Kangra Fort, Himachal Pradesh

History

Kangra Fort, Himachal Pradesh

Pre History & Early History

The history of Himachal Pradesh dates back to around two million years. At this point of time, people lived in the foothills of Himachal Pradesh. These original inhabitants of Himachal, the Kols and the Mundas, were forced by the people of the great Indus valley civilization to move up to the hills. The Indus valley civilization prospered here between 2250 and 1750 BC. The second wave of migrants to the state saw Mongoloid, like Bhota and Kiratas coming in. However, the most important lot of people entered the area only afterwards in the third wave of migration. These were Aryans from Central Asia. The Aryans contributed immensely in making the culture of the Himachal as it is today.

The Mauryans

In earlier times, as per the great epic of Mahabharata, small republics called Janapadas constituted the area of Himachal Pradesh. These Janapadas belonged to the Audumbras, Trigarta, Kuluta, Kulindas, Yugandhar and Gobdika. Later, the Mauryans came into prominence with Chandragupta capturing most of the small republics. His grandson, Ashoka, not only increased the boundaries of the kingdom but also introduced Buddhism. Numerous stupas were constructed during his reign. Out of these, the one in Kullu valley even found a mention in the chronicle of the Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang (630-45AD).

Rule Of Harsha

With the collapse of the Gupta Empire, the entire area fell into the hands of small local chieftains known as the thakurs or ranas. However, in the seventh century Harsh rose to power and brought almost all the small kingdoms under his control.