Thehistory ofUttar Pradesh, a state inIndia, stretches back several millennia. The region shows the presence of human habitation dating back to between 85,000 and 73,000 years ago. Additionally, the region seems to have been domesticated as early as 6,000 BC.

The early modern period in the region started in 1526 afterBaburinvaded the Delhi Sultanate, and established the Mughal Empire covering large parts of modern Uttar Pradesh. The remnants of the Mughal Empire include their monuments, most notablyFatehpur Sikri,Allahabad Fort,Agra Fort.

The region was the site of theIndian Rebellion of 1857, with revolts at, Jhansi, Meerut, Kanpur, and Lucknow. The region was also a site for theIndian Independence movement with the Indian National Congress.

After independence in 1947, the United Provinces were renamed Uttar Pradesh in 1950.

In 2000, the state ofUttarakhand was carved out from Uttar Pradesh.

Archeological finds have indicated the presence ofStone AgeHomo sapiens hunter-gatherers in Uttar Pradesh^[1][2][3] between around^[4] 85 and 73 thousand years old. Other pre-historical finds have included Middle and Upper Paleolithic artifacts dated to 21–31 thousand years old^[5] andMesolithic/Microlithichunter-gatherer's settlement, nearPratapgarh, from around 10550–9550 BC. Villages with domesticated cattle, sheep, and goats and evidence of agriculture began as early as 6000 BC, and gradually developed between c. 4000 and 2000 BC  beginning with theIndus Valley Civilization andHarappa culture to theVedic period; extending into theIron Age.^[6][7][8]

The kingdom ofKosala, in theMahajanapada era, was located within the regional boundaries of modern-day Uttar Pradesh.^[9] The kingdom of theKurus corresponds to theBlack and Red Ware andPainted Gray Ware culture and the beginning of the Iron Age in North-west India, around 1000 BC.^[9]

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In some recent academic studies, theGuptas are traced to have originated from the Prayaga region, where they first established power.Goyal suggests that theAllahabad Pillar Inscription strongly indicates that the early Gupta center of power was in the moderneastern Uttar Pradesh, probably around Prayaga.^[10]

TheVishnu Purana provides an intriguing reference: "Anu-Ganga Prayāgam Māgadha Guptās-cha bhokshyanti," which has been translated byMajumdar as "The territory along theGanges (up to) Prayaga will be enjoyed by the people ofMagadha and the Guptas." This excerpt suggests that the Guptas were distinguished from the people of Magadha, yet both jointly ruled the region along the Ganges up to Prayaga.^[11]

Historically, theGupta Empire emerged from the unification of the Gupta andLicchavis states, which aligns with this Purana's reference. The text seems to imply that the Licchavis of Nepal were identified with the Magadhas, and their joint domain included Magadha and the territory stretching westward to Prayag.^[12]

In this context, the capital of the Gupta empire likely started around Magadha and Prayag and expanded from there. The concentration of early Gupta inscriptions and gold coinages around Prayag (especially ofSamudragupta's famous prasasti) tends to suggest that this region was the residence of greatest power of the Guptas. They probably controlledSarnath in the east,^[13] and as their stronghold, they used Prayag. For the initial phase of the empire, the exact boundaries in the region above and the west is vague, but they most definitely controlled easternUttar Pradesh. By the late third and early fourth centuries, this area had burgeoned into a dynasty aiming to build a great empire.^[14]

Various scholarships considers Prayaga as the initial Gupta capital and supports this arguments with ThePuranic references, and multiple earlyGupta era inscriptions alongside the discovery of numerous coin hoards scattered around the region, further suggesting that the Guptas strengthened their sovereignty over the area prior to further expansion.^[10]

This statement was also supported byR.S. Sharma who claimed that it is highly likely the Guptas based themselves inUttar Pradesh because from there they could expand anywhere. With Prayag as their center, they extended their rule over Anuganga (mid-Gangetic basin), Prayag (modern Prayagraj),Saketa (modernAyodhya), and Magadha.^[11]

Samudragupta is thought to have come to the throne in the mid-4th century CE. His precise date of coronation is not known, however, evidence from both numismatics and epigraphy bear witness that he was one of the greatest rulers of ancient India. He was an excellent statesman, a gifted poet, and a musician. As noted in the Allahabad Pillar inscription, he was also a great conqueror who unified north and central India.^[15]

