Indus Valley Civilization: Map & History
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form from 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE.
Wikipedia Encyclopedic Compendium
Historiographical synthesis & structured realm registry
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form from 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE. Together with ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China, it was one of the four centres of the ancient world; it was geographically larger than ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia combined. It spanned much of Pakistan, northwestern India, and northeast Afghanistan. The civilisation flourished in the alluvial plain of the Indus River and along a system of perennial monsoon-fed rivers that once coursed in the vicinity of the Ghaggar-Hakra, a seasonal river in northwest India and eastern Pakistan.
Modern Countries Once Part of Indus Valley Civilization
At its mapped extent, Indus Valley Civilization covered territory in 2 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Indus Valley Civilization's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Indus Valley Civilization in Depth
Discovery and history of excavation
The first modern accounts of the ruins of the Indus civilisation are those of Charles Masson, a deserter from the East India Company's army. In 1829, Masson travelled through the princely state of Punjab, gathering useful intelligence for the Company in return for a promise of clemency. An aspect of this arrangement was the additional requirement to hand over to the Company any historical artifacts acquired during his travels. Masson, who had versed himself in the classics, especially in the military campaigns of Alexander the Great, chose for his wanderings some of the same towns that had featured in Alexander's campaigns, and whose archaeological sites had been noted by the campaign's chroniclers.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Indus Valley Civilisation (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Indus Valley Civilization Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Indus Valley Civilization appears, with the other states of the time.
Indus Valley Civilization Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 755,121 km² in 1900 BCE.
Indus Valley Civilization: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Indus Valley Civilization exist?
Indus Valley Civilization is dated to 3000 BCE – 1701 BCE, in the Bronze Age Civilizations era.
How large was Indus Valley Civilization at its peak?
At its peak in 1900 BC Indus Valley Civilization covered about 755,121 km².
How did the map of Indus Valley Civilization change over time?
Indus Valley Civilization appears on 3 dated world maps in the atlas, from 3000 BCE to 2000 BCE. Each shows its borders in that year next to the other states of the time.
Other Sovereign Realms
Bronze Age Civilizations • Capital: Memphis
Bronze & Iron Age Civilizations • Capital: Ecbatana
Bronze & Iron Age Civilizations • Capital: Kamianka
Bronze & Iron Age Civilizations • Capital: Quanqiu, Qinyi, Qian, Pingyang, Yong, Jingyang, Yueyang, Xianyang