Vallabhi Vallabhipur | |
---|---|
Town | |
Coordinates: 21°53′16″N71°52′46″E / 21.8878°N 71.8795°E | |
Country | India |
State | Gujarat |
Region | Saurashtra |
District | Bhavnagar |
Established | 319 |
Founded by | Maharaja Kanak sen |
Population (2011) | |
• Total | 15,852 |
Languages | |
• Official | Gujarati |
Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
PIN | 364310 |
Vehicle registration | GJ-04 |
Vallabhi (or Valabhi or Valabhipur) is an ancient city located in the Saurashtra peninsula of Gujarat, near Bhavnagar in western India. It is also known as Vallabhipura and was the capital of the Kingdom of Valabhi, an early medieval state ruled by the Chandravanshi Maitraka Dynasty.
Vallabhi was occupied as early as the Harappan period, [1] and was later part of the Maurya Empire from about 322 BCE until 185 BCE.
The Satavahana dynasty ruled the area, off and on, from the late second century BCE until the early third century CE. The Gupta Empire held the area from approximately 319 CE to 467 CE. [2]
The Great Council of Vallabhi, which codified the Śvētāmbaras Jain texts, was held there in 454 CE, [3] [4] during the decline of the Gupta Empire.
In the fifth century (CE), the first two Maitraka rulers, Bhatarka and Dharasena I, only used the title of Senapati (general). The third ruler, Dronasimha (Dronasena [5] ), declared himself Maharaja (literally "Great King"). [6] King Guhasena came after him. Unlike his predecessors, the king stopped using the term Paramabhattaraka Padanudhyata alongside his name, a term that denotes nominal allegiance to the Gupta overlords. He was succeeded by his son Dharasena II, who used the title Mahadhiraja. The next ruler was his son, Siladitya-I Dharmaditya, who was described by the Chinese scholar and traveller Xuanzang as a "monarch of great administrative ability and of rare kindness and compassion". Siladitya I was succeeded by his younger brother Kharagraha I. [7] [8] [9]
During the time of Kharagraha I, a copperplate grant was found from 616 CE that shows that his territories included Ujjain. During the reign of the next ruler, his son Dharasena III, north Gujarat was assimilated into the kingdom. Dharasena II was succeeded by another son of Kharagraha I, Dhruvasena II, Baladitya. He married the daughter of Harshavardhana and their son Dharasena IV assumed the imperial titles of Paramabhattaraka Mahrajadhiraja Parameshvara Chakravartin and Sanskrit poet Bhatti was his court poet. The next powerful ruler of this dynasty was Siladitya III. After him, Siladitya V ruled, and it is suspected that during his reign, there was an Arab Invasion. The last known ruler of the dynasty was Siladitya VII. [6] [7]
The rule of the Maitrakas is believed to have ended during the second or third quarter of the eighth century when the Arabs invaded. [10] [11]
Religious inscriptions are known from Valhabi, which were dedicated to the Brahmans as well as the Buddhist and Jains. [12] The Indologist Sylvain Lévi wrote an article entitled "Les donations religieuses des rois de Valhabi". [13]
The numerals used in the Valhabi inscriptions and on their coins, dated to c. 600 CE, are often mentioned as an intermediary step in the evolution of Hindu-Arabic numerals. [14]
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire on the Indian subcontinent which existed from the mid 3rd century CE to mid 6th century CE. It was the seventh ruling dynasty of Magadha. 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 historians, although this characterisation has been disputed by some 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, Kumaragupta I and Skandagupta.
The middle kingdoms of India were the political entities in the Indian subcontinent from 230 BCE to 1206 CE. The period begins after the decline of the Maurya Empire and the corresponding rise of the Satavahana dynasty, starting with Simuka, from 230 BCE. The "middle" period lasted for almost 1436 years and ended in 1206 CE, with the rise of the Delhi Sultanate, founded in 1206, and the end of the Later Cholas.
The Pratihara dynasty, also called the Gurjara-Pratiharas, the Pratiharas of Kannauj and the Imperial Pratiharas, was a prominent medieval Indian dynasty. It initially ruled the Gurjaradesa till 816 and from then onwards, the Kingdom of Kannauj until 1036 when the kingdom collapsed due the Ghaznavid invasions.
The Maitraka dynasty ruled the Kingdom of Valabhi in western India from approximately 475 to 776 from their capital at Vallabhi. With the sole exception of Dharapaṭṭa, who is associated with sun-worship, they were followers of Shaivism. Their origin is uncertain but they were probably Chandravanshi Kshatriyas.
