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8th century | Muslim invaders begin to threaten the borders of India. |
| 12th-15th centuries | Muslim advances into northern India lead to conquest of this area. |
| 1486 | Explorer Bartolomeu Dias rounds the Cape of Good Hope, in Africa, and establishes passage to India. |
| 1492 | Christopher Columbus reaches America by attempting to sail west and reach India. |
| 1498 | Explorer Vasco da Gama reaches Calicut, on the west coast of India, establishing a sea route. |
| 1526 | Babur (1483-1530) proclaims himself ruler of Hindustan (India) after defeating the Sultan of Delhi and his Hindu army. |
| 1526-30 | Reign of Babur. |
| 1530-56 | Reign of Humayun, son of Babur. |
| 1540 | Rebellion of Afghan chiefs; Humayun exiled. |
| 1555 | Humayun returns to India. |
| 1556-1605 | Reign of Akbar (1542-1605), son of Humayun. |
| 1569-84 | Akbar builds the palace-city of Fatehpur Sikri. |
| 1567-1601 | Akbar conquers Chitor, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Orissa, Sind, Kandahar, and Khandesh. |
| 1580 | First Jesuit mission to Akbar’s court. |
| 1583-91 | First English merchants arrive in India. |
| 1599 | British East India Company is founded in London for the purposes of trading spices. |
| 1602 | Dutch East India Company founded. |
| 1605-27 | Reign of Jahangir, son of Akbar. |
| 1628-58 | Reign of Shah Jahan (1592-1666), son of Jahangir. |
| 1634-48 | Shah Jahan builds the Taj Mahal as a monument and mausoleum for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
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| 1658 | Aurangzeb, one of Shah Jahan’s sons, exiles his father to Agra Fort, where he dies in 1666. |
| 1658-1707 | Reign of Aurangzeb (1618-1707), son of Shah Jahan. |
| 1668 | British East India Company obtains control of Bombay. |
| 1669 | Aurangzeb bans the Hindu religion in India. |
| 1687 | Aurangzeb annexes the Deccan. |
| 1707-1748 | India is ruled by a succession of Mughal rulers, but as their hold weakens, European powers struggle to gain political control. |
| 1707-1712 | Reign of Bahadur Shah. |
| 1719 | Mohammed Shah, grandson of Bahadur Shah, becomes Emperor. |
| 1739 | Persians under Nadir Shah sack Delhi. |
| 1757-58 | Robert Clive conquers India for the British Crown and becomes Governor of Bengal. |
| 1773 | An act of Parliament gives the East India Company the right to administer the territories of India. Governor General Warren Hastings is appointed to rule, and after him a series of Company officials replace the Mughal emperors as central authority figures. |
| Late 18th century | The British struggle against the Dutch and Indian populations of India. |
| 1837-58 | Reign of Bahadur Shah II, the last of the Mughal Emperors. |
| 1857-58 | Following the India Mutiny, Bahadur Shah is exiled to Burma and the British Crown replaces the East India Company as ruler of India. |
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