Nalanda was a renowned Buddhist mahavihara in ancient and medieval Magadha, eastern India. Widely considered to be among the greatest centres of learning in the ancient world, and often referred to as "the world's first residential university", it was located near the city of Rajagriha, roughly 90 kilometres (56 mi) southeast of Pataliputra. Operating for almost a thousand years from 427 CE until around 1400 CE, Nalanda played a vital role in promoting the patronage of arts and academics during the 5th and 6th century CE, a period that has since been described as the "Golden Age of India" by scholars.
Kannauj is an ancient city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city's name is an evolved form of the classical name Kanyakubja. During the ancient Vedic period, it was the capital city of the Panchala Kingdom during the reign of king Vajrayudha. In the medieval era, it formed the core of the Kingdom of Kannauj and was ruled by multiple successive royal families.
Shashanka was the first independent king of a unified polity in the Bengal region, called the Gauda Kingdom. He reigned in the 7th century, some historians place his rule between c. 600 and 636/7 CE, whereas other sources place his reign between 590 and 625 CE.
Thanesar is a historic city and Hindu pilgrimage centre in the Kurukshetra district of Haryana, India. It is located approximately 160 km northwest of Delhi. The city Kurukshetra's area merges with Thanesar.
Pulakeshi II popularly known as Immaḍi Pulakeśi, was the greatest Chalukyan Emperor who reigned from Vatapi. During his reign, the Chalukya empire expanded to cover most of the Deccan region in peninsular India.
The Maukhari dynasty was the ruling house of the Kingdom of Kannauj and controlled the vast plains of Ganga-Yamuna for over six generations from their capital at Kannauj. They earlier served as vassals of the Guptas. The Maukharis established their independence during the mid 6th century. The dynasty ruled over much of Uttar Pradesh and Magadha. Around 606 CE, a large area of their empire was reconquered by the Later Guptas of Magadha. According to Xuanzang, the territory may have been lost to King Shashanka of the Gauda Kingdom, who declared independence circa 600CE.
Bhaskarbarman was king of medieval Kamarupa and the last of the Barman dynasty. After being captured by the Gauda king during the reign of his father, he was able to re-establish the rule of the Varmans. He made political alliances with Harshavardhana of Thaneswar, against the alliance of the Gauda and East Malwa. He was visited by Xuanzang and Wang Xuance, the envoys of the Tang dynasty who have left accounts of the king and the kingdom.
The Records of the Western Regions, also known by its Chinese name as the Datang Xiyuji or Da Tang Xiyu Ji and by various other translations and Romanized transcriptions, is a narrative of the Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang's nineteen-year journey from Tang China through the Western Regions to medieval India and back during the mid-7th century CE.
Wang Xuance was a Chinese diplomat, military general, and travel writer. In 648, Tang Taizong sent him to India in response to Harshavardhana sending an ambassador to China. However once in India he discovered Harshavardhana had died and the new king Aluonashun attacked Wang and his 30 mounted subordinates. This led to Wang Xuance escaping to Tibet and then mounting a joint of over 7,000 Nepalese mounted infantry and 1,200 Tibetan infantry and attack on the Indian state on June 16. The success of this attack won Xuance the prestigious title of the "Grand Master for the Closing Court." He also secured a reported Buddhist relic for China. 2,000 prisoners were taken from Magadha by the Nepali and Tibetan forces under Wang. Tibetan and Chinese writings document describe Wang Xuance's raid on India with Tibetan soldiers. Nepal had been subdued by the Tibetan King Songtsen. The Indian pretender was among the captives. The war happened in 649. Taizong's grave had a statue of the Indian pretender. The pretender's name was recorded in Chinese records as "Na-fu-ti O-lo-na-shuen". The war had lasted 3 days.
Rajyavardhana, also known as Rajya Vardhan, was the king of Thanesar from 605 to 606, and the eldest son of Prabhakarvardhana and member of the Pushyabhuti dynasty. He ascended the throne after his father's death and was succeeded by his younger brother, Harsha.
Prabhakaravardhana was a king of Thanesar in northern India around the time of the decline of the Gupta Empire. According to the historian R. C. Majumdar, he was the first notable king of the Vardhana dynasty but the fourth ruler from the family, who are also referred to as the Pushpabhutis. He had been preceded by his father, Adityavardhana, grandfather Rajyavardhana I and great-grandfather, Naravardhana, but inscriptions suggest that Banabhatta, the seventh-century bard and chronicler of the Vardhanas, may have been wrong to call these earlier rulers kings and that they may instead have been mere feudatory rulers of minor significance.
The Pushyabhuti dynasty, also known as the Vardhana dynasty, was the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Thanesar and later the Kingdom of Kannauj in northern India during the 6th and 7th centuries. The dynasty reached its zenith under its last ruler Harsha Vardhana, whose empire covered much of north and north-western India, extending till Kamarupa in the east and Narmada River in the south. The dynasty initially ruled from Sthanveshvara, but Harsha eventually made Kanyakubja his capital, from where he ruled until 647 CE.
The Kalachuris of Mahismati, or the Early Kalachuris, were an early medieval Indian dynasty that ruled present-day Maharashtra, as well as parts of mainland Gujarat and southern Madhya Pradesh. Their capital was located at Mahishmati. Epigraphic and numismatic evidence suggests that the earliest of the Ellora and Elephanta cave monuments were built during the Kalachuri rule.
Yasomati was an ancient Indian queen as the chief wife of King Prabhakaravardhana of Thanesar.
Arunāsva was the ruler of the Kingdom of Kannauj, and prior to this the governor of Tirabhukti.
The Battle of Narmada was fought between king Pulakeshin II of Chalukya dynasty and king Harshavardhana of Pushyabhuti dynasty on the banks of the river Narmada, India. The battle resulted in the great victory of Pulakeshin II and the retreat of Harsha and his forces
The Kingdom of Kannauj was a medieval kingdom in northern India from 510, when it was established as a vassal state of the Magadhan Empire, and as an independent sovereign state after 550, until 1036, when it collapsed after Ghaznavid invasions. During the reign of Harsha, and later under the Pratiharas, the Kingdom of Kannauj stood as the most powerful state in India, flourishing in the seventh century, and again in the ninth and tenth centuries.
Devagupta was the king of Malwa from 601 to 606 AD. He ruled the territories which had initially been the western part of the erstwhile Kingdom of Magadha prior to the conquest of its eastern part by the Kingdom of Kannauj. He was the eldest son of Mahasenagupta and a member of the Later Gupta dynasty. Devagupta is known for having engineered a Malwa–Gauda alliance with Shashanka of Gauda to counter the Thanesar–Kannauj alliance. The alliance was initially successful, and Devagupta's forces reached Kannauj and killed the king of Kannauj. However, the king of Thanesar defeated Malwa and killed Devagupta, but was himself killed in the war with Gauda. Harsha succeeded him and repelled the Gauda invasion.
Mahasenagupta was King of Magadha from 562 until his defeat in 575 and thereafter the King of Malwa until his death in 601. He belonged to the Later Gupta dynasty of Magadha.
Sino-Kannauj war was a war fought between King Arunasva of Kannauj kingdom and forces of Chinese diplomat and general Wang Xuance.The battle resulted in victory Wang's forces and captivation of about 2,000 prisoners of war from Magadha.The victory in war earned Xuance the title of "Grand Master for the Closing Court".
