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 is considered as the Golden Age of India by 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.
Khwarazm or Chorasmia is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the east by the Kyzylkum Desert, on the south by the Karakum Desert, and on the west by the Ustyurt Plateau. It was the center of the Iranian Khwarezmian civilization, and a series of kingdoms such as the Afrighid dynasty and the Anushtegin dynasty, whose capitals were Kath, Gurganj and – from the 16th century on – Khiva. Today Khwarazm belongs partly to Uzbekistan and partly to Turkmenistan.
The Kushan Empire was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, in the Bactrian territories in the early 1st century. It spread to encompass much of what is now Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Northern India, at least as far as Saketa and Sarnath near Varanasi (Benares), where inscriptions have been found dating to the era of the Kushan Emperor Kanishka the Great.
The Samanid Empire also known as the Samanian Empire, Samanid dynasty, Samanid amirate, or simply as the Samanids) was a Persianate Sunni Muslim empire, of Iranian dehqan origin. The empire was centred in Khorasan and Transoxiana; at its greatest extent encompassing Persia and Central Asia, from 819 to 999.
The Pandyan dynasty, also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the three great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other two being the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing since at least the 4th to 3rd centuries BCE, the dynasty passed through two periods of imperial dominance, the 6th to 10th centuries CE, and under the 'Later Pandyas'. Under Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I and Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I, the Pandyas ruled extensive territories including regions of present-day South India and northern Sri Lanka through vassal states subject to Madurai.
Khwarazmshah was an ancient title used regularly by the rulers of the Central Asian region of Khwarazm starting from the Late Antiquity until the advent of the Mongols in the early 13th-century, after which it was used infrequently. There were a total of four families who ruled as Khwarazmshahs—the Afrighids (305–995), Ma'munids (995–1017), the line of Altuntash (1017–1041), and the most prominent ones, the Anushteginids (1097–1231). Like other contemporary Central Asian titles, such as Afshin and Ikhshid, the title of Khwarazmshah is of Iranian origin.
The Farighunids were an Iranian dynasty that ruled Guzgan in the late 9th, 10th and early 11th centuries. They were ultimately deposed by the ruler of the Ghaznavid Empire, Sultan Mahmud.
The Afrighids were a native Khwarezmian Iranian dynasty who ruled over the ancient kingdom of Khwarezm. Over time, they were under the suzerainty of the Sasanian Empire, the Hephthalite Empire, the Göktürk Khaganate, the Umayyad Caliphate, Abbasid Caliphate and the Samanid Empire.
Abu 'Abdallah Muhammad was the last ruler of the Afrighid dynasty of Khwarezm from 967 to 995. He was the son and successor of Abu Sa'id Ahmad.
Muhammad ibn Eraq was ruler of the Afrighid dynasty of Khwarazm. He was the son and successor of Eraq ibn Mansur.
Afrig was the Iranian founder of the Afrighid dynasty of Khwarazm. He is said to have built a fortress known as Fil or Fir near his capital in Kath. Not much more is known about him; he was later succeeded by his son Baghra.
Askajamuk II was the ruler of the Afrighid dynasty of Khwarezm from 712 to an unknown date. He was the relative and successor of Khusrau.
Khusrau was the ruler of the Afrighid dynasty of Khwarezm briefly in 712. He was the relative and successor of Azkajwar II.
Azkajwar II was the ruler of the Afrighid dynasty of Khwarezm from an unknown date to 712. He was the son and successor of Sabri. Azkajwar II is agreed by most scholars to be the same person as king Jigan or Chigan. In most medieval sources, he is simply called Khwarazmshah.
The Principality of Chaghaniyan, known in Arabic sources as al-Saghaniyan, was a part of the Hephthalite Confederation from the 5th to the 7th century CE. After this, it was ruled by a local, presumably Iranian dynasty, which governed the Chaghaniyan region from the late 7th-century to the early 8th-century CE. These rulers were known by their titles of “Chaghan Khudah”.
The Principality of Ushrusana was a local dynasty ruling the Ushrusana region, in the northern area of modern Tajikistan, from an unknown date to 892 CE. Ushrusana, just like Ferghana, did not belong to Sogdia proper, but its inhabitants wrote in Sogdian, and may have spoken the Sogdian language as well. The rulers of the principality were known by their title of Afshin.
Arsamuh was the ruler of the Afrighid dynasty of Khwarezm, ruling during the time of the prophet Muhammad. Arsamuh was the successor of Buzgar, and was later succeeded by Sahr II.
The Alchon Huns, also known as the Alchono, Alxon, Alkhon, Alkhan, 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.
Azkajwar-Abdallah was the Afrighid king of Khwarazm from the late 8th till the early 9th century. The precise date of his regnal period is uncertain. He ascended as king after 762, but not later than 783 or 787. He was the grandson of his predecessor Sawashfan. Azkajwar-Abdallah is notable for converting to Islam, taking the Muslim name of Abdallah. He was also the last Afrighid king to have coins minted in pre-Islamic style. The latest discovered coin of Azkajwar-Abdallah cites his overlord the Tahirid dynast Tahir ibn Husayn, who governed Khurasan on behalf of the Abbasid Caliphate in 821–822. Azkajwar-Abdallah was succeeded by Mansur.
