Sur Empire

State · 1540–1594 CE · at its largest around 1547 CE

An Afghan empire in northern India founded by Sher Shah Suri after he drove the Mughal emperor Humayun into exile, known for administrative reforms before Humayun returned in 1555.

On its lands while it lasted

Vallabhi (c. 476–1948 CE): Capital of Maitraka Dynasty (476–731).
Sher Shah Suri (c. 1486 CE – 1545 CE): Afghan ruler who drove Humayun out of India and founded the Sur Empire, reforming coinage and administration.
Mughal Empire founded (1526–1857 CE): Empire founded by Babur that at its height ruled most of the Indian subcontinent, famed for its wealth, administration and architecture.
Grand Trunk Road (c. 1540 CE): One of Asia’s oldest and longest roads, running from Kabul across the plains of northern India to Bengal. Sher Shah Suri rebuilt it in the 1540s with caravanserais, and the British later rebuilt it again.
Akbar (1542 CE – 1605 CE): Third Mughal emperor, who expanded the empire across northern India and pursued religious tolerance and administrative reform.
Second Battle of Panipat (1556 CE): Mughal forces of the young Akbar defeated Hemu, restoring Mughal rule over northern India.
Hamzanama (c. 1562 CE): The emperor Akbar had the adventures of Amir Hamza painted on some 1,400 large cloth pages over fifteen years. Persian and Indian painters working together on it founded the Mughal style.
Humayun's Tomb (1570 CE): Garden tomb of the emperor Humayun in Delhi completed in 1570, the first great Mughal garden-tomb.
Fatehpur Sikri (c. 1571–1585 CE): Red sandstone capital built by Akbar and abandoned soon after 1585.
Amritsar (1574 CE): Capital of Sikh Confederacy (1762–1799).
Ramcharitmanas (c. 1574 CE): Retelling of the Ramayana in Awadhi by the poet Tulsidas, begun around 1574 and widely read in northern India.
Battle of Haldighati (1576 CE): Mughal forces under Man Singh fought Maharana Pratap of Mewar, who escaped and continued resistance.
Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) (c. 1581 CE): Holiest gurdwara of Sikhism in Amritsar, built under Guru Arjan; its upper floors were gilded in the early 19th century.
Sopore (c. 1586 CE): Capital of Kashmiri Sultanate (1586–1587).
Shah Jahan (1592 CE – 1666 CE): Fifth Mughal emperor, builder of the Taj Mahal and Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi), deposed by his son Aurangzeb.