An Historical Atlas of the Indian Peninsula

The atlas is arranged as a chronological sequence of historical maps with explanatory notes. It opens with the physical geography of India, identifying the major mountain systems, river basins, deserts, coastal zones, and natural routes that affected settlement, invasion, and political control. The early historical maps cover Ancient India around 500 B.C., the mahājanapadas, Alexander’s Asiatic empire, Alexander’s campaigns in northern India, Aśoka’s empire, and India around A.D. 150, including the Kushans, Western Satraps, Andhra kingdom, and other regional powers. The following sections present trade routes between India and the Western world, the Gupta empire, India in A.D. 640, and the political condition of India at the close of the ninth century. The medieval sections cover Mahmud of Ghazna, early Muslim incursions, the Delhi Sultanate, regional Hindu and Muslim powers, and the changing balance between northern and southern India. Later maps trace the Mughal Empire, Maratha power, European trading settlements, British expansion, subsidiary alliances, annexations, and the formation of modern political India.