In the same inscription,Sri Gupta andGhatotkacha are given the title ofMahārāja whileChandragupta I andSamudragupta are referred to asMahārājādhirāja, reflecting the increasing power and imperial glory of the dynasty.^[16]

Most of the invaders of south India passed through the Gangetic plains of what is today Uttar Pradesh. Control over this region was of vital importance to the power and stability of all of India's major empires, including theMaurya (320–200 BC),Kushan (100–250 CE),Gupta (350–600 CE), andGurjara-Pratihara (650–1036 CE) empires.^[17] Following theHuns invasions that broke the Gupta empire, the Ganges-Yamuna Doab saw the rise ofKannauj.^[18]

TheMaukhari dynasty came to power with the decline of the Gupta Empire. During the reign ofHarshavardhana (590–647), the Kannauj empire reached its zenith.^[18] It spanned fromPunjab in the north andGujarat in the west toBengal in the east andOdisha in the south.^[9] It included parts of central India, north of theNarmada River and it encompassed the entireIndo-Gangetic Plain.^[19] ThePushyabhuti dynasty were followed by theVarman dynasty which achieved hegemony over North India underYashovarman. TheAyudha dynasty succeeded them in Kannauj.

Many communities in various parts of India claim descent from the migrants of Kannauj.^[20] Soon after Harshavardhana's death, his empire disintegrated into many kingdoms, which were invaded and ruled by the Gurjara-Pratihara empire, which challenged Bengal'sPala Empire for control of the region.^[19]Kannauj was several times invaded by the south IndianRashtrakuta Dynasty from the 8th century to the 10th century.^[21][22]

In the middle of the 13th century the Srinet rajput "Chandrasen", expel the Domkatar/Drontikar bhumihar from the eastern Basti.^[23]

[As per a legend;the basti area is ruled by someRajbhars way before. (no definite evidence is found to justify it.)]^[23]

Parts or all of Uttar Pradesh were ruled by theDelhi Sultanate for 320 years (1206–1526). Five dynasties ruled over the Sultanate sequentially: theMamluk dynasty (1206–90), theKhalji dynasty (1290–1320), theTughlaq dynasty (1320–1414), theSayyid dynasty (1414–51), and theLodi dynasty (1451–1526).^[24][25]

In the 16th century,Babur, aTimurid descendant ofTimur andGenghis Khan fromFergana Valley (modern-dayUzbekistan), swept across theKhyber Pass and founded theMughal Empire, coveringIndia, along with modern-dayAfghanistan, Pakistan andBangladesh^[26] The Mughals were descended from Persianised Central AsianTurks (with significantMongol admixture). In theMughal era, Uttar Pradesh became the heartland of the empire.^[20] Mughal emperors Babur and Humayun ruled from Agra.^[27][28]

In 1540 an Afghan,Sher Shah Suri, took over the reins of Uttar Pradesh after defeating the Mughal king Humanyun.^[29] Sher Shah and his son Islam Shah ruled Uttar Pradesh from their capital atGwalior.^[30] After the death ofIslam Shah Suri, his prime ministerHemu became thede facto ruler of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and the western parts of Bengal. He was bestowed the title ofVikramaditya at his coronation inPurana Quila in Delhi. Hemu died in theSecond Battle of Panipat, and Uttar Pradesh came under EmperorAkbar's rule.^[31]

Akbar ruled fromAgra and his newly established city,Fatehpur Sikri.^[32] He was succeeded by his sonJahangir. Jahangir was succeeded by his sonShah Jahan. Shah Jahan is famous for building theTaj Mahal, a mausoleum for his queenMumtaz Mahal located in Agra. The Taj Mahal is considered one of the most significant examples ofIndo-Islamic architecture. Shah Jahan was succeeded by his sonAurangzeb, who did not share the religious tolerance of his ancestors, and was infamous for the destruction of temples. In the decades that followed the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, Mughal rule in the region largely collapsed.

