Related Research Articles
The Pāla Empire was an imperial power during the post-classical period in the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. It is named after its ruling dynasty, whose rulers bore names ending with the suffix Pāla. The empire was founded with the election of Gopāla as the emperor of Gauda in late eighth century CE. The Pala stronghold was located in Bengal and eastern Bihar, which included the major cities of Gauḍa, Vikramapura, Pāṭaliputra, Monghyr, Somapura, Ramavati (Varendra), Tāmralipta and Jagaddala.
Harshavardhana was emperor of Kannauj from 606 until his death in 647 CE. He was the son of Prabhakaravardhana, the king of Thanesar who had defeated the Alchon Huns, and the younger brother of Rajyavardhana, son of Prabhakaravardhana and last king of Thanesar. He was one of the greatest kings of the Kingdom of Kannauj, which under him expanded into a vast realm in northern India.
The Sena dynasty was a Hindu dynasty during the early medieval period on the Indian subcontinent, that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries. The empire at its peak covered much of the north-eastern region of the Indian subcontinent. The rulers of the Sena Dynasty traced their origin to the south Indian region of Karnataka.
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.
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.
Devapala was the emperor of the Pala Empire of Bengal. He was the third king in the line, and had succeeded his father Dharamapala. Devapala expanded the frontiers of the empire by conquering the present-day Assam and Orissa. The Pala inscriptions also credit him with several other victories.
The Harshacharita is the biography of Indian emperor Harsha by Banabhatta, also known as Bana, who was a Sanskrit writer of seventh-century CE India. He was the Asthana Kavi, meaning Court Poet, of Harsha. The Harshacharita was the first composition of Bana and is considered to be the beginning of writing of historical poetic works in the Sanskrit language.
The Aulikaras, were an ancient Malava clan that ruled the Kingdom of Malwa between the 4th-century CE and 6th-century CE.
The Gauḍa Kingdom was a kingdom during the Classical era in the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the Gauda region of Bengal in 4th century CE or possibly earlier.
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.
Grahavarman was the king of Kannauj around the early seventh-century CE. He came from the Maukhari dynasty and succeeded his father, Avantivarman. Grahavarman married Rajyashri, the daughter of the ruler of Thanesar, Prabhakar Vardhana. The marriage appears to have been an alliance of the two dynasties against the king of the Malavas.
The origin of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty of India is a topic of debate among historians. The rulers of this dynasty used the self-designation "Pratihara" for their clan, but have been described as "Gurjara" by some of their neighbouring kingdoms. Only one particular inscription of a feudatory ruler named Mathanadeva mentions him as a "Gurjara-Pratihara".
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 Later Gupta dynasty, also known as the Later Guptas of Magadha, were the rulers of the Magadha region and partly of Malwa from the 6th and 8th centuries CE. The Later Guptas emerged after the disintegration of the Imperial Guptas as the rulers of Magadha and Malwa however, there is no evidence to connect the two dynasties and the Later Guptas may have adopted the -gupta suffix to link themselves the Imperial Guptas.
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.
Adityavardhana was a king of Thanesar in northern India around the time of the decline of the Gupta Empire. He was the third ruler of the Pushyabhuti dynasty, and father of Prabhakaravardhana. Adityavardhana's father was Rajyavardhana I and his grandfather, Naravardhana, the founder of the Srikantha dynasty of Tanesar.
The Second Aulikara dynasty was a royal dynasty that ruled over the Kingdom of Malwa, 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 Gauda–Gupta War was a conflict between Gopachandra on one side with Ishanavarman and Jivitagupta I on the other side. The war resulted in the defeat of the Gauda Kingdom.
The Kingdom of Kannauj was a kingdom in Northern India during the early medieval era. It was established by Harivarman in 510 as a vassal state of the Magadhan Empire. The kingdom of Kannauj expanded into a vast realm that spanned across northern India during the reign of Harshavardhana in the early seventh century. In the early ninth century, the city was conquered by Nagabhata II of the Pratihara dynasty after the Tripartite Struggle who proclaimed himself King of Kannauj. His descendents ruled Kannauj until Ghaznavid invasions.
Devagupta was the last king of the rump state of Malwa in the western part of what had been the Magadhan Empire 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.
References
Notes
Citations
- 1 2 3 Majumdar (1977), pp. 249–250
- 1 2 Sen (1999), p. 247
- 1 2 3 Allan, Haig & Dodwell (1934), p. 105
- ↑ Roy (2013a), p. 82
- 1 2 3 Roy (2013b), pp. 21–22
- ↑ Bāṇabhaṭṭa credits Prabhakaravardhana with a strong stance against the Hunas, describing him as:"A lion to the Huna deer, a burning fever to the king of the Indus land, a troubler of the sleep of Gujarat king, a billious plague to that scent-elephant, the lord of Gandhara, a destroyer of the skill of the Latas.", Ancient Indian History and Civilization by Sailendra Nath Sen p.253
- ↑ The Cambridge Shorter History of India p.105
- ↑ Tripathi (1989), p. 73
- ↑ Sengupta (2011), pp. 34–35
Bibliography
- Allan, J.; Haig, T. Wolseley; Dodwell, H. H., eds. (1934), The Cambridge Shorter History of India, Cambridge University Press
- Majumdar, Ramesh Chandra (1977) [1952], Ancient India (Reprinted ed.), Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8-12080-436-4
- Roy, Kaushik (2013a), "Kautilya", in Coetzee, Daniel; Eysturlid, Lee W. (eds.), Philosophers of War: The Evolution of History's Greatest Military Thinkers, ABC-CLIO, ISBN 978-0-313-07033-4
- Roy, Kaushik (2013b), "Bana", in Coetzee, Daniel; Eysturlid, Lee W. (eds.), Philosophers of War: The Evolution of History's Greatest Military Thinkers, ABC-CLIO, ISBN 978-0-313-07033-4
- Sen, Sailendra Nath (1999), Ancient Indian History and Civilization, New Age International, ISBN 978-8-122-41198-0
- Sengupta, Nitish K. (2011), Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib, Penguin Books India, ISBN 978-0-14341-678-4
- Tripathi, Rama Shankar (1989) [1964], History of Kanauj: To the Moslem Conquest (Reprinted ed.), Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8-120-80404-3