Medieval India

The thousand years between the ancient world and the British covered India in sultanates, empires, and temple towns. This section runs from the Cholas sending fleets across the Bay of Bengal, to the Delhi Sultanate, the stone marvels of Vijayanagara, and the Mughals — Babur to Aurangzeb — who left behind the Taj Mahal and a very different India. It was an age of Persian poetry and Bhakti saints, of Khajuraho's carvings and Golconda's diamonds. Read about the rulers if you like, but the smaller stories — a queen, a poet, a forgotten siege — are often where the age really comes alive.