After the fall of Mughal authority, the power vacuum was filled by theMaratha Empire. In the mid 18th century, the Maratha army invaded the Uttar Pradesh region, which resulted in Rohillas losing control of Rohillkhand to the Maratha rulersRaghunath Rao andMalharao Holkar. The conflict between the Rohillas and the Marathas came to an end on 18 December 1788 with the arrest ofGhulam Qadir, the grandson of Najeeb-ud-Daula. In this battle, Ghulam Qadir was defeated by the Maratha generalMahadji Shinde. In 1803, following theSecond Anglo-Maratha War, when theBritish East India Company defeated the Maratha Empire, much of the region came under British suzerainty.^[33]

Starting fromBengal in the second half of the 18th century, a series of battles for north Indian lands finally gave theBritish East India Company accession over the state's territories.^[35]Ajmer andJaipur kingdoms were also included in this northern territory, which was named the "North-Western Provinces" (of Agra). Although UP later became the fifth largest state of India, NWPA was one of the smallest states of the British Indian empire.^[36] Its capital shifted twice between Agra and Allahabad.^{[citation needed]}

Due to dissatisfaction with British rule, a serious rebellion erupted in various parts of North India;Bengalregiment's sepoy stationed atMeerutcantonment,Mangal Pandey, is widely credited as its starting point.^[37] It came to be known as theIndian Rebellion of 1857.

After the revolt failed, the British attempted to divide the most rebellious regions by reorganizing the administrative boundaries of the region, splitting the Delhi region from 'NWFP of Agra' and merging it withPunjab, while theAjmer-Marwar region was merged withRajputana and Oudh was incorporated into the state. The new state was called the 'North Western Provinces of Agra and Oudh', which in 1902 was renamed as theUnited Provinces of Agra and Oudh.^[38] It was commonly referred to as the United Provinces or its acronym UP.^[39][40]

In 1920, the capital of the province was shifted from Allahabad toLucknow. The high court continued to be at Allahabad, but a bench was established at Lucknow. Allahabad continues to be an important administrative base of today's Uttar Pradesh and has several administrative headquarters.^[41] Uttar Pradesh continued to be central to Indian politics and was especially important in modern Indian history as a hotbed of theIndian independence movement. Uttar Pradesh hosted modern educational institutions such as theBenaras Hindu University,Aligarh Muslim University and theDarul Uloom Deoband. Nationally known figures such asChandra Shekhar Azad were among the leaders of the movement in Uttar Pradesh, andMotilal Nehru,Jawaharlal Nehru,Madan Mohan Malaviya andGobind Ballabh Pant were important national leaders of theIndian National Congress. TheAll India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) was formed at the Lucknow session of the Congress on 11 April 1936, with the famous nationalistSwami Sahajanand Saraswati elected as its first President,^[42] in order to address the longstanding grievances of the peasantry and mobilise them against thezamindari landlords attacks on their occupancy rights, thus sparking the Farmers movements in India.^[43] During theQuit India Movement of 1942,Ballia district overthrew the colonial authority and installed an independent administration underChittu Pandey. Ballia became known as "Baghi Ballia" (Rebel Ballia) for this significant role in India's independence movement.^[44]

After India's independence, the United Provinces were reorganized as Uttar Pradesh in 1950. The state has provided seven of India's prime ministers and is the source of the largest number of seats in theLok Sabha. Despite its political influence, its poor economic development and administrative record, organised crime and corruption kept it amongst India's backward states. The state has been affected by repeated episodes of caste and communal violence.^[45]

There were incidents of communal violence in1980 and1987. 1992, a large group of Hindu activistsdemolished the 16th-centuryBabri Mosque in the city ofAyodhya, which is claimed to be the site ofRam Janmabhoomi. TheAyodhya dispute triggered massive protests across the state as well as nationally and internationally.

In 2000, northern districts of the state were separated to form the state ofUttarakhand. In February 2017,Yogi Adityanath became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. In 2019,Ayodhya Dispute was settled by The Supreme Court of India.^[46] The ground-breaking ceremony of theRama Janmabhoomi temple took place on 5 August 2020.

Uttar Pradesh has improved its performance considerably in the recent times witnessing lowest crime rate in 2020.^[47]

The state has also made strides on various economic parameters in the recent times, doubling itsGSDP to Rs 21.73 lakh crore (2020–21) in four years from Rs 10.90 lakh crore in 2015–16.^[48] Under its Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath, the state also became the second most favourable destination in the country for doing business.^[49]

• Indus Valley Tradition
• Painted Grey Ware
• Vedic science

• R. C. Majumdar and A. D. Pusalker (editors):The History and Culture of the Indian People. Volume I, The Vedic age. Bombay : Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan 1951
• R.C. Majumdar et al.An Advanced History of India, MacMillan, 1967.
• Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak "The Arctic Home in the Vedas", Messrs Tilak Bros., 1903

• History of Uttar Pradesh

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