Ancient India

From India

Ancient India represents an ancient civilization, geographically located in the Indian subcontinent and many other neighboring regions. At its height, Ancient India included the modern states of Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and extended to Persia modern days' Afghanistan, Myanmar, Bhutan, Tibet, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos and Cambodia. Generally, the period from the Harappan civilization (3000 BC) until the life and time of Shankaracharya (788-820) is considered to cover Ancient India, although there exists difference of opinions.

The civilization and culture of Ancient India, extending to a timeframe of around four millennia, passed through different phases and changes. With the armed incursions to mainland India from its western borders, and settlement of Arab merchants on the coast of Sindh (currently, a part of Pakistan) and in the Indian state of Gujarat, external influences, including influx of large-scale of foreigners and mercenary soldiers; and voluntary and forced religious conversions, changed the demographical, ethnic, and cultural profile of Ancient India, and it underwent a radical change, though several influences of the Ancient India still continue to be clearly discernible to the present time.

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