什麼是德干高原

訥爾默達河（Narmada River）以南的印度整個南部半島，較狹義來講，是指介於訥爾默達河和克里希納河（Krishna）之間的三角形台地，包括馬哈拉施特拉、中央邦、安得拉邦（Andhra Pradesh）、卡納塔克（Karnataka）、奧里薩（Orissa）。高原的東、西兩側為東高止山脈與西高止山脈（Eastern and Western Ghats），相會於高原的南部頂端。德干高原的平均海拔約600公尺，大致向東傾。主要河流哥達瓦里河（Godavari）、克里希納河及高韋裏河（Kaveri）均從西高止山向東流入孟加拉灣。最早的居民是達羅毗荼人，直到西元前第二千紀雅利安人入侵。後來受孔雀帝國（Mauryan empire，西元前4世紀～西元前2世紀）和笈多王朝（Gupta dynasty，西元4～6世紀）統治，1347年在德干高原建立一個穆斯林獨立王國。後來分裂為五個穆斯林蘇丹國，17世紀時，德干高原為蒙兀兒王朝所征服。18世紀這裏是英、法兩國必爭之地，後來英國因反對馬拉塔聯盟（Maratha confederacy）而戰。此後一直受英國控制，直到1947年印度獲得獨立。

Deccan

Peninsula of India south of the Narmada River. In a more restricted sense, it is the tableland between the Narmada and Krishna rivers, comprising Maharashtra and parts of Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Orissa. Its average elevation is about 2,000 feet (600 m). Its principal rivers, the Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri, flow from the West Ghats eastward to the Bay of Bengal. Its early inhabitants were a Dravidian population not reached by the 2d millennium BC Aryan invasion. Ruled by Mauryan (4th-2nd century BC) and Gupta (4th-6th century AD) dynasties, it became an independent Muslim kingdom in 1347. Later split up into five Muslim sultanates, Deccan was largely conquered by the Mughal dynasty in the 17th century. In the 18th century it was the scene of rivalry between the British and French, and subsequently of the British struggle against the Maratha confederacy. It remained under British control until India gained independence in 1947.