Muslim period in the Indian subcontinent

The Muslim period in the Indian subcontinent or Indo-Muslim period is conventionally said to have started in 712, after the conquest of Sindh and Multan by the Umayyad Caliphate under the military command of Muhammad ibn al-Qasim. It began in the Indian subcontinent in the course of a gradual conquest. The perfunctory rule by the Ghaznavids in Punjab was followed by Ghurids, and Sultan Muhammad of Ghor (r. 1173–1206) is generally credited with laying the foundation of Muslim rule in Northern India.

From the late 12th century onwards, Muslim empires dominated the subcontinent, most notably the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire. Various other Muslim kingdoms ruled most of South Asia from the mid-14th to late 18th centuries, including the Bahmani, Bengal, Gujarat, Malwa, Kashmir, Multan, Mysore, Carnatic and Deccan Sultanates. Though the Muslim dynasties in India were diverse in origin, they were linked together by the Persianate culture and Islam.

The height of Islamic rule was marked during the reign of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707), during which the Fatawa Alamgiri was compiled, which briefly served as the legal system of Mughal Empire. Additional Islamic policies were re-introduced in South India by Mysore’s de facto king Tipu Sultan.

Sharia was used as the primary basis for the legal system in the Delhi Sultanate, most notably during the rule of Firuz Shah Tughlaq and Alauddin Khilji, who repelled the Mongol invasions of India. On the other hand, rulers such as Akbar adopted a secular legal system and enforced religious neutrality. Muslim rule in India saw a major shift in the cultural, linguistic, and religious makeup of the subcontinent. Persian and Arabic vocabulary began to enter local languages, giving way to modern Punjabi, Bengali, and Gujarati, while creating new languages including Hindustani and its dialect, Deccani, used as official languages under Muslim dynasties. This period also saw the birth of Hindustani music, Qawwali. Religions such as Sikhism and Din-e-Ilahi were born out of a fusion of Hindu and Muslim religious traditions as well.

In the 18th century the Islamic influence in India begin to decline following the decline of the Mughal Empire, resulting in former Mughal territory conquered rival powers such as the Maratha Empire. However, Islamic rule would still remain under regional Nawabs and Sultans.

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, large parts of India were colonized by the East India Company, eventually establishing the British Raj in 1857. Regional Islamic rule would remain under princely states, such as Hyderabad State, Junagadh State, and other minor princely states until the mid of the 20th century.

Today, Bangladesh, Maldives and Pakistan are the Muslim majority nations in the Indian subcontinent while India has the largest Muslim minority population in the world numbering over 204 million.

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The most prominent Muslim empires in India include the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire. Various other Muslim kingdoms also ruled parts of South Asia, including the Bahmani, Bengal, Gujarat, Malwa, Kashmir, Multan, Mysore, Carnatic, and Deccan Sultanates. 

Key Muslim Empires:

• Delhi Sultanate: This was a series of five dynasties that ruled over much of northern India from 1206 to 1526, marking the beginning of Muslim rule in the region. 
• Mughal Empire: This empire, established in 1526, eventually controlled much of the Indian subcontinent and played a significant role in shaping Indian history and culture […], particularly in the 16th and 17th centuries. 

Other Notable Muslim Kingdoms:

• Bahmani Sultanate: Ruled in the Deccan region of southern India from the mid-14th to the late 16th centuries.
• Bengal Sultanate: Ruled Bengal from the 14th to the 16th centuries.
• Gujarat Sultanate: Ruled Gujarat from the 15th to the 16th centuries.
• Malwa Sultanate: Ruled Malwa in central India from the 14th to the 16th centuries.
• Kashmir Sultanate: Ruled Kashmir from the 14th to the 16th centuries.
• Multan Sultanate: Ruled Multan, a region in present-day Pakistan, from the 12th to the 16th centuries.
• Mysore Sultanate: Ruled Mysore, a region in southern India, from the mid-18th to the late 18th centuries.
• Carnatic Sultanate: Ruled the Carnatic region in southern India from the late 17th to the late 18th centuries.
• Deccan Sultanates: A collective term for the five independent sultanates that emerged from the decline of the Bahmani Sultanate in the Deccan region.