德干高原(Deccan)

讷尔默达河（Narmada River）以南的印度整个南部半岛，较狭义来讲，是指介於讷尔默达河和克里希纳河（Krishna）之间的三角形台地，包括马哈拉施特拉、中央邦、安得拉邦（Andhra Pradesh）、卡纳塔克（Karnataka）、奥里萨（Orissa）。高原的东、西两侧为东高止山脉与西高止山脉（Eastern and Western Ghats），相会於高原的南部顶端。德干高原的平均海拔约600公尺，大致向东倾。主要河流哥达瓦里河（Godavari）、克里希纳河及高韦里河（Kaveri）均从西高止山向东流入孟加拉湾。最早的居民是达罗毗荼人，直到西元前第二千纪雅利安人入侵。後来受孔雀帝国（Mauryan empire，西元前4世纪～西元前2世纪）和笈多王朝（Gupta dynasty，西元4～6世纪）统治，1347年在德干高原建立一个穆斯林独立王国。後来分裂为五个穆斯林苏丹国，17世纪时，德干高原为蒙兀儿王朝所征服。18世纪这里是英、法两国必争之地，後来英国因反对马拉塔联盟（Maratha confederacy）而战。此後一直受英国控制，直到1947年印度获得独立。

English version：

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.