Greater India

The Indian subcontinent has been occupied by humans for an extremely long time, and its history is exceedingly complex. Never in all history has absolutely all of what might be considered Indian territory been unified under a single authority; the British Raj (1878-1948) has perhaps come closer than any other in this regard. Modern India, while not covering all the territory of its predecessor, is nevertheless a powerful and influential state, not only in Asia but in the world at large.

Aside from a general survey of Indian Empires, this has Ahmadnagar, Anjuvannam, Arcot, Assam, Avuku, Awadh, Baghal, Bahawalpur, Baluchistan, Bangladesh (Bengal), Baroda, Benares, Berar, Bhatgaon, Bhutan, Bidar, Bijapur, Bikaner, British East India Company, Bundi, Cannanore, Chitral, Chittagong, Chola Empire, Cochin, Cooch Behar, Cooch Hajo, Datia, the Deccan, Delhi, Goa, Golkonda, Gondal, Gujarat, Gurkha, Gwadar, Gwalior, Hyderabad, Indore, Indus Valley, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jaunpur, Jhalawar, Jhansi, Jodhpur, Junagadh, Kalat, Kamata, Katmandu, Kerala, Khairpur, Khasa, Kidara, Kolhapur, Kotah, Kutch, Lahore, Lakhnauti, Madurai, Magadha, Maharashtra, Malwa, Manavadar, Manipur, the Maratha Confederacy, Mathura, Monyul, Multan, Mustang, Mysore, Nagpur, Nawanagar, Nepal, Orchha, Orissa, Pallava Empire, Panchala, Patan, Patiala, Phatlan, Pondicherry, Poona, Punjab, Purus, Radhanpur, Rajkot, Ratlam, Rewa, Sakya, Sandwip, Satara, Saurashtra, the Sikhs, Sikkim, Sindh, Tanjore, Taxila, Tonk, Travancore, Udaipur, Vadasinor, Vallabhi, Venad, and Vijayanagar.
GREATER INDIA A general survey of empires spanning much, if not all, of the subcontinent of southern Asia. Local states will be found below, in their own section.


LOCAL STATES A small sampling of some of the vast number of local polities to have dotted the landscape of southern Asia. The area covered here includes the modern nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan. Ceylon and the Maldive Islands are located on a separate page.

AHMADNAGAR A successor state to the Deccan Sultanate.



ANJUVANNAM (Shingly) A "pocket principality" in Cranganore, on the Malabar Coast of southern India. Anjuvannam was created by a grant from Bhaskara Ravivarman II, the Chera Emperor of Kerala, to Joseph Rabban, the leader of the exceedingly ancient Malabari Jewish community. The grant was engraved on a set of copper plates, extant to this day, which forms a charter of royal privileges for Kerala's Jews. Some have postulated that Anjuvannam was not a traditional territorial principality, but rather an extraterritorial principality to which all the Jews of Kerala belonged (akin to the authority of the Resh Galuta in the Muslim world).


ARCOTA town strategically placed on the route between Madras and Bangalore, in southern India. The district was the scene of much fighting in the 17th and 18th centuries between local Moslems, Marathas, British,  and French forces.


ASSAM Extreme northeastern India, a rough triangle bounded by Bangladesh, Bhutan / Tibet, and Burma. This region was the largest supplier of tea to the British Empire during the days of the Raj.


AVUKU A minor state in the southern Deccan, south-central India, about equidistant between Hyderabad to the north and Bangalore to the south.


AWADH (Oudh) An extensive province in Northern India, between the Ganges and Nepal, and encompassing the cities of Benares, Cawnpore, and Lucknow. Just over the edge of Awadh's northeastern frontier with Nepal is the site of the ancient Sakya district, birthplace of Gautama Buddha.


BAGHAL A minor kingdom in northern India, based at the town of Arki, 30 miles (48 km.) north of Chandigarh.


BAHAWALPUR A city in central Pakistan, about 75 miles from the Indian frontier; the Nawabs (Governors, were effectively independent from the middle of the 18th century.


BALUCHISTAN Bounded by Iran, Afghanistan, India, and the Indian Ocean. To British India 1875-1948.


BARODA A city near the northern edge of the west coast, just east of the Bay of Cambay and the Kathiawar Peninsula. A Maratha stronghold in the 18th century.


BENGAL (Bangladesh) In the northeast corner of the subcontinent, along the coast, and involving the vast delta region associated with the Ganges and Brahmaputra River systems.


BERAR A successor state to the Deccan Sultanate.


BHATGAON In central Nepal, a separate Malla state during the centuries of fragmentation.


BHUTAN A Himalayan Kingdom east of Nepal, and northwest of Assam.


BIDAR A successor state to the Deccan Sultanate.


BIJAPUR A successor state to the Deccan Sultanate. It was from here that the Marathas first established a revitalized Hindu state, in the 17th century.


BIKANER A city and district in western India, within the Great Thar Desert, roughly 220 miles (350 km.) west of Delhi and about 60 miles (95 km.) east of the Pakistani border.


The BRITISH EAST INDIA COMPANY Not a nation as such, but "merely" a corporate entity, the EIC nevertheless controlled during it's heyday more territory than some empires. Incorporated on December 31, 1600 as The Governor and Company of Merchants trading with the East Indies, it began as a private monopoly to take advantage of spice trading in southeast Asia after the weakening of Hispano-Portuguese monopolies following the defeat of the Armada in 1588. The company quickly became enmeshed in conflict with the Dutch East India Company, and were driven out of Indonesia by them, while gaining a strong foothold in India. Expanding it's power in India over the course of the 18th century, the peak of it's authority was reached between 1757-1773. In the late 18th century, the British government exerted more direct control over company affairs, and it's commercial monopoly was removed in 1813. From 1834 it was converted into the managerial authority through which the British government wielded power in India. After the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, Great Britain took full political authority in India unto itself, and the Company was formally dissolved in 1873. The following list details the Governors-General of the Company, a position of supreme authority over the three Indian Presidencies created in 1773 by the Regulating Act, the first movement by Britain to rope in "John Company".


BUNDI A town in west-central India, 100 miles (161 km.) south of Jaipur.


CANNANORE A port in southwestern India, a few miles north of Pondicherry. The region was inhabited by large numbers of Mopla Muslims, but is also a well-known temple site for Hindus. Economically, the district is famous for its sophisticated weaving industry.


CHITTAGONG A port city and surrounding district, comprising the southeastern panhandle of Bangladesh extending away from the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta.


COCHIN A coastal district in far southwestern India, about 150 miles (240 km.) northwest of Cape Comorin.


COOCH BEHAR (Koch Behar) A city in eastern India, on the North Bengal Plain at the eastern end of the narrow link between the bulk of India and Assam - it is situated 15 miles (24 km.) north of the Bangladesh border, 45 miles (72 km.) south of the Bhutan frontier, and 88 miles (141 km.) southeast of Darjeeling.


DATIA A town in north-central India, 20 miles (32 km.) north-northwest of Jhansi, on the Gwalior Road.


DELHI An important Sultanate in north-central India; significant as (at times) a large imperial state acting as a buffer between Mongol and Timurid aggression toward the rest of India.


GOA A port and district on the west coast of India, retaining an unusual blend of Indian and Portuguese culture. This was the center and capital of Portuguese Asia and during the hetday of the Portuguese Empire in the 16th century it was of great power and influence in southern Asia generally.


GOLKONDA A Deccan state within east-central India.


GONDAL A city in the middle of the Kathiawar Peninsula, Gujarat state, in western India.