Appendix I: Chronologies of Regions

Beck, Stephanie

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Appendix I: Chronologies of Regions

Stephanie Beck

Description: From Mind, Heart, and Hand: Persian, Turkish, and Indian Drawings from the Stuart...

From Mind, Heart, and Hand: Persian, Turkish, and Indian Drawings from the Stuart Cary Welch Collection

This chronology provides a summary of the numerous courts and dynasties whose art is represented in this catalogue, although in its highly condensed format, the text may in some cases appear more definitive than a lengthier discussion would countenance. In keeping with the conventions adopted for the catalogue entries, the contemporary names of Iran, Turkey, India, and Pakistan are used....

Author

Stephanie Beck

PublisherHarvard Art Museums

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00053.013

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-16840

Appendix I: Chronologies of Regions

STEPHANIE BECK

This chronology provides a summary of the numerous courts and dynasties whose art is represented in this catalogue, although in its highly condensed format, the text may in some cases appear more definitive than a lengthier discussion would countenance. In keeping with the conventions adopted for the catalogue entries, the contemporary names of Iran, Turkey, India, and Pakistan are used. For the Iranian chronology, however, the broader cultural region sometimes referred to as Persia is more appropriate for the historical period under review. This chronology also addresses territories that have traditionally been considered part of the Indian cultural sphere. Since the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, important sites like the northern Mughal capital of Lahore are no longer within the political borders of India. However, these centers are relevant to this discussion of Indian history and artistic patronage and are therefore included here.

Sources: Archer 1992, Archer 1959, Atil 1987, Blair and Bloom 1994, Bosworth 1967, Burgess 1972, Canby 1996, Canby 1998, Canby 2000, Diba et al. 1998, Encyclopaedia of Islam 1993, Keddie and Matthee 2002, Lapidus 2002, Leach 1995, Lentz and Lowry 1989, Lewis 1995, Manz 1991, Mitter 2001, Philips 1951, Smith 1958, Thackston 1999, Titley 1983, A. Welch 1973, Welch 1972a, Welch 1979, Welch 1985, Wilber 1981, Wolpert 1989, Zebrowski 1983, www.mewarindia.com/history/indexanc4.html; www.uq.net.au/~zzhsoszy/ips/k/kangra.html; and www.almanach.be/search/i/indi_bundi.html.

To date the most complete discussion of the Turko-Indo-Iranian artistic tradition appears in Dickson and Welch 1981.

IRAN

1370 Timur (Tamerlane), a Turko-Mongol chieftain whose family claims descent from Genghis Khan, launches a series of military campaigns that will carry his armies into Central Asia, India, Iran, Armenia, Georgia, Iraq, and Anatolia. The so-called Timurid period lasts until 1506, during which time Timur’s descendants rule varying regions, chiefly of Transoxiana, Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq. Timur transfers artists and craftsmen from some of the conquered cities to his capital at Samarqand.

1402 Timur captures the Ottoman sultan Bayezid at the Battle of Ankara. In gratitude for their military assistance, he grants the city of Diyarbakir, on the Tigris, to the Aq Qoyunlu (White Sheep) Turkmans. A confederation of Turkman clans (Turkish people who originated in Central Asia), the Aq Qoyunlu establish rule in eastern Anatolia and Kurdistan, and compete for power in parts of Iran.

1405 Timur dies. His sons and grandsons struggle for control of his vast empire, which they divide into four territories. Shah Rukh, a son of Timur and governor of the eastern section of the empire, maintains control of his area and establishes his capital at Herat. His sons Ulughbeg, Baysonghor, and Ibrahim Sultan rule adjoining areas. The Timurids of the fifteenth century transform their princely capitals, particularly the cities of Herat and Shiraz, into cultural centers and preside over one of the most brilliant periods of Persian painting. The renown of the Timurid rulers as patrons of art and poetry becomes widespread in the eastern Islamic world. Their cultural example will be emulated by the Safavids in Iran, the Shaybanids in Uzbekistan, the Mughals in India, and the Ottomans throughout their empire.

1406 The Qarā Qoyunlu (Black Sheep) Turkmans wrest their former stronghold of Tabriz from Timurid control, establish rule in Iraq, and compete for power in Azerbaijan and Iran with the Aq Qoyunlu and the Timurids. Over the course of the fifteenth century, a vigorous and expressive style of painting for manuscript illustration develops in the Turkman courts.

1420 Baysonghor, son of Shah Rukh, retakes Tabriz in western Persia from the Aq Qoyunlu. There he finds painters still working in the lyrical style developed under the Jalayirids in the late fourteenth century and brings them back to Herat. Baysonghor establishes his own academy in Herat, integrating the Tabriz painters with artists who had worked in Shiraz for his brother Ibrahim Sultan. Before the death of their patron in 1433, the artists in Baysonghor’s academy produce illustrated manuscripts of superb quality.

1447 Shah Rukh dies; western and central Persia are in political upheaval as the Qarā Qoyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu move eastward to take over Herat and southward to conquer Shiraz. The Shaybanids, who trace their descent from the Mongols, take Khwarazm from the Timurids.

1468 The Qarā Qoyunlu dynasty comes to an end and its remaining territories are absorbed by the Aq Qoyunlu. Fine manuscripts illustrated in the Turkman style are produced in the Shiraz atelier of Abu’l-Fath Sultan Khalil, son of the Aq Qoyunlu ruler Uzun Hasan.

1470 Husayn Bayqara, great-grandson of Timur and the last great figure among the Timurids, again captures Herat, reasserting Timurid control over all of Khurasan. He creates a brilliant court, widely admired for its sophistication and artistic accomplishments. Husayn Bayqara’s atelier employs Bihzad, one of Iran’s greatest artists, as court painter and produces illustrated manuscripts of superb quality. Compared with the spirited Turkman style of painting, the Herat style employs a subtler palette, more harmonious compositions, and an engaging naturalism.

1499 Turkman tribes in eastern Anatolia begin to organize around the twelve-year-old Isma‘il ibn Haydar, descendant of the Sufi Shaykh Safi al-Din (d. 1334). Propaganda campaigns on Isma‘il’s behalf are waged to subvert the power of the Aq Qoyunlu. His followers soon number in the thousands.

1500 Muhammad Shaybani takes Transoxiana from the Timurids. During the sixteenth century, the Sunni Shaybanids will carry on almost continuous warfare with the Shi’a Safavids of Iran. Sometimes referred to as the Uzbeks, the Shaybanids will rule in Bukhara until 1598.

1501 Isma‘il ibn Haydar, later Isma‘il I, seizes Azerbaijan from the Aq Qoyunlu Turkman rulers. In Tabriz he is crowned as the first ruler of the Safavid dynasty. He establishes Shi’ism as the state religion and within a few years controls all of Iran except Timurid Khurasan. Isma‘il’s atelier in Tabriz produces illustrated manuscripts in the Turkman style.

1514 Ottoman-Safavid War: the Ottoman ruler Selim I defeats Isma‘il I at the Battle of Chaldiran. He briefly occupies the northern territories of the Safavid Empire, including Tabriz.

1522–24 Isma‘il I recalls his son Tahmasp, who had served since infancy as nominal governor of Herat, to Tabriz. Bihzad, Herat’s senior artist, also moves to Tabriz, where he serves as director of the royal library. For two years before Isma‘il’s death in 1524, father and son share in the patronage of painting, a matter of intense interest to both. Bihzad and the rulers together preside over the merging of the dynamic and visionary style of Tabriz with the more cerebral, infinitely detailed, and more naturalistic style of Herat, creating a new artistic synthesis of the two styles. Without loss of vitality, Shah Isma‘il’s senior artist, Sultan Muhammad, soon adjusts his robust, transcendental mode, favored by Isma‘il before 1522, to the finesse and nuances admired by the shah’s Herat-educated son.

1534, 1548–49 The Ottoman ruler Süleyman I invades Iran and occupies Tabriz.

1544–45 Tahmasp I turns away from painting to devote himself to statecraft and piety. He withdraws patronage from most of the royal artists, some of whom travel to India with Humayun, second Mughal emperor.

1545 Tahmasp I captures the Fort of Qandahar from the Mughals. Control of Qandahar is a source of ongoing tension between the Mughals and the Safavids, and the cause for numerous skirmishes.

1553–55 War between the Ottomans and the Safavids. It ends with the Treaty of Amasya, which reestablishes borders between the two empires for thirty years. The Safavids and Ottomans develop a diplomatic relationship, and extravagant gifts are exchanged between the two rulers, including magnificent illustrated manuscripts, carpets, and textiles.

1555 Tahmasp I moves the Safavid capital from Tabriz further east to Qazvin. The shah’s declining interest in the arts, manifested in the Edict of Sincere Repentance, results in the disbanding of the royal library. Some court painters travel to India, some move to the Ottoman courts, and some find other patrons in Iran.

1576 Tahmasp I dies. The Safavid Empire subsequently weakens militarily and politically during the unstable reigns of Isma‘il II and Muhammad Khudabanda. During his brief rule, Isma‘il II reconstitutes the royal atelier in Qazvin, gathering again some of the Safavid painters who had been dispersed in the later years of Tahmasp I’s rule. Benefiting from Safavid weakness and instability, the Ottomans in the west and the Uzbeks in the east renew hostilities and capture Safavid territories.

1588 ‘Abbas I, second son of Muhammad Khudabanda, takes the Safavid throne at the age of sixteen. He revitalizes the Safavid Empire, recapturing territories lost to the Uzbeks and the Ottomans and securing his borders. He establishes friendly relations with India and European nations, leading to diplomatic and commercial exchanges.

1597–98 ‘Abbas I relocates the Safavid capital to Isfahan. He largely rebuilds the city, which blossoms into a major center of Safavid culture and art. Among the finest and most characteristic expressions of Isfahan culture are the works of the painter Riza ‘Abbasi.

1602–38 The Ottoman and Safavid wars resume. ‘Abbas I retakes Tabriz for Persia, but the Ottomans retain eastern Anatolia.

1604–05 To increase state revenue, ‘Abbas I establishes the silk trade as a royal monopoly. To assist trade with Christian Europe, he incorporates Armenian merchants, familiar with the silk trade, into his scheme. As part of this strategy, he forcibly relocates to Isfahan Armenian merchants and their families from the town of Julfa Aras. Housed in New Julfa, a separate suburb of Isfahan, these Armenians play a major role in Safavid trade with Europe and serve as an important channel for the entry of European art into Iran.

1613 Ambassadors travel from the court of Jahangir, ruler of Mughal India, to the court of ‘Abbas I. The rulers exchange royal gifts, despite continued tension over the contested Fort of Qandahar in Afghanistan.

1616 The British East India Company expands its trade routes into Iran. Portuguese traders already established there unsuccessfully attempt to block the British. The British later aid the Safavids in expelling the Portuguese from the island of Hormuz. The Dutch and the French also establish bases in Iran for their trading companies.

1642 ‘Abbas II takes the Safavid throne, briefly arresting the decline of the dynasty that set in with the death of ‘Abbas I. Although not on the scale of his namesake, he is nevertheless a significant patron of the arts. The increasing eclecticism seen in the arts in this period reflects the ruler’s interest in the artistic and political trends of Europe and India.

1722 Mahmud Khan of Afghanistan captures Isfahan, effectively ending the Safavid Empire. The Afghans occupy much of Iran and bring to nominal power various members of the Safavid family as puppet rulers. The collapse of the Safavid Empire plunges Iran into a period of political chaos, fragmentation, and tribal violence.

1729 Nadir Shah, of the Afshar Turkman tribe in Khurasan, expels the Afghan invaders from Iran. Initially serving the Safavid puppet ruler Tahmasp II, he proclaims himself shah in 1736 and establishes the short-lived Afsharid dynasty.

1733, 1743–47 Iran continues to battle the Ottoman Empire.

1738–39 Nadir Shah invades Mughal India, sacking Delhi and seizing royal treasures, including the famed Peacock Throne. The Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah agrees to cede all his provinces north and west of the Indus to Iran and pay enormous tribute.

1747 Nadir Shah is murdered. In the chaos following his death, various military chiefs seize power in the splintered country. Two of his nephews reign briefly, and a grandson holds Khurasan until 1795.

1750 Karim Khan Zand establishes the Zand dynasty in central and southern Iran. As regent for a defunct Safavid prince, he presides over a period of relative peace and prosperity from his capital at Shiraz. Music, painting, and poetry flourish at his court. The later Zand rulers struggle with the increasing strength of the Qajars, a Turkman tribe that has been growing in prominence since the disintegration of Safavid rule.

1779 Aqa Muhammad Khan, a Qajar tribal chief, establishes Tehran as his capital. Overcoming rifts among the clans, he is able to consolidate power among the Qajars and affiliated tribes in northern Iran, and push southward against the Zands.

1794 Lutf ‘Ali Khan, the last Zand ruler, is captured at Kirman and murdered by Aqa Muhammad Khan Qajar. With this, the majority of Iran falls under Qajar rule.

1797 Fath ‘Ali Shah, nephew of Aqa Muhammad Khan Qajar, becomes the second ruler of the Qajar dynasty in Tehran. Diplomatic relations with European powers increase dramatically during his reign because of Iran’s strategic position across the routes to the East. Tsarist Russia will prove a constant threat during the nineteenth century. Fath ‘Ali Shah is more aware than his uncle of the refinements of court life and the importance of promoting a royal image through art.

1803–13 First Russo-Persian War, ending with the Treaty of Gulistan, which gives control of part of the Caucasus to Russia. Persia signs a short-lived alliance with Britain. This increased internationalism greatly influences art and culture during the Qajar period. While traditional Persian arts continue to flourish, they are employed in new formats to serve the purposes of rulers competing with Western powers. Fath ‘Ali Shah commissions murals of himself for his palaces as well as life-sized portraits of himself to send to rulers in Europe and India.

1826–28 Second Russo-Persian War, ending with the Treaty of Turkmanchai, which gives full control of the Caucasus to Russia.

1851–1906 Qajars engage in battles with the Russians and the British, ultimately losing control of Central Asia to the Russians and Afghanistan to the British.

1906 An Iranian parliament is established and draws up a constitution in an attempt to introduce a democratic government. A civil war erupts two years later between the reigning shah and the supporters of the constitution.

1924 The Qajar dynasty is deposed by the Iranian National Assembly.

1925 The former commander-in-chief of the army ascends the throne as Riza Shah Pahlavi, first ruler of the Pahlavi dynasty.

1935 The country’s name is changed from Persia to Iran.

TURKEY

c. 1299? An Ottoman principality is founded in Anatolia by Osman, a member of a Turkish tribe from Central Asia. The state will eventually develop into the Ottoman Empire, which at its peak will extend onto the continents of Asia, Africa, and Europe.

1402 Timur (Tamerlane) defeats the Ottoman emperor Bayezid I at Ankara. The Ottoman Empire is divided among Bayezid’s sons, who rule under Timur.

1405 Timur dies; civil war erupts between Bayezid’s sons.

1413 Mehmed I, Bayezid’s youngest son, is established as sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

1453 Mehmed II conquers Constantinople, ending the Byzantine Empire. Constantinople, renamed Istanbul, becomes the new Ottoman capital. Mehmed II expands the empire to the west and east. He becomes famous as a patron of Turkish, Persian, and European writers, who flock to his court. From the 1460s onward, Istanbul is a major center of book production.

1474 Mehmed II defeats the Aq Qoyunlu (White Sheep) Turkmans, who control eastern Anatolia and Kurdistan, and forcibly brings Persian artisans from Tabriz to Istanbul.

1514 Ottoman-Safavid War; Selim I defeats Isma‘il I of Iran and takes the northern territories of the Safavid Empire, including the city of Tabriz. The Ottomans seize Iranian treasuries and transport some one thousand skilled artisans from Tabriz to Istanbul, thus increasing the presence of Iranian artists and works of art at the Ottoman court. Many of these artisans are put to work in the imperial studios.

1517 Ottomans conquer Syria and Egypt, ending the rule of the Mamluks (descendants of former slaves who established an empire covering Egypt, Syria, western Arabia, and parts of Turkey). With this victory the Ottomans assume the protection of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

1520–66 Süleyman I “the Magnificent” rules the Ottoman Empire. He leads numerous military campaigns in eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean. He is a passionate patron of the arts and oversees a complex network of artists and workshops. The various far-flung imperial workshops together create a distinct Ottoman style—including the unique saz style of exuberant and expressive floral decoration—which spreads throughout the empire and beyond.

1548–49 Süleyman invades Iran, again capturing Tabriz.

1553–55 War between the Ottomans and the Safavids. It ends with the Treaty of Amasya, which reestablishes borders between the two empires. The Safavids and Ottomans develop a diplomatic relationship and extravagant gifts are exchanged between the two rulers, including magnificent manuscripts, carpets, and textiles.

1559 Civil war between Süleyman’s sons Bayezid and Selim II. Bayezid is defeated and retreats to the Persian court of Shah Tahmasp. He is later returned to the Ottomans and executed.

1602–38 The Ottomans and Safavids battle over lands between the two empires. Shah ‘Abbas I retakes Tabriz for Iran, but the Ottomans retain eastern Anatolia.

1733, 1743–47 The Ottomans resume wars with Iran.

1768–92 The Ottomans engage in wars with Russia over disputed borderlands.

1854–56 Crimean War between the Ottomans and Russia. Britain and France support the Ottomans, lending troops for the first time to fight for Turkey. The war ends with the Treaty of Paris, in which Turkey is inducted into the Concert of Europe.

1889 Germany undertakes political negotiations with the Ottomans, resulting in the beginning of the Baghdad Railway project to connect Berlin and the Persian Gulf through Turkey and Iraq.

1923 After years of resistance against the Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI, Kemal Atatürk becomes president of the new Republic of Turkey and the Ottoman Empire is brought to an end. Atatürk abolishes the caliphate and begins to modernize the republic. He replaces Islamic law with adaptations of European penal and civil policies, expands women’s rights, and institutes the use of a modified Roman script in place of Arabic script.

INDIA

1100–1200 Establishment of Islam in India by foreign dynasties, although there is evidence of earlier contact with the Arab people in western India. Turkish and Afghan peoples make successive invasions into Pakistan and North India during the late twelfth century.

1206 Establishment of an Islamic sultanate seat in Delhi, which remains the capital of numerous Muslim rulers until the mid-sixteenth century.

1290 Beginning of the Khalji Sultanate in Delhi. The Khalji battle southward, making inroads into Gujarat and the Deccan region.

1320 The Khalji dynasty collapses, and the Tughluqs come to power in Delhi.

1347 The Bahmani Sultanate is established at Bijapur in the Deccan after years of insurrection against the Delhi sultans.

1398 Timur (Tamerlane), founder of Persia’s Timurid dynasty, invades North India and conquers Delhi. He defeats the Tughluqs, but they retain fragile control of the Delhi region until 1414.

1411 Ahmad Shah I captures the city Karnavati, founding a regional sultanate in Gujarat. He establishes Ahmadabad (“the city of Ahmad”) as his capital the same year.

1414 The Sayyids replace the Tughluq Sultanate in Delhi.

1451 The Lodis rise to power.

1498 Vasco da Gama of Portugal sails around Africa to India and establishes a European-Indian ocean trade route, initially dominated by the Portuguese based in Goa.

c. 1500 Local Muslim rulers in the Deccan seize power from the Bahmani sultan and divide the Deccan into five sultanates, which maintain close ties to Persia and Turkey and enjoy healthy relations with the wider Arab world through an active ocean trade.

1522 Babur, who claims to be a descendant of both Timur and Genghis Khan, captures the Fort of Qandahar in Afghanistan. Control of this strategic site will switch between Babur’s Mughal descendants and the Safavids at least nine times between 1522 and 1738.

1526 Babur invades Pakistan and North India from his capital in Kabul, overthrowing the Lodi sultan in Delhi and establishing the Mughal Empire. Babur establishes his seat of power in Agra.

1530 Babur dies and is succeeded by his son Humayun.

1540–55 Forced from his throne by one of his father’s former officers, Humayun escapes to Sind (in present-day Pakistan) and later takes refuge at the Safavid court of Tahmasp in Tabriz. When in 1544–45 the shah withdraws patronage from most of the royal artists, Humayun is encouraged to hire several, including both Mir Musavvir and his brilliant son, Mir Sayyid-‘Ali. With Tahmasp’s support, Humayun moves his court first to Qandahar, thence to Kabul, and finally, in 1555, back to India.

1556–1605 On the death of Humayun, his fourteen-year-old son Akbar comes to the Mughal throne. Later known as Akbar the Great, this extraordinary statesman, warrior, and patron in effect refounds the empire, which he ultimately expands to include lands stretching from the western to the eastern coasts of India. A great supporter of the arts, he establishes workshops with indigenous Indian artists working under the instruction of the Persian artists brought from the Safavid court.

1559 Udai Singh, the independent Hindu ruler of Mewar, founds the city of Udaipur. The previous Mewari capital, Chittor, is sacked by Akbar in 1567. Although Akbar now controls Rajasthan, Mewari rulers never accept his sovereignty.

1573 Akbar defeats the Gujarati Sultanate based at Ahmadabad and incorporates those territories into his empire.

1579 Akbar invites foreign missionaries of various religions to his court, including Jesuit priests from Portuguese-held Goa.

1595–1602 The Dutch begin to enter the trading market in India. They establish the Dutch United East India Company in 1602.

1599 The British East India Company is founded in London. One year later Queen Elizabeth grants the company a charter to conduct trade in India and the Far East.

1605 Jahangir, Akbar’s son, succeeds to the Mughal throne. Artists working under him include Aqa Riza Jahangiri, Balchand, Basawan, Dawlat, and Manohar.

1613 Jahangir sends a diplomatic embassy to the court of ‘Abbas I of Iran, including his great portraitist Bishndas. The embassy is cordially received despite continued tension over the contested Fort of Qandahar in Afghanistan.

1625 Jahangir separates the Rajput kingdoms of Bundi and Kotah, making Kotah an independent state. Kotah is ruled by Madho Singh, son of the ruler of Bundi. The rulers of Kotah cultivate a strong painting tradition influenced by Mughal and indigenous styles.

1628 Shah Jahan becomes the Mughal emperor. An avid patron of the arts, particularly architecture, he commissions the famous Peacock Throne, the Taj Mahal, and the Red Fort at Delhi. He employs Govardhan and Payag, two of the most talented painters of the time. Paintings created during his reign reflect increasing contact with European art as well as a renewed interest in indigenous Indian styles.

1638 Shah Jahan transfers his capital to Delhi, seat of the Mughal Empire until its demise in 1857, and begins construction of the Red Fort.

1658 Shah Jahan’s son Aurangzeb defeats his brother, the Mughal heir Dara Shukoh, in battle and seizes control of the empire from his father. He is less interested in the arts than his father and focuses on the subjugation of Rajasthan and the Deccan. The Mughal Empire reaches its greatest expanse during his rule, but nearly exhausts its resources.

1690 The trading colony of Calcutta is founded by the British.

1700–1800 Western patrons commission Indian artists to document local scenery. These Company School paintings and drawings present new synthesized imagery resulting from the influence of these foreign patrons and styles.

1708–48 The Mughals’ territorial control lessens after the death of Aurangzeb. Power splinters among local rulers. The Sikhs rise in Punjab, the Rajputs in Rajasthan, and the Marathas in western India.

1727 The city of Jaipur is founded by Jai Singh II, of the Kachhwaha Rajput lineage.

1739 Nadir Shah Afshar of Iran defeats Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah in a battle not far from Delhi. He plunders the city and carries immeasurable riches, including the Peacock Throne of Shah Jahan, back to Persia. The weakened Mughal Empire thereafter suffers repeated attacks from Afghan invaders as well as internal insurrections from its loosely held states.

1773 The British Parliament passes the Regulating Act that establishes the right of the East India Company, headquartered in Calcutta, to govern the territories of India.

1784 The India Act establishes dual control over British territories in India by the East India Company and the British crown.

1813 The Charter Act asserts Parliament’s control over the East India Company territories.

1817–23 The British assert power over the Rajput states and create alliances in 1817 with Kotah and in 1818 with Mewar, Bundi, Kishangarh, Bikaner, and Jaipur.

1851 Art schools are founded in Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras, following an academic curriculum that emphasizes naturalism. This Western-derived style is spearheaded later by the influential artist Raja Ravi Varma.

1853 The first railroad is constructed between Calcutta and Raniganj. Within twenty years it reaches Delhi and Bombay.

1857 The Indian Uprising against the British begins with rebellious soldiers in Bengal and spreads to Delhi, where it is led by the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah II. The British suppress the uprising and exile Bahadur Shah II to Rangoon.

1858 The British crown declares control of the East India Company and the government of India.

1877 Queen Victoria is declared Empress of India and the British-held Indian states officially become part of the British Empire.

c. 1900 Bengali artist Abanindranath Tagore and English educator E. B. Havell develop the Bengal School artistic style based upon Asian rather than Western models.

1911 The seat of colonial power shifts from Calcutta to the old Mughal capital of Delhi. The construction of New Delhi begins.

1947 The British relinquish India, bringing an end to the colonial era. India declares its independence and is divided into states based upon the religious majority of the local population. The lines of partition are determined by outgoing Viceroy Lord Mountbatten. The map creates the modern states of East Pakistan, West Pakistan, and India. The partition is violent, uprooting millions from their homelands and creating the largest displacement of people in the twentieth century.

1972 East Pakistan declares independence from West Pakistan, becoming Bangladesh.

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