UPSC & State PSC
UP History & Culture for UPPSC
Ancient sites and the mahajanapadas, Buddhist UP, Kannauj, Jaunpur, the Mughals in Agra, Awadh, 1857 and the freedom struggle, plus UP's art, music, literature and crafts. It is central to GS V and also appears in Prelims and GS I.
10 guides·Conducted by Uttar Pradesh Public Service CommissionOfficial website
Study in this order
- 1Ancient Uttar Pradesh: from Sinauli to the Vedic ageLong before the mahajanapadas, the land that is now Uttar Pradesh was home to Stone Age hunters in the Vindhyas, some of the earliest rice farmers in South Asia, Harappan outposts in the Doab, and the warriors of Sinauli buried with their chariots. A guide to UP's prehistory and early history for GS V and Prelims. 4 min read
- 2The mahajanapadas of Uttar PradeshOf the sixteen great states of the sixth century BCE, more than half lay wholly or partly in what is now Uttar Pradesh — Kashi, Kosala, Vatsa, Panchala, Kuru, Surasena, Malla and Chedi. Their capitals, rulers and fates, and why the region became the stage for the Buddha, Mahavira and the rise of Magadha. 4 min read
- 3Buddhist sites of UP: Sarnath, Kushinagar, ShravastiThe Buddha gave his first sermon at Sarnath, spent most of his rainy seasons at Shravasti and died at Kushinagar — all in Uttar Pradesh. With Kaushambi, Sankisa and Piprahwa, UP holds more of the Buddha's life than any other state. The sites, their history, their monuments and their role in tourism and diplomacy. 4 min read
- 4The Kushanas and the Mathura school of artUnder the Kushanas, Mathura became one of the great art centres of the ancient world — producing some of the earliest images of the Buddha, powerful Jain and Hindu sculptures, and a portrait of the emperor Kanishka himself. How the Mathura school developed, how it differed from Gandhara, and what survives today. 5 min read
- 5The Guptas and Uttar PradeshSamudragupta's praise is carved on a pillar at Prayagraj; the calm Buddha of Sarnath is a Gupta masterpiece; the Dashavatara temple at Deogarh is among India's earliest stone temples; and Bhitari records Skandagupta's fight against the Huns. The Gupta age as seen from Uttar Pradesh. 5 min read
- 6Harshavardhana and KannaujIn the seventh century, Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh became the capital of north India under Harshavardhana, a king who wrote plays, hosted Xuanzang, held a great assembly at Prayag and was stopped only by the Chalukyas. For three centuries after him, Kannauj was the prize every major power fought for. 7 min read
- 7Delhi Sultanate and the Sharqi kingdom of JaunpurFrom the fall of Kannauj in 1194 to Babur's arrival in 1526, Uttar Pradesh was ruled from Delhi — except for nearly a century when Jaunpur became the capital of an independent kingdom whose mosques earned it the name "the Shiraz of India". The Sultanate in UP, the Sharqis, and the founding of Agra. 3 min read
- 8The Mughals in Agra and Fatehpur SikriFor much of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Agra was the capital of one of the world's great empires. Akbar rebuilt its fort and built a new city at Fatehpur Sikri; Nur Jahan built a jewel-box tomb for her father; Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal. The Mughals in UP — history, architecture and legacy. 4 min read
- 9The Nawabs of Awadh and LucknowIn the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Nawabs of Awadh turned Lucknow into a city of imambaras, gardens, poetry, music and fine food — while the East India Company tightened its grip. From Saadat Khan to Wajid Ali Shah, the history and culture of Awadh, and why its annexation in 1856 helped spark 1857. 3 min read
- 101857 in Uttar PradeshThe revolt of 1857 began in Meerut, raged in Kanpur, Lucknow and Jhansi, and found leaders from every section of society — a queen, a Begum, a Maulvi, a Peshwa, soldiers and peasants. Uttar Pradesh was the heart of the uprising. The causes, centres, leaders and legacy, organised the way UPPSC asks about them. 4 min read
New UP History & Culture guides are added regularly. Back to all UPPSC guides