Ever wondered how much the Indian map changed over time?

It's not only the India-Pakistan partition I talk about; it's the change in the map of India from 1 AD to the 20th century. An amateur historian named Thomas Lessman has caught these series of shifts. His maps provide a vivid history; they start from 1 AD till the rule of the Delhi Sultanate.

On his Website, Lessman says " I started drawing maps right after I started reading about history. My earliest maps were crude hand-drawings, but now I've got a good computer, a great image program (PhotoShop), and a nice background map. I became frustrated while researching history because it's hard to find great maps. The best maps are in books that cost more than I make in a week… So I realised if I want free World History Maps, I'd have to make them myself", mentioned Scroll.in May 2015.

Here the important eras are taken into account that changed the look of map of India:

i. The Indo-Parthian and Indo-Synthian era: 1 AD

If one follows the above map, we can see that there exist Indo-Parthian rule and the Indo-Synthian kingdom during this era. Indo-Greeks ruled India for over two centuries, however, the Indo-Scythians migrated from southern Siberia and displaced the Indo-Greeks.

ii. The Kushan Empire: 100 AD

The 100 AD marked the era of Kushan Empire. It was founded under Kujula Kadphises but it was under his grandson, the Buddhist emperor Kanishka, that it reached its peak.

iii. The Gupta and Huna Empire: 400 – 500 AD

Some people called the period from 400-500 AD the 'Golden Age of India.' This was the period, which marked the domination of The Gupta and Huna Empire – 400 – 500 AD. The word Golden Age comes from the fact that during this time, literature, art, astronomy, and math flourished in the region.

iv. The Chalukyas: 600 AD

They dominated over southern and central India from 6^th to 12^th century. The key aspect of this era was the Chakulyan architecture, which along with Kannada and Telugu literature thrived all along their time.

v. The Ghaznavid Empire: 1206–1526

The Ghaznavid Empire moved in and conquered India and finally the Delhi Sultanate. The Delhi Sultanate was a Delhi-based Muslim kingdom that stretched over large parts of the country. The fall of Ghaznavid Empire eventually led to the rise of the Mughal rule in India.

– prepared by Karishma Vanjani of Newsgram. Twitter: @BladesnBoots

ALSO READ:

• Megalithic Culture of India: The forgotten Link of Indian History
• Jaipur: The Pink Jewel of Rajasthan reflects the History and Culture of India
• Taraknath Das: A Bengali-Indian Revolutionary lost in the pages of history