LESSON – 11 THE NEW EMPIRES AND KINGDOMS THE DECLINE OF KUSHANAS Kushanas rulers are recorded for a period of about three centuries, from circa 30 CE, to circa 375 CE, until the invasions of the Kidarites. They ruled around the same time as the Western Satraps, the Satavahanas, and the first Gupta Empire rulers.
THE GUPTA EMPIRE
Gupta Empire – Chandragupta I (320 – 335 AD)
Was the son of Ghatotkacha. Acquired the strategically important Magadha kingdom on marriage to a Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi. He extended his kingdom through conquests. His territory extended from the Ganges River to Prayaga by 321 AD. He issued coins in the joint names of his queen and himself. He assumed the title of Maharajadhiraja (great king of kings). He was successful in building a small principality into a great kingdom. He is considered the first great king of the Gupta Empire.
Gupta Empire – Samudragupta (335 – 380 AD)
Son of Chandragupta I and Kumaradevi. Was a military genius and was successful in adding many territories into the Gupta Empire. The Allahabad inscription describes his bravery as composed by his court poet, Harisena. There it is said that he defeated nine kings of the Ganges Valley, twelve kings from the southern region, and eighteen forest tribes. His region extended from the Himalayas in the north to the Krishna and Godavari Rivers in the south; and from Balkh (Afghanistan) in the west to Brahmaputra River in the east. He was a follower of Vaishnavite Hinduism but was tolerant of other faiths. He gave permission to the king of Sri Lanka, Meghavarna to build a monastery in Bodh Gaya. He was also called “Indian Napoleon” by art historian Vincent Smith. He also performed Ashvamedha sacrifice. Hence, one of his coins refers to him as “the restorer of Ashvamedha.” He was also called “Kaviraja” since he composed verses.
Gupta Empire – Chandragupta II (Reign: 380 – 418 AD)
Son of Samudragupta and his queen Dattadevi. He was also known as ‘Vikramaditya’. He further annexed territories including Saurashtra which gave him the western coastline. He used matrimonial alliances to expand his kingdom. He established matrimonial alliances with the Nagas and the Vakatakas. He gave his daughter Prabhapavatigupta in marriage to Vakataka ruler of Maharashtra Rudrasena II. He also annexed three Satrapa kingdoms and assumed the title Sakari (destroyer of the Sakas). He defeated the Saka king Rudrasimha III thus acquiring Saurashtra and Kathiawar. Through the western ports, the kingdom’s prosperity grew through trade links with Roman Empires. After East and West India, Chandragupta II defeated northern rulers also like the Hunas, Kambojas, Kiratas, etc. He was a brilliant conqueror and an able administrator as well. Like his father, he was a Vaishnavite but was tolerant of other religions. His other names (as mentioned in coins) include Vikrama, Devagupta, Devaraja, Simhavikrama, Vikramaditya Sakari, etc. His court had nine jewels or Navaratnas, nine people eminent in various fields of art, literature and science. This included the great Sanskrit poet Kalidasa, Harisena, Amarasimha (lexicographer) and Dhanvantari (physician). Fa-Hien, a Buddhist from China visited India during his reign. He records the prosperity of the Gupta Empire. END OF GUPTA EMPIRE
The Huna People, also known as Huns, invaded Gupta territory and caused significant damage to the empire. The Gupta Empire ended in 550 CE, when it disintegrated into regional kingdoms after a series of weak rulers and invasions from the east, west, and north. HARSHAVARDHANA
Facts about King Harshavardhana (Reign: 606 A.D to 647 A.D.)
Harshavardhana was born in 590 AD to King Prabhakaravardhana of Sthaneshvara (Thanesar, Haryana). He belonged to the Pushyabhuti also called the Vardhana dynasty. He was a Hindu who later embraced Mahayana Buddhism. He was married to Durgavati. He had a daughter and two sons. His daughter married a king of Vallabhi whereas his sons were killed by his own minister. King Harshavardhana deeds were praised by Chinese Buddhist traveller Xuanzang in his writings.
Empire of Harsha – King Harshvardhana’s Empire
On acquiring Kannauj, Harsha united the two kingdoms of Thanesar and Kannauj. He moved his capital to Kannauj. After the fall of the Guptas, North India was divided into many small kingdoms. Harsha was able to unite many of them under his command. He had under his control of Punjab and central India. After Sasanka’s death, he annexed Bengal, Bihar and Odisha. He also defeated the Vallabhi king in Gujarat. (The Vallabhi king and Harsha came to a truce by a marriage between Harsha’s daughter and the Vallabhi king Dhruvabhata.) However, Harsha’s plans to conquer lands to the south were hampered when the Chalukya king, Pulakesin II defeated Harsha in 618-619 A.D. This sealed Harsha’s southern territorial limit as the Narmada River. There were two types of territories under Harsha. One was directly under him and the other type was those that were feudatories. 1. Direct territories: Central Provinces, Bengal, Kalinga, Rajputana, Gujarat 2. Feudatories: Jalandhar, Kashmir, Kamarupa, Sind, Nepal Even the feudatories were under the tight command of Harsha. Harsha’s reign marked the beginning of feudalism in India. Hiuen Tsang visited India during Harsha’s reign. He has given a very favourable account of king Harsha and his empire. He praises his generosity and justice. Harsha was a great patron of the arts. He himself was an accomplished writer. He is credited with the Sanskrit works Ratnavali, Priyadarshika and Nagananda. Banabhatta was his court poet and he composed the Harshacharita which gives an account of Harsha’s life and deeds. Harsha generously supported the Nalanda University. He had a good tax structure. 1/4th of all the taxes collected were used for charity and for cultural purposes.
Harsha’s death
Harsha died in 647 AD after ruling for 41 years. Since he died without any heirs, his empire disintegrated very soon after his death
EXERCISES A. Choose the correct option 1. Magadha 2. Samudragupta 3. Greek 4. Chandragupta II 5. Chandragupta II 6. Banabhatta 7. Hiuen Tsang 8. Kannauj 9. Ravi kirti
B. Fill in the blanks. 1. Patliputra 2. Allahabad 3. Chandragupta II 4. Vikramaditya 5. Astronomer 6. Harshavardhan 7. Kanchipuram 8. Ravi Kirti
C. State whether true or false. 1. False 2. True 3. False 4. True 5. False D. 1. Hiuen Tsang 2. Chandragupta II 3. Nalanda 4. