70 events in order

People were living in the Valley by about 3000 BCE. At Burzahom and Gufkral they first lived in pits dug into the raised plateaus called karewas, and later in houses of mud brick. The karewas themselves are old lake beds, which fits the story told in Kashmir's early texts that the Valley was once a great lake.

1. c. 3000 BCE

   People settle at Burzahom

   Excavations at Burzahom, north-east of Srinagar, found pit dwellings, bone and stone tools, and later burials, some with dogs buried alongside people. The earliest phase dates to around 3000 BCE.

   In the museumBurzahom

The The First Settlers wing

Kashmir became a major centre of Buddhist learning, linked to the Mauryan and Kushan empires and to the trade routes of Central Asia. Monasteries and terracotta-tiled courtyards at sites like Harwan date from these centuries. In the 6th century the Valley came under the Huns, remembered through the ruler Mihirakula.

1. c. 3rd century BCE

   Ashoka and the city of Srinagari

   Tradition

   Kalhana's chronicle says the Mauryan emperor Ashoka ruled Kashmir and founded a city called Srinagari, usually placed near Pandrethan on the edge of modern Srinagar.

   In the museumPandrethan Temple

2. c. 1st to 2nd century CE

   The Fourth Buddhist Council

   Tradition

   Buddhist tradition holds that a great council of monks met in Kashmir under the Kushan king Kanishka and compiled commentaries on Buddhist teaching.

   In the museumHarwanKanishka

3. early 6th century

   Mihirakula and the Huns

   The Alchon Hun ruler Mihirakula held Kashmir in the early 6th century. Kalhana remembers him as one of the cruellest kings in the Valley's history.

The Buddhism and Empires wing

The Karkotas made Kashmir a regional power. Their best-known king, Lalitaditya Muktapida, built the Sun Temple at Martand and a new capital at Parihaspora. Kashmir's distinctive stone temple style, with trefoil arches and steep pyramidal roofs, matured in this period.

1. c. 625

   The Karkota dynasty begins

   Durlabhavardhana founded the Karkota dynasty, which would rule Kashmir for more than two centuries.

2. c. 631

   Xuanzang studies in Kashmir

   The Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang arrived in Kashmir around 631 and spent about two years there studying Buddhist texts with local teachers. His travel account is one of the earliest outside descriptions of the Valley.

   In the museumXuanzang

3. c. 724 to 760

   Lalitaditya Muktapida reigns

   Contested

   Lalitaditya was the most powerful Karkota king. Kalhana describes military campaigns far beyond the Valley, as well as great building projects at home.

   In the museumLalitaditya MuktapidaMartand Sun TempleParihaspora

4. 8th century

   The Sun Temple at Martand

   The great temple to the sun god Surya at Martand, on a plateau near present-day Anantnag, is attributed to Lalitaditya.

   In the museumMartand Sun Temple

The The Karkota Dynasty wing

Avantivarman founded the Utpala dynasty and a new town, Avantipura, with two great temples. His engineer Suyya reshaped the Jhelum's course to control floods and open new farmland. Kashmir's reputation as a centre of Sanskrit learning grew stronger through these years.

1. 855

   Avantivarman founds the Utpala dynasty

   Avantivarman took the throne and began a period of relative peace and rebuilding after the last troubled years of the Karkotas.

   In the museumAvantivarmanAvantipora Temples

2. late 9th century

   Suyya tames the Jhelum

   Avantivarman's engineer Suyya cleared blockages in the Jhelum, moved where rivers met and drained marshes, opening new farmland and reducing floods. The town of Sopore, once Suyyapura, is named after him.

   In the museumSuyyaThe Jhelum

The The Utpala Dynasty wing

Four turbulent centuries that produced some of Kashmir's greatest minds. Queen Didda ruled for decades, her family founded the Lohara dynasty, and philosophers like Abhinavagupta wrote works still studied today. Kalhana wrote his chronicle of Kashmir's kings in 1148. The period ended with a devastating raid in 1320, the brief rule of Rinchan, and Kota Rani, the last Hindu ruler.

1. 958 to 1003

   Didda rules Kashmir

   Didda governed as regent for her son and grandsons from 958, then ruled in her own name from 980 until her death in 1003, one of the longest-serving rulers in the Valley's history.

   In the museumDidda

2. c. 950 to 1016

   Abhinavagupta writes

   The philosopher Abhinavagupta wrote the Tantraloka and major works on poetry and drama, giving Kashmir Shaivism its fullest expression.

   In the museumAbhinavaguptaKashmir Shaivism

3. 1003

   The Lohara dynasty begins

   Didda chose her nephew Samgramaraja, from the Lohara family of the Poonch area, as her successor, founding the Lohara dynasty.

4. 1015 and 1021

   Mahmud of Ghazni turned back

   Mahmud of Ghazni tried to enter Kashmir in 1015 and again around 1021, but failed to take the mountain fort of Lohkot and withdrew both times.

5. 1148 to 1149

   Kalhana writes the Rajatarangini

   Kalhana completed the Rajatarangini, the River of Kings, a Sanskrit verse history of Kashmir's rulers. It is the main written source for most of the Valley's early history.

   In the museumKalhanaThe Rajatarangini

6. 1320

   Dulucha's raid and Rinchan's rise

   A raider known as Dulucha, or Zulju in Persian sources, devastated the Valley in 1320. In the chaos Rinchan, a Buddhist prince from Ladakh, took the throne and later became the first Muslim ruler of Kashmir.

   In the museumRinchan

7. until 1339

   Kota Rani, the last Hindu ruler

   Kota Rani, widow of two kings, held power until 1339, when her minister Shah Mir took the throne. She was the last Hindu ruler of Kashmir.

The Didda and the Lohara Kings wing

Shah Mir founded a sultanate that lasted over two centuries. Islam spread through the Valley, carried by Sufi teachers from Central Asia and Persia and by Kashmir's own Rishi order. Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin, remembered as Budshah, the great king, is celebrated for religious tolerance and for encouraging crafts, learning and public works.

1. 1339

   Shah Mir founds the Sultanate

   Shah Mir, a courtier who had served the last Hindu rulers, took the throne and founded a dynasty that ruled Kashmir for more than 200 years.

   In the museumShah Mir

2. 14th century

   Lal Ded's verses

   Tradition

   The mystic Lal Ded, also called Lalleshwari or Lalla Arifa, composed short spiritual verses called vakhs in Kashmiri. They are among the oldest works in the language and are still recited by Hindus and Muslims alike.

   In the museumLal Ded

3. 1370s and 1380s

   Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani comes to Kashmir

   Contested

   The Persian Sufi scholar Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani visited Kashmir with a large group of followers. He is remembered as a central figure in the spread of Islam in the Valley, and tradition credits his companions with bringing crafts such as shawl weaving.

   In the museumMir Sayyid Ali HamadaniKhanqah-e-Moula

4. 1377 to 1438

   Nund Rishi and the Rishi order

   Sheikh Nooruddin Noorani, known as Nund Rishi or Sheikh ul-Alam, founded the Rishi order, a Kashmiri Sufi tradition of simple living and devotion. His Kashmiri verses, called shruks, sit alongside Lal Ded's at the root of Kashmiri literature.

   In the museumNund RishiCharar-e-Sharief

5. 1389 to 1413

   Sultan Sikandar's reign

   Contested

   Sultan Sikandar built Srinagar's Jamia Masjid. The chronicler Jonaraja also records the destruction of many temples and pressure on Brahmins during his reign.

   In the museumJamia Masjid, Srinagar

6. 1394 to 1402

   Srinagar's Jamia Masjid is built

   Sultan Sikandar began the Jamia Masjid in 1394 and it was finished in 1402. Burned and rebuilt several times, it remains the Valley's principal mosque.

   In the museumJamia Masjid, Srinagar

7. 1420 to 1470

   Budshah, the great king

   Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin invited back Pandits who had fled, ended the jizya tax on non-Muslims, supported translation between Sanskrit and Persian, and encouraged crafts, canals and bridges. Kashmiris still call him Budshah, the great king.

   In the museumZain-ul-Abidin (Budshah)Tomb of Budshah's MotherZaina Lank

8. 15th century

   The chronicle continues

   Jonaraja extended Kalhana's Rajatarangini into his own time, and after his death in 1459 his pupil Shrivara carried it further. Together they are the main contemporary record of the early Sultanate.

   In the museumThe Rajatarangini

The The Shah Mir Sultanate wing

The Chaks, a Kashmiri family, took power from the last Shah Mir sultans. Their short rule is remembered through Yusuf Shah Chak and the poet Habba Khatoon, and it ended when the Mughal emperor Akbar annexed Kashmir in 1586.

1. 1561

   The Chaks take power

   Ghazi Shah Chak removed the last Shah Mir sultan and founded the Chak dynasty, rule by a Kashmiri family that had grown powerful at court.

2. late 16th century

   Habba Khatoon's songs

   Tradition

   Habba Khatoon, the poet remembered as the queen of Yusuf Shah Chak, sang of love and longing in Kashmiri. Her songs are still sung, and she is often called the Nightingale of Kashmir.

   In the museumHabba Khatoon

The The Chak Dynasty wing

Kashmir became the Mughal emperors' summer retreat. Jahangir, Nur Jahan, Shah Jahan and Dara Shikoh laid out terraced gardens fed by mountain springs, including Shalimar, Nishat and Chashme Shahi, and built mosques and pavilions around Dal Lake. Kashmir was governed as a province of the empire from distant capitals.

1. 1586

   Akbar annexes Kashmir

   Mughal forces sent by Akbar entered the Valley. Yusuf Shah Chak submitted and was taken into exile, while his son Yaqub Shah held out until 1589. Kashmir became a province of the Mughal Empire.

   In the museumYusuf Shah Chak

2. 1589

   Akbar's first visit

   Akbar travelled to Kashmir in 1589. In the 1590s he had a walled town built around Hari Parbat, known as Nagar Nagor.

   In the museumHari Parbat

3. 1619

   Shalimar Bagh is laid out

   Emperor Jahangir laid out Shalimar Bagh on the north-eastern shore of Dal Lake, a terraced garden fed by a channel of mountain water. Shah Jahan later extended it.

   In the museumShalimar BaghJahangir

4. c. 1620

   Stone tank at Verinag

   Jahangir enclosed the spring at Verinag, traditionally the source of the Jhelum, in an octagonal stone tank with arched niches. Shah Jahan added the garden around it.

   In the museumVerinag

5. 1632

   Chashme Shahi is built

   The governor Ali Mardan Khan built Chashme Shahi, the royal spring, for Emperor Shah Jahan. It is the smallest of Srinagar's Mughal gardens.

   In the museumChashme Shahi

6. c. 1633

   Nishat Bagh is built

   Asif Khan, Nur Jahan's brother, laid out Nishat Bagh, the garden of delight, in twelve terraces rising from Dal Lake towards the Zabarwan mountains.

   In the museumNishat Bagh

7. 1650s

   Dara Shikoh builds Pari Mahal

   Prince Dara Shikoh built Pari Mahal, a terraced building above Chashme Shahi, for his Sufi teacher Mulla Shah Badakhshi. It is often described as having served as an observatory and a place of study.

   In the museumPari MahalDara Shikoh

8. c. 1700

   The relic comes to Hazratbal

   A relic venerated as a hair of the Prophet Muhammad was brought to Kashmir around 1700 and later housed at Hazratbal, on the western shore of Dal Lake, which became the Valley's most important shrine.

   In the museumHazratbal Shrine

The Mughal Kashmir wing

As Mughal power collapsed, Kashmir was taken by the Durrani Empire of Ahmad Shah Durrani. It was ruled by governors sent from Kabul, a period remembered in Kashmiri tradition for heavy taxation and harsh treatment. The fort that stands on Hari Parbat today was built in these years.

