ABSTRACT
South Asia's most ancient urban civilization developed around the Indus River and its tributaries in what is now Pakistan. Achaemenid rulers of Persia referred to the seven rivers of the Indus system as the Hepta Hindu river system. Now called the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC), it reached its height 2,500 years ago. Technological advances of farming, tools, and irrigation spread over time to the Ganges River basin in northern India, and the Gangetic basin was transformed from forest to fields. This led to the development of new kingdoms such as Kosala, Kashi, Videha, and later Magadha. The kingdom was ruled during Ashoka's time by Devanampiya Tissa, a Sinhalese king of the Maurya clan, and it is believed his grandson defeated a Chola invasion from southern India and established a unified administration over Sri Lanka. Clive's victory in Bengal paved the way for the rise of the British East India Company in South Asia.
