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The following list enumerates Hindu monarchies in chronological order of establishment dates. These monarchies were widespread in South Asia since about 1500 BC,[1] went into slow decline in the medieval times, with most gone by the end of the 17th century, although the last one, the Kingdom of Nepal, dissolved only in the 2008.[2]
Early Indian history does not have an equivalent of chronicles (like the ones established in the West by Herodotus in the 5th century BC or Kojiki / Nihongi in Japan): "with the single exception of Rajatarangini (History of Kashmir), there is no historical text in Sanskrit dealing with the whole or even parts of India" (R. C. Majumdar).[3] While there are texts in Sanskrit, the Puranas, that profess to include the early Indian history, they were actually compiled by brahmins in the 1st millennium AD, and can be considered as contemporary with the described facts only from the time of Guptas (3rd century AD). These texts are considered legendary,[4] corresponding kingdoms are listed separately in the Puranic kings section.