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The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Golden Age of India by historians. The ruling dynasty of the empire was founded by the king Sri Gupta; 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, and was one of the most powerful emperors of the Gupta dynasty.
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 the dynasty. As a son of the Gupta emperor Chandragupta I and the Licchavi princess Kumaradevi, he greatly expanded his dynasty's political and military power.
Gupta was the founder of the Gupta dynasty of northern India. He is identified with king Che-li-ki-to, who, according to the 7th century Chinese Buddhist monk Yijing, built a temple near Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no (Mṛgaśikhāvana) for Chinese pilgrims.
Licchavi was a kingdom which existed in the Kathmandu Valley in modern-day Nepal from approximately 400 to 750 CE. The Licchavi clan originated from Vaishali, and conquered Kathmandu Valley. The Lichchhavis elected an administrator and representatives to rule them.
Vidisha is a city in central Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located 62.5 km northeast of the state capital, Bhopal. The name "Vidisha" is derived from the nearby river "Bais", mentioned in the Puranas.
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.
The Western Satraps, or Western Kshatrapas were Indo-Scythian (Saka) rulers of the western and central part of India, between 35 to 415 CE. The Western Satraps were contemporaneous with the Kushans who ruled the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, and were possibly vassals of the Kushans. They were also contemporaneous with the Satavahana (Andhra) who ruled in Central India. They are called "Western Satraps" in modern historiography in order to differentiate them from the "Northern Satraps", who ruled in Punjab and Mathura until the 2nd century CE.
The Varman dynasty (350–650) was the first historical dynasty of the Kamarupa kingdom. It was established by Pushyavarman, a contemporary of Samudragupta. The earlier Varmans were subordinates of the Gupta Empire, but as the power of the Guptas waned, Mahendravarman (470–494) performed two horse sacrifices and the status of Kamarupa as independent state remained umimpaired. According to the Allahabad Prasasti, the ruler of Kamarupa was a frontier ruler (Pratyanta-nrpatis) of the great Gupta emperor.
Yaudheya (Brahmi script: 𑀬𑁅𑀥𑁂𑀬) or Yoddheya Gana (Yoddheya Republic) was an ancient militant confederation based in the Eastern Punjab region. The word Yaudheya is a derivative of the word from yodha meaning warriors. They were principally kshatriya renowned for their skills in warfare, as inscribed in the Junagadh rock inscription of Rudradaman and according to Pāṇini the suffix 'ya' is added to the names of warlike tribes.
Arjunayana, Arjunavana, Arjunavayana or Arjunayanaka was an ancient republican people located in Punjab or north-eastern Rajasthan. They emerged as a political power during the Shunga period. In the Allahabad Pillar Inscription of Samudragupta, the Arjunayanas figure among the autonomous political communities bordering on the Gupta Empire who accepted the overlordship of Samudragupta. They are also mentioned in Bṛhat Saṃhitā of Varahamihira. According to Dr Buddha Prakash, the Arjunayanas are mentioned as Prajjunakas in Kautiliya's text Arthashastra which also places them in the northern division of India. Vincent Smith locates their republic in Alwar and Bharatpur states now in Rajasthan, a view which has been rejected by R. C. Majumdar. They are mentioned in the literary sources in Afghanistan from 4th century BCE and after Alexander's invasions in 3rd century they have been mentioned in Agra, Mathura and Southern Haryana region till 4th century CE where their coins have been found too.
The Malavas or Malwas were an ancient Indian tribe. Modern scholars identify them with the Mallian people (Malloi) who were settled in the Punjab region at the time of Alexander's invasion in the 4th century BCE. Later, the Malavas migrated southwards to present-day Rajasthan, and ultimately to Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Their power gradually declined as a result of defeats against the Western Satraps, the Gupta emperor Samudragupta, and the Chalukya emperor Pulakeshin II.
The Allahabad pillar is a stambha, containing one of the pillar edicts of Ashoka, possibly erected by Ashoka, emperor of the Maurya dynasty, who reigned in the 3rd century BCE, or it may have prior origins. While it is one of the few extant pillars that carry Ashokan edicts, it is particularly notable for containing later inscriptions attributed to the Gupta emperor Samudragupta. Also engraved on the stone are inscriptions by the Mughal emperor Jahangir, from the 17th century.
The Naga dynasty ruled parts of north-central India during the 3rd and the 4th centuries, after the decline of the Kushan Empire and before the rise of the Gupta Empire. Its capital was located at Padmavati, which is identified with modern Pawaya in Madhya Pradesh. Modern historians identify it with the family that is called Bharashiva in the records of the Vakataka dynasty.
The Parivrajaka dynasty ruled parts of central India during 5th and 6th centuries. The kings of this dynasty bore the title Maharaja, and probably ruled as feudatories of the Gupta Empire. The dynasty is known from inscriptions of two of its kings: Hastin and Samkshobha.
Kacha was a king of India, possibly a member of the Gupta dynasty. He is known only from his gold coins, which are similar to those of the Gupta king Samudragupta.
Śanakanika Maharaja was a feudatory of Chandragupta II or Vikramaditya of the Gupta Dynasty. Śanakanika Maharaja is known from his record on his gift on a Vaishnavism cave temple at Udayagiri, which is dated 82.
Mahendra was a king of Dakshina Kosala, whose identity is not completely verified, and is mentioned as a king of Dakshinapatha or Southern India. He was one of the many kings who were subjugated, captured and later released by the powerful Gupta emperor Samudragupta on his Dakshinapatha campaign. Mahendra of Kosala was one of the southern kings of Dakshinapatha paying allegiance and tribute to Samudragupta. His dynasty is uncertain, though some historians suggest that he was from the Kosala branch of the Mahameghavahana dynasty. This branch of the Mahameghavahana dynasty is often identified with the Meghas of Kosala, who ruled over Kosala from the 3rd century AD to the 6th century AD.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Rapson, Edward James (2015). Catalogue of the Coins of the Andhra Dynasty - Scholar's Choice Edition (illustrated ed.). Creative Media Partners, LLC. p. 520. ISBN 978-1298395245 . Retrieved 26 December 2020.
- ↑ Radhakumud Mookerji (1997). The Gupta Empire (Paperback). Motilal Banarsidass. p. 38. ISBN 9788120804401.
- ↑ Kulke & Rothermund 2010.
- 1 2 Bhandarkar, D. R.; Chhabra, B. C. (1981). Gai, G. S. (ed.). Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum: Inscriptions of the early Gupta Kings. Archaeological Survey of India.
- 1 2 Ganguly, Dilip Kumar (1987). The Imperial Guptas and Their Times. Abhinav Publications. pp. 63–64. ISBN 8170172225.