The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to early 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period has been considered as the Golden Age of India by some historians, although this characterisation has been disputed by other historians. The ruling dynasty of the empire was founded by Gupta, and the most notable rulers of the dynasty were Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, Chandragupta II and Skandagupta. The 5th-century CE Sanskrit poet Kalidasa credits the Guptas with having conquered about twenty-one kingdoms, both in and outside India, including the kingdoms of Parasikas, the Hunas, the Kambojas, tribes located in the west and east Oxus valleys, the Kinnaras, Kiratas, and others.
Chandragupta II, also known by his title Vikramaditya, as well as Chandragupta Vikramaditya, was the third ruler of the Gupta Empire in India.
Chandragupta I was a king of the Gupta Empire, who ruled in northern and central India. His title Maharajadhiraja suggests that he was the first emperor of the dynasty. It is not certain how he turned his small ancestral kingdom into an empire, although a widely accepted theory among modern historians is that his marriage to the Licchavi princess Kumaradevi helped him extend his political power. Their son Samudragupta further expanded the Gupta empire.
Samudragupta (Gupta script: Sa-mu-dra-gu-pta, was the second emperor of the Gupta Empire of ancient India, and is regarded among the greatest rulers of India. As a son of the Gupta emperor Chandragupta I and the Licchavi princess Kumaradevi, he greatly expanded his dynasty's political and military power.
Ramagupta, according to the Sanskrit play Devichandraguptam, was an emperor of the Gupta dynasty of northern India. The surviving fragments of the play, combined with other literary evidence, suggest that he agreed to surrender his wife Dhruvadevi to a Shaka enemy: However, his brother Chandragupta II killed the Shaka enemy, and later dethroned him, marrying Dhruvadevi.
Skandagupta was a Gupta Emperor of India. His Bhitari pillar inscription suggests that he restored the Gupta power by defeating his enemies, who may have been rebels or foreign invaders. He repulsed an invasion by the Indo-Hephthalites, probably the Kidarites. He seems to have maintained control of his inherited territory, and is generally considered the last of the great Gupta Emperors. The Gupta genealogy after him is unclear, but he was most probably succeeded by Purugupta, who appears to have been his younger half-brother.
Yashodharman was a ruler of Malwa, in Central India, during the early part of the 6th century. He probably belonged to the Second Aulikara dynasty. He conquered much of the Indian subcontinent between c. 530-540 AD according to Mandsaur pillar inscription.
The Udayagiri Caves are twenty rock-cut caves near Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh primarily denoted to Hindu gods Vishnu and Shiva from the early years of the 3rd century CE to 5th century CE. They contain some of the oldest surviving Hindu temples and iconography in India. They are the only site that can be verifiably associated with a Gupta period monarch from its inscriptions. One of India's most important archaeological sites, the Udayagiri hills and its caves are protected monuments managed by the Archaeological Survey of India.
The Vakataka dynasty was an ancient Indian dynasty that originated from the Deccan in the mid-3rd century CE. Their state is believed to have extended from the southern edges of Malwa and Gujarat in the north to the Tungabhadra River in the south as well as from the Arabian Sea in the west to the edges of Chhattisgarh in the east. They were the most important successors of the Satavahanas in the Deccan and contemporaneous with the Guptas in northern India.
Vikramaditya was a legendary king mentioned in ancient Indian literature, featuring in traditional stories including those in Vetala Panchavimshati and Singhasan Battisi. Many describe him as ruler with his capital at Ujjain. "Vikramaditya" was also a common title adopted by several monarchs in ancient and medieval India, and the Vikramaditya legends may be embellished accounts of different kings. According to popular tradition, Vikramaditya began the Vikrama Samvat era in 57 BCE after defeating the Shakas, and those who believe that he is based on a historical figure place him around the first century BCE. However, this era is identified as "Vikrama Samvat" after the ninth century CE.
Yaudheya (Brahmi script: 𑀬𑁅𑀥𑁂𑀬) or Yoddheya Gana (Yoddheya Republic) was an ancient militant confederation based in the Eastern region of the Sapta Sindhu. The word Yaudheya is a derivative of the word from yodha meaning warriors and according to Pāṇini, the suffix '-ya', was significant of warrior tribes, which is supported by their resistance to invading empires such as the Kushan Empire and the Indo-Scythians. Rudradaman I of the Western Satraps notes in his Junagadh rock inscription that the Yaudheyas were 'heroes among all Kshatriya' and 'were loath to surrender'. They were noted as having a republic form of government, unique from other Janapadas which instead maintained monarchies.
Ghatotkacha was a pre-imperial Gupta king of northern India. He was a son of the dynasty's founder Gupta, and the father of the dynasty's first emperor Chandragupta I.
Toramana also called Toramana Shahi Jauvla was a king of the Alchon Huns who ruled in northern India in the late 5th and the early 6th century CE. Toramana consolidated the Alchon power in Punjab, and conquered northern and central India including Eran in Madhya Pradesh. Toramana used the title "Great King of Kings", equivalent to "Emperor", in his inscriptions, such as the Eran boar inscription.
The Sacred Rocks of Hunza or Haldeikish constitute one of the earliest sites of Petroglyphs along the ancient Silk Route. It is a cultural heritage site in Gilgit-Baltistan region of northern Pakistan. The carvings on the rocks dates back to the 1st Millennium AD.
The iron pillar of Delhi is a structure 7.21 metres high with a 41-centimetre (16 in) diameter that was constructed by Chandragupta II, and now stands in the Qutub complex at Mehrauli in Delhi, India. The metals used in its construction have a rust-resistant composition. The pillar weighs more than six tonnes and is thought to have been erected elsewhere, perhaps outside the Udayagiri Caves, and moved to its present location by Anangpal Tomar in the 11th century.
The Alchon Huns, also known as the Alkhan, Alchono, Alxon, Alkhon, Alakhana, and Walxon, were a nomadic people who established states in Central Asia and South Asia during the 4th and 6th centuries CE. They were first mentioned as being located in Paropamisus, and later expanded south-east, into the Punjab and Central India, as far as Eran and Kausambi. The Alchon invasion of the Indian subcontinent eradicated the Kidarite Huns who had preceded them by about a century, and contributed to the fall of the Gupta Empire, in a sense bringing an end to Classical India.
Sridharavarman was a Saka (Indo-Scythian) ruler of Central India, around the areas of Vidisa, Sanchi and Eran in the 4th century CE, just before the Gupta Empire expansion in these areas. He calls himself a general and "righteous conqueror" in an inscription, and Rajan ('King') and Mahaksatrapa in a probably later inscription at Eran, suggesting that he may have been a high-ranked officer who later rose to the rank of a King.
The Second Aulikara dynasty was a royal dynasty that ruled over the Malwa plateau, and at its peak under Yashodharman Vishnuvardhana controlled a vast area, consisting of almost all of Northern India and parts of Deccan plateau. It was the second royal house of the Aulikara clan.
The Battle of Sondani was a large military encounter fought in 528 CE, between the Alchon Hun emperor Mihirakula and a confederation of Indian rulers led by king Yashodharman of Malwa.
Bhageerath was a king of the Kadamba dynasty in South India. He succeeded his father Kangavarma on the Kadamba throne.
