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( Middle kingdoms of India)
(Indian Subcontinent)
This period was marked by waves of invasions from Persia and Central Asia, to the spread of Buddhism from India, through to the Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent. In the wake of the disintegration of the Mauryan Empire during the 2nd century BC, South Asia became a collage of regional powers with overlapping boundaries. The Indus Valley and Gangetic plains of the northwest 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 are influenced by and adopt Buddhism which continues to flourish under the patronage of both the invaders and the Satavahanas and Guptas and provides a cultural bridge between the two cultures. Overtime 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.
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