1. 1752

   The Afghans take Kashmir

   With the Mughal Empire in decline, an army sent by Ahmad Shah Durrani took Kashmir, which was then governed from Kabul for 67 years.

   In the museumAhmad Shah Durrani

2. 1808

   The fort on Hari Parbat

   The Afghan governor Atta Muhammad Khan built the fort that stands on the summit of Hari Parbat today, above the older Mughal walls.

   In the museumHari Parbat

The Afghan Rule wing

Maharaja Ranjit Singh's army took Kashmir in 1819 and it became part of the Sikh Empire based in Lahore. The period was short and, by most accounts, hard for the Valley's people. It ended after the First Anglo-Sikh War, when the British transferred Kashmir to Gulab Singh.

1. 1819

   Sikh forces win at Shopian

   In July 1819 the army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh defeated the forces of the last Afghan governor near Shopian, and Kashmir became part of the Sikh Empire.

   In the museumMaharaja Ranjit Singh

The Sikh Rule wing

Under the Treaty of Amritsar, Gulab Singh became Maharaja of the new princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Four Dogra rulers governed until 1947. The period brought roads, a museum and a modern administration, and also famine, heavy taxation and a growing political movement among Kashmir's Muslim majority that shaped everything after.

1. 16 March 1846

   The Treaty of Amritsar

   After defeating the Sikhs, the British East India Company transferred Kashmir to Gulab Singh, the Dogra ruler of Jammu, in return for 7.5 million rupees. The princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was born.

   In the museumMaharaja Gulab Singh

2. April 1865

   The shawl weavers' protest

   Shawl weavers in Srinagar protested against crushing taxes on their trade. The protest was put down by force and a number of weavers died, many of them drowned.

   In the museumThe Kashmir Shawl

3. 1877 to 1879

   The great famine

   Heavy rains destroyed harvests and a severe famine followed. Contemporary observers believed a large share of the Valley's population died or left.

4. 1898

   A museum for Kashmir

   The Sri Pratap Singh Museum opened in Srinagar, the first museum in the state, gathering sculpture, coins, manuscripts, textiles and crafts.

   In the museumSri Pratap Singh Museum

5. 1925

   Hari Singh becomes Maharaja

   Hari Singh succeeded his uncle Pratap Singh as the fourth and last Dogra Maharaja.

   In the museumMaharaja Hari Singh

6. 13 July 1931

   Firing outside Srinagar Central Jail

   Police fired on a crowd gathered outside the Srinagar Central Jail during the trial of Abdul Qadeer, killing 22 people. The day became a turning point in organised political opposition to Dogra rule.

7. 1932

   The Muslim Conference is founded

   The All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference was founded with Sheikh Abdullah as its leader. In 1939 most of its leadership renamed it the National Conference and opened it to all communities.

   In the museumSheikh Mohammad Abdullah

8. 1946

   Quit Kashmir

   The National Conference launched the Quit Kashmir movement, demanding an end to Dogra rule. Sheikh Abdullah was arrested and jailed.

   In the museumSheikh Mohammad Abdullah

The Dogra Rule wing

Partition left the princely state divided and disputed. Today the wider Kashmir region is administered in parts by India, Pakistan and China, and its status remains one of the world's longest-running disputes. This wing covers the major turning points and marks where accounts differ.

1. August 1947

   Partition

   British India was divided into India and Pakistan on 14 and 15 August 1947. Jammu and Kashmir, a princely state with a Muslim majority and a Hindu ruler, did not join either country at first.

2. October 1947

   Invasion and accession

   Contested

   On 22 October 1947 armed tribesmen from Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province entered the state. Maharaja Hari Singh signed an Instrument of Accession to India, and Indian troops were flown into Srinagar on 27 October. The first war between India and Pakistan followed.

   In the museumMaharaja Hari Singh

3. Late 1947

   Violence against civilians

   Contested

   Partition-era killings reached the state in late 1947. Large numbers of Muslims were killed in the Jammu region, and Hindus and Sikhs were killed in places such as Muzaffarabad and Mirpur.

