The Janapadas were the realms, republics (ganapada) and kingdoms (sāmarājya) of the Vedic period in the Indian subcontinent. The Vedic period reaches from the late Bronze Age into the Iron Age: from about 1500 BCE to the 6th century BCE. With the rise of sixteen Mahajanapadas, most of the states were annexed by more powerful neighbours, although some remained independent.
Image: MET 2001 433 53 O
Image: Ax Blade (Celt)
Modern replica of utensils and falcon shaped altar used for Agnicayana, an elaborate shrauta ritual originating from the Kuru Kingdom, around 1000 BCE.
Ahichchhatra (or Ahi-Kshetra) was the ancient capital of Northern Panchala. The remains of this city has been discovered in Bareilly.
The Vedic period, or the Vedic age, is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas, was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, between the end of the urban Indus Valley Civilisation and a second urbanisation, which began in the central Indo-Gangetic Plain c. 600 BCE. The Vedas are liturgical texts which formed the basis of the influential Brahmanical ideology, which developed in the Kuru Kingdom, a tribal union of several Indo-Aryan tribes. The Vedas contain details of life during this period that have been interpreted to be historical and constitute the primary sources for understanding the period. These documents, alongside the corresponding archaeological record, allow for the evolution of the Indo-Aryan and Vedic culture to be traced and inferred.
Image: MET 2001 433 53 O
Image: Ax Blade (Celt)
Cremation urn of the Gandhara grave culture (c. 1200 BCE), associated with Vedic material culture
Pottery of the Painted Grey Ware culture (c. 1000–600 BCE), associated with Vedic material culture