Nagabhata II was an Indian Emperor from Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty. He ascended the throne of Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty after his father Vatsraja. His mother was queen Sundari-Devi. He was designated with imperial titles - Paramabhattaraka, Maharajadhiraja, and Paramesvara after conquest of Kannauj.
The history of Gujarat began with Stone Age settlements followed by Chalcolithic and Bronze Age settlements like Indus Valley civilisation. Gujarat's coastal cities, chiefly Bharuch, served as ports and trading centers in the Nanda, Maurya, Satavahana and Gupta empires as well as during the Western Kshatrapas period. After the fall of the Gupta empire in the 6th century, Gujarat flourished as an independent Hindu-Buddhist state. The Maitraka dynasty, descended from a Gupta general, ruled from the 6th to the 8th centuries from their capital at Vallabhi, although they were ruled briefly by Harsha during the 7th century. The Arab rulers of Sindh sacked Vallabhi in 770, bringing the Maitraka dynasty to an end. The Gurjara-Pratihara Empire ruled Gujarat after from the 8th to 10th centuries. While the region also came under the control of the Rashtrakuta Empire. In 775 the first Parsi (Zoroastrian) refugees arrived in Gujarat from Greater Iran.
The Umayyad Dynasty came to rule the Caliphate in 661 CE, and during the first half of the 8th century CE, a series of battles took place in the Indian subcontinent between armies of the Umayyad Caliphate and Indian kingdoms situated to the east of the Indus river, subsequent to the Arab conquest of Sindh during 711 – 713 CE.
The history of human settlement in the western Indian state of Rajasthan dates back to about 100,000 years ago. Around 5000 to 2000 BCE many regions of Rajasthan belonged as the site of the Indus Valley Civilization. Kalibangan is the main Indus site of Rajasthan, here fire altars have been discovered, similar to those found at Lothal.
The House of Paramara is a prominent Indian Rajput dynasty that ruled over the Kingdom of Malwa, the Garhwal Kingdom, and many other kingdoms, princely states and feudal estates in North India. They belong to the Parmara clan of the Rajputs.
There are several Jain councils mentioned in Jain texts associated with revision and redaction of Jain Agamas. The first council was held at Pataliputra. The second councils were probably held simultaneously at Mathura and Vallabhi. The third council was held at Vallabhi under auspices of Devarddhigani Kshamashramana when the texts were written down. The definite dates of councils are not mentioned in the texts before Jinaprabhamuni's Sandehavisausadhi of 1307 CE. The later texts states that the last Vallabhi council was held 980 or 993 years after the death (Nirvana) of last Tirthankara Mahavira.
The Tripartite Struggle (785–816), also called the Kannauj Triangle Wars, was a conflict in northern India involving the three Indian great powers of the era – Gurjaratra, Bengal, and Manyakheta under the Pratiharas, the Palas and the Rashtrakutas respectively. The war was fought over the control of the Kingdom of Kannauj.
The Gurjaras of Lata, also known as Gurjaras of Nandipuri or Bharuch Gurjaras, was a dynasty which ruled Lata region as a feudatory of different dynasties from c. 580 CE to c. 738 CE.
Subhatavarman, also known as Sohada, was an Indian king from the Paramara dynasty, who ruled in the Malwa region of central India.
The Gupta era is a historical calendar era that begins from c. 318–319 CE. It was used by the Gupta emperors, as well as their vassals and their successors in present-day northern India and Nepal. It is identical to the Vallabhi era, which was used in the Saurashtra region of western India, although regional differences lead to a slightly different calculation for the conversion of Vallabhi era years to Common Era (CE).
The Saindhavas, also known as Jayadrathas, was a Medieval Indian dynasty that ruled western Saurashtra from c. 735 CE to c. 920 CE, probably in alliance with Maitrakas in its early years. Their capital was at Bhutamabilika. The known historical events during their rule are the attacks of Arabs repulsed by Agguka I.
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.
Shiladitya of "Mo-la-po" was a 6th-century king of India, known only from the writings of the 7th-century Chinese traveler Xuanzang. Several modern scholars identify this king as the Maitraka king Shiladitya I alias Dharmaditya, although alternative theories exist.
Shiladitya may refer to:
The Kingdom of Valabhi was an early medieval kingdom in Western India from 475 to 776. It was founded by Bhatarka, a military governor of the Magadhan Empire, and ruled by the Maitraka dynasty.