The Kushanas and the Satvahanas became weaker in the middle of the 3rd century after providing 200-year-long political and economic stability. Then, after a brief period of confusion, Guptas emerged on the scene in North India and Vakatakas in South India.
The Guptas were initially subordinates of a later Kushanas branch ruling in northwest India. They gained independence in the second decade of the 4th century CE and kept north India politically united for more than a century, from CE 335 to 455.
The Guptas may have been of Vaishyaorigin. They had their capital at Pataliputra. The royal emblem used by the Gupta empire was Garuda.
Kings
Their rule
Sri Gupta (240-280AD)
Srigupta was the founder of the Gupta empire.
The copper plate inscription of Prabhavatigupta describes Sri Gupta as Adiraja.
Chandragupta- I (319-335AD)
Chandragupta-1 is considered the actual founder of the Gupta empire.
He established the Gupta era(320AD).
He did a Pratilomamarriage (Higher caste) by marrying to Lichchavi princess.
He adopted the title Maharajadhiraja.
Samudragupta (335-375AD)
He tried to establish a Pan-India empire. Historian VA Smith has called him the Napoleon of India due to his vigorous expansionism.
Shakas, who ruled west India, lost to Samudragupta. The Prayag Prashastiinscription by Harisena on the Allahabad pillar mentions his territories. It also mentions Samudragupta’s attempt on South Indian territories, including the PallavakingVishnugopa.
He also performed Ashvamedha Yajna, as evident from his coins.
Chandragupta – II (380-412AD)
According to Vishakhadutta’s novel Devi-Chandraguptam, Chandragupta-II killed his brother Ramgupta to sit on the throne and married his wife, Queen Dhruvadevi.
He established his 2nd capital in Ujjain.
He married his daughter Prabhavati to Vakataka king Rudrasena and, after Rudrasena’s death, controlled the Vakataka territories through his daughter.
He was successful in military conquest against Shaka Satraps.
Fa Hein came during his reign.
Kumargupta I (415-445AD)
Prabhavati’s son, Dhruvasena, declared independence during his reign.
He died fighting against Hunas.
Kumaragupta is known for establishing Nalanda University.
Skandagupta (455-467AD)
He defeated the Huns in Mathura and pushed them back to the Northwest frontier province (NWFP).
Get Your PDF Socio Religious Reform Movements The colonization of India by the British during the 18th and 19th centuries exposed some serious weaknesses and drawbacks of Indian social institutions. Consequently, several individual Socio Religious Reform movements sought to bring about changes in social and religious practices to reform and revitalize society. They were impressed…
Get Your PDF Overview The Sixteen Mahajanapadas We find them mentioned in the Buddhist and later Vedic texts. These Mahajanapadas were a conglomerate of thousands of villages and a few towns. They extended from North Western Pakistan to Bengal and from the sub-montane regions of the Himalayas to the Godavari. The Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya…
Get Your PDF A Constitution is a set of rules, written or unwritten, acceptable to all the people living together in a country. It is the supreme legislation that governs how residents of a territory interact with one another and how they interact with the government. With the build-up of national consciousness among Indians and…
Get Your PDF Functions of the Parliament In order to perform its role efficiently, various mechanisms have been set up in the Constitution, and each House has been empowered to make its own rule under Article 118. Rules of communication between both houses and the Joint sitting are made by the President after consultation with…
Get Your PDF India had an exquisite tradition in the art of painting in the ancient age, and most of the early period paintings were based on religious themes and showed episodes from the Hindu epics or Jain and Buddhist literature. Though very few early examples survive because of the climatic conditions, they are insignificant to…
Get Your PDF The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization that was established on 06 June 1997 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration. It was initially proposed by Thailand and was created in 1997 as BIST-EC (Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-Thailand Economic Cooperation). Later, the organisation came to…