4. 1 November 1947

   Revolt in Gilgit

   The Gilgit Scouts revolted against the Maharaja's governor, and the Gilgit region came under Pakistani control.

5. 1 January 1949

   Ceasefire and a promised vote

   A ceasefire arranged by the United Nations ended the first war and left the former state divided along a ceasefire line. UN resolutions called for a plebiscite, a public vote on the state's future, which has never been held.

6. 1949

   Article 370

   India's constitution included Article 370, which gave Jammu and Kashmir special autonomous status, allowing the state its own constitution and limiting which Indian laws applied there.

7. August 1953

   Sheikh Abdullah is dismissed

   Sheikh Abdullah, then Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, was dismissed and arrested. He spent most of the next two decades in detention.

   In the museumSheikh Mohammad Abdullah

8. 1962

   War with China and Aksai Chin

   China had built a road across Aksai Chin, on the eastern edge of the former state, in the 1950s. After the 1962 war between India and China, Aksai Chin stayed under Chinese control.

9. December 1963 to January 1964

   The relic disappears

   The relic at Hazratbal went missing in December 1963, bringing huge crowds onto the streets across the Valley. It was recovered in early January 1964 and identified as genuine by religious leaders.

   In the museumHazratbal Shrine

10. 1965

    The second war

    India and Pakistan fought a second war over Kashmir. The Tashkent Declaration of January 1966 returned both sides to their earlier positions.

11. 1972

    The Line of Control

    After the 1971 war, India and Pakistan signed the Simla Agreement. The old ceasefire line became the Line of Control, the de facto border that still divides the region.

12. 1975

    Sheikh Abdullah returns

    An accord between Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Abdullah brought him back to power as Chief Minister, a post he held until his death in 1982.

    In the museumSheikh Mohammad Abdullah

13. 1984

    Siachen

    India took control of the Siachen Glacier in the far north in 1984, beginning the highest-altitude military standoff in the world.

14. 1987

    A disputed election

    Contested

    The 1987 state election was widely alleged to have been rigged against a coalition of opposition parties, the Muslim United Front. Many historians see it as a turning point towards armed revolt.

15. 1989 to 1990

    Armed insurgency begins

    An armed movement against Indian rule took hold in the Valley. Decades of violence followed, with tens of thousands of people killed, among them civilians, militants and members of the security forces.

16. 21 January 1990

    Gawkadal

    Security forces fired on protesters at the Gawkadal bridge in Srinagar, killing dozens of people. It was one of the deadliest single incidents of the early insurgency.

17. 1990

    The Kashmiri Pandits leave the Valley

    Contested

    Amid targeted killings and threats, the large majority of the Valley's Kashmiri Pandits left their homes in early 1990. Most have not returned.

18. 1999

    Kargil

    Fighting broke out on the heights above Kargil after Pakistani forces and militants occupied positions on the Indian side of the Line of Control. India regained the positions after about two months of fighting.

19. 8 October 2005

    The earthquake

    A powerful earthquake centred near Muzaffarabad killed more than 80,000 people, most of them in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and neighbouring areas, and destroyed whole towns.

20. September 2014

    The floods

    The Jhelum burst its banks after days of heavy rain, flooding much of Srinagar and large parts of the Valley for weeks.

    In the museumThe Jhelum

21. 5 August 2019

    Special status revoked

    India ended the special status given by Article 370 and split the state into two union territories, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, which took effect on 31 October 2019. A long communications shutdown followed in the Valley.

22. 2024

    Elections return

    Jammu and Kashmir held its first assembly election in ten years. The National Conference won the most seats and formed the government.

23. April to May 2025

    Pahalgam and a brief war

    On 22 April 2025 gunmen killed 26 people, most of them tourists, in the Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam. In May India and Pakistan exchanged military strikes for several days before agreeing to a ceasefire on 10 May.

    In the museumPahalgam

24. June 2025

    The railway reaches the Valley

    A direct rail line connected the Valley to the rest of India's railway network for the first time, crossing the Chenab Rail Bridge, the highest railway arch bridge in the world.

    In the museumChenab Rail Bridge

The Since 1947 wing