Timeline from Indian History: The Ancient Phase
| Time | Events |
| c. 600-500 BCE | Paddy transplantation; urbanization in the Ganga valley; Mahajanapadas; Punch marked coins |
| c. 500-400 BCE | Rulers of Magadha consolidate power |
| c. 327- 325 BCE | Invasion of Alexander of Macedon |
| c. 321 BCE | Accession of Chandragupta Maurya |
| c. 272/268- 231 BCE | Reign of Ashoka |
| c. 185 BCE | End of Mauryan Empire |
| c. 200-100 BCE | Indo-Greek rule in the north west; Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas in South India; Satavahanas in the Deccans. |
| c. 100 BCE- 200 CE | Shaka (people from central Asia) rulers in the north west; Roman trade; gold coinage |
| c. 78 CE | Accession of Kanishka |
| c.100-200 CE | Earliest inscriptional evidence of land grants by the Satavahana and Shaka rulers |
| c.320 CE | Beginning of the Gupta rule |
| c. 335-375 CE | Samudragupta |
| c. 375-415 CE | Chandragupta II; Vakatakas in the Deccan |
| c. 500-600 CE | Rise of Chalukyas in Karnataka and of the Pallavas in Tamil Nadu |
| c. 606-647 CE | Harshavardhana king of Kanauj; Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang comes in search of Buddhist Texts |
| c. 712 CE | Arabs conquer Sind |
Advances in the Epigraphy
| Time | Advances |
| 1784 | Founding of the Asiatic Society (Bengal) |
| 1810 | Colin Mackenzie collects over 800 inscriptions in Sanskrit and Dravidian Languages |
| 1838 | Decipherment of Ashokan Brahmi Script by James Princep |
| 1877 | Alexander Cunningham publishes a set of Ashokan inscription |
| 1886 | First issue of Epigraphia Carnatica, a journal of South Indian inscriptions |
| 1888 | First issue of Epigraphia Indica |
| 1956-66 | D.C Sirkar publishes Indian Epigraphy and Indian Epigraphical Glossary |
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