History of Hinduism.

Hinduism has a very rich and long history. First off Hinduism has no set starting date. Hinduism is a coming  together of many different traditions into one culture. The earliest evidence for religions in India has been dated back to around 5500-260 BCE.  The beliefs and practices in the preclassical era ( 1500-500 BCE) are called historical vedic religion. During the 7th century Buddhism and Hinduism were  almost the same religion but when the Arabs came to India Buddhism rapidly declined and many Hindus were forcibly converted to Islam. Final in the 17th century the Marathas empire of India is credited to ending the Islamic rule over India. In modern Hinduism there are many different sects or denominations.. Some main sects are Shaivism,Shaktism, Vaishnavism, Sauram, and Smartism. These denominations may share rituals, beliefs, and traditions, but each denomination has a different philosophy on how to achieve life's ultimate goal, Atma Jnana (self-realization)..