Periods
One wing for each period, in order. Each holds the events of that period, its exhibits, and books to read next.
- 01The First Settlersc. 3000 to 1000 BCE1 event
- 02Buddhism and Empiresc. 300 BCE to 625 CE3 events
- 03The Karkota Dynastyc. 625 to 855 CE4 events
- 04The Utpala Dynasty855 to 939 CE2 events
- 05Didda and the Lohara Kings939 to 1339 CE7 events
- 06The Shah Mir Sultanate1339 to 15618 events
- 07The Chak Dynasty1561 to 15862 events
- 08Mughal Kashmir1586 to 17528 events
- 09Afghan Rule1752 to 18192 events
- 10Sikh Rule1819 to 18461 event
- 11Dogra Rule1846 to 19478 events
- 12Since 19471947 to today30 events
Each bar sits where the period falls on one shared axis, and is as wide as the period lasted.
Period 1c. 3000 to 1000 BCE
The First Settlers
People were living in the Valley by about 3000 BCE. At Burzahom and Gufkral they first lived in pits dug into the raised plateaus called karewas, and later in houses of mud brick. The karewas themselves are old lake beds, which fits the story told in Kashmir's early texts that the Valley was once a great lake.
c. 3000 to 1000 BCE
Period 2c. 300 BCE to 625 CE
Buddhism and Empires
Kashmir became a major centre of Buddhist learning, linked to the Mauryan and Kushan empires and to the trade routes of Central Asia. Monasteries and terracotta-tiled courtyards at sites like Harwan date from these centuries. In the 6th century the Valley came under the Huns, remembered through the ruler Mihirakula.
Harwan Photo: Deepank Ranka · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Period 3c. 625 to 855 CE
The Karkota Dynasty
The Karkotas made Kashmir a regional power. Their best-known king, Lalitaditya Muktapida, built the Sun Temple at Martand and a new capital at Parihaspora. Kashmir's distinctive stone temple style, with trefoil arches and steep pyramidal roofs, matured in this period.
Martand Sun Temple Photo: Varun Shiv Kapur from New Delhi, India · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Period 4855 to 939 CE
The Utpala Dynasty
Avantivarman founded the Utpala dynasty and a new town, Avantipura, with two great temples. His engineer Suyya reshaped the Jhelum's course to control floods and open new farmland. Kashmir's reputation as a centre of Sanskrit learning grew stronger through these years.
Avantipora Temples Photo: Harvinder Chandigarh · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Period 5939 to 1339 CE
Didda and the Lohara Kings
Four turbulent centuries that produced some of Kashmir's greatest minds. Queen Didda ruled for decades, her family founded the Lohara dynasty, and philosophers like Abhinavagupta wrote works still studied today. Kalhana wrote his chronicle of Kashmir's kings in 1148. The period ended with a devastating raid in 1320, the brief rule of Rinchan, and Kota Rani, the last Hindu ruler.
Didda Photo: Old India Coins · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Period 61339 to 1561
The Shah Mir Sultanate
Shah Mir founded a sultanate that lasted over two centuries. Islam spread through the Valley, carried by Sufi teachers from Central Asia and Persia and by Kashmir's own Rishi order. Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin, remembered as Budshah, the great king, is celebrated for religious tolerance and for encouraging crafts, learning and public works.
Shah Mir Photo: CNG Coins · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Period 71561 to 1586
The Chak Dynasty
The Chaks, a Kashmiri family, took power from the last Shah Mir sultans. Their short rule is remembered through Yusuf Shah Chak and the poet Habba Khatoon, and it ended when the Mughal emperor Akbar annexed Kashmir in 1586.
Habba Khatoon Photo: Valentine Cameron Princep · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Period 81586 to 1752
Mughal Kashmir
Kashmir became the Mughal emperors' summer retreat. Jahangir, Nur Jahan, Shah Jahan and Dara Shikoh laid out terraced gardens fed by mountain springs, including Shalimar, Nishat and Chashme Shahi, and built mosques and pavilions around Dal Lake. Kashmir was governed as a province of the empire from distant capitals.
Hari Parbat Photo: Mohamad Talib Bhat · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Period 91752 to 1819
Afghan Rule
As Mughal power collapsed, Kashmir was taken by the Durrani Empire of Ahmad Shah Durrani. It was ruled by governors sent from Kabul, a period remembered in Kashmiri tradition for heavy taxation and harsh treatment. The fort that stands on Hari Parbat today was built in these years.
Ahmad Shah Durrani Photo: Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Period 101819 to 1846
Sikh Rule
Maharaja Ranjit Singh's army took Kashmir in 1819 and it became part of the Sikh Empire based in Lahore. The period was short and, by most accounts, hard for the Valley's people. It ended after the First Anglo-Sikh War, when the British transferred Kashmir to Gulab Singh.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Photo: Unknown Company School artist · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Period 111846 to 1947
Dogra Rule
Under the Treaty of Amritsar, Gulab Singh became Maharaja of the new princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Four Dogra rulers governed until 1947. The period brought roads, a museum and a modern administration, and also famine, heavy taxation and a growing political movement among Kashmir's Muslim majority that shaped everything after.
Maharaja Gulab Singh Photo: Unknown (production) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Period 121947 to today
Since 1947
Partition left the princely state divided and disputed. Today the wider Kashmir region is administered in parts by India, Pakistan and China, and its status remains one of the world's longest-running disputes. This wing covers the major turning points and marks where accounts differ.
Jawahar Tunnel Photo: Mutahir Showkat · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons