Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 213. Chapters: Middle kingdoms of India, Queen Victoria, Akbar, Shivaji, Ashoka, List of Indian monarchs, Hyder Ali, Chera Dynasty, Pazhassi Raja, Madurai Nayak Dynasty, Jahangir, Raja Raja Chola I, Vettathunad, Kingdom of Cochin, V. P. Singh, Salabat Jung, Rajendra Chola I, Kulothunga Chola III, Chandragupta Maurya, Shah Jahan, Chandela, Hemu, Krishnadevaraya, Siraj ud-Daulah, Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, Maharana Pratap, Raja Sitaram Ray, Harsha, Medieval Cholas, M rtt nda Varma, Chandragupta II, Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma, Prithviraj Chauhan, Royal House of Benares, Jind Kaur, Sambhaji, Karan Singh, Tomara clan, Chand Bibi, Vikram ditya, Pathania, Dahir (Raja), King Porus, Pusyamitra Sunga, Sawai Man Singh II, Bhoja, Chhattrapati Shahu, Chakravartin, Early Cholas, Malaiyam n Thirumudi K ri, Pulakesi II. Excerpt: Middle kingdoms of India (or Classical India) refers to the political entities in India from the 3rd century BC after the decline of the Maurya Empire, and the corresponding rise of the Satavahana dynasty, beginning with Simuka, from 230 BC. This is known as the classical period of India, during which India is estimated to have had the largest economy of the world controlling between one third and one fourth of the world's wealth. The "Middle" period lasts for some 1,500 years, and ends in the 13th century, with the rise of the Delhi Sultanate and the end of the Chalukya Cholas (Rajendra Chola III died 1279). The extent of Maurya Empire The Mauryan Empire, during the 2nd century BC, became a collage of regional powers with overlapping boundaries. The whole of north-west attracted a series of invaders between 200 BC and 300 AD. The Puranas speak of many of these tribes as foreigners and impure barbarians (Mlechhas). First the Satavahanas and later the Gupta Empire, both successor states to the Mauryan Empire, attempt to contain the expansions of the successive before eventually crumbling internally due pressure exerted by these wars. The invading tribes were influenced by Buddhism which continued to flourish under the patronage of both the invaders and the Satavahanas and Guptas and provides a cultural bridge between the two cultures. Over time, the invaders became "Indianized" as they influence society and philosophy across the Gangetic plains and are conversely influenced by it. This period is marked by both intellectual and artistic achievements inspired by cultural diffusion and syncretism as the new kingdoms straddle the Silk route. The Indo-Scythians are a branch of Sakas (Scythians), who migrated from southern Siberia into Bactria, Sogdiana, Arachosia, Gandhara, Kashmir, Punjab, and into parts of Western and Central India, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 4th century CE. The first Saka king in India was Maues or