first half of that time, the rulers were members of the Delhi sultanate.

In 1526 Bābur—a descendant of the conquerors Genghis Khan and Timur (Tamerlane)—defeated Sultan Ibrāhīm Lodī of Delhi and laid the foundation of the most successful of the Muslim dynasties, the Mughals, whose empire, centred in what is now Uttar Pradesh, dominated the subcontinent for more than 200 years. The greatest extent of the empire came under Akbar (reigned 1556–1605), who constructed a grand new capital, Fatehpur Sikri, near Agra. His grandson, Shah Jahān (reigned 1628–58), built at Agra one of the world’s greatest architectural achievements, the Taj Mahal (a mausoleum constructed in memory of his favourite wife, who died in childbirth). Shah Jahān also built several other architecturally important buildings in Agra as well as in Delhi.

The Mughal Empire promoted the development of a new composite culture. Akbar, its greatest exponent, employed in his court men preeminent in architecture, literature, painting, and music, irrespective of their caste or creed. Several new sects seeking a common ground between Hinduism and Islam, as well as between the various castes of India, developed during that period. Ramananda (c. 1400–70), a Brahman (Hindu priest), founded a bhakti (devotional) sect that claimed that salvation was not dependent on one’s sex or caste, and Kabīr (1440–1518) preached the essential unity of all religions. The downfall of the Mughals in the 18th century led to the shifting of the centre of that composite culture from Delhi to Lucknow, the seat of the nawab (ruler) of Oudh (now Ayodhya), where art, literature, music, and poetry flourished in an atmosphere of communal harmony.