South Asia in the early modern world (1500 – 1800). Oceans became highways, gunpowder empires rose, and the scientific revolution began. These articles cover the three centuries in which the world's regions first became one system.
Vasco da Gama reached Calicut on May 20, 1498, with cloth, hats, sugar and honey; the Zamorin's officers laughed and he left with a letter asking for gold.
Akbar ruled Mughal India from 1556 to 1605 by ranking Hindu and Muslim officers in one service, ending the jizya tax in 1564 and outranking his clerics.
Mumtaz Mahal died at Burhanpur on June 17, 1631. Indian government sites date the Taj Mahal to 1631-1648 and 1653; its dome calligraphy is signed 1638.