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Islam is India's second-largest religion, with 14.2% of the country's population, or approximately 172.2 million people, identifying as adherents of Islam in a 2011 census. [7] India also has the third-largest number of Muslims in the world. [8] [9] The majority of India's Muslims are Sunni, with Shia making up around 15% of the Muslim ...
The Delhi Sultanate was the first of the two major Islamic empires which was based in mainland India between 1206 and 1526. It emerged after the disintegration of the Ghurid empire in 1206. During the last quarter of the 12th century, Muhammad of Ghor invaded the Indo-Gangetic plain , conquering in succession Ghazni , Multan , Lahore , and Delhi .
Expansion of trade brought India into contact with Islam. Arab traders settled in Indian ports. In the seventh century, they converted to Islam, giving rise to small Muslim communities. These communities grew due to Indian conversions and because Hindu kings of south India (such as the Cholas) hired Muslim mercenaries. [165]
The period between the 4th and 6th centuries CE is known as the Golden Age of India because of the considerable achievements that were made in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, science, religion, and philosophy, during the Gupta Empire. [9] [10] The decimal numeral system, including the concept of zero, was invented in India during this ...
Despite the longtime assertion that the origins of Muslim-Hindu tensions were greatly attributed to 19th Century British colonial rule in India, it has been argued that Britain had little influence on constructing the religious identities of Islam and Hinduism in the region and that divisions existed beforehand as well. [23]
Shia Islam was brought to the Indian subcontinent during the final years of the Rashidun Caliphate. The Indian subcontinent also served as a refuge for some Shias escaping persecution from Umayyads, Abbasids, Ayyubids, and Ottomans. The immigration continued throughout the second millennium until the formation of modern nation states.
Prior to Indian independence, notable dynasties and entities that ruled the region included, in chronological order, the Maurya Empire, Western Satraps, Satavahana dynasty, Rashtrakuta dynasty, Western Chalukya Empire, Bahamani Sultanate, Deccan sultanates, Mughal Empire, Maratha Empire, and British Raj. Ruins, monuments, tombs, forts, and ...
Chandragupta Maurya overthrew the Nanda Empire and established the first great empire in ancient India, the Maurya Empire. India's Mauryan king Ashoka is widely recognised for his historical acceptance of Buddhism and his attempts to spread nonviolence and peace across his empire. The Maurya Empire would collapse in 185 BCE, on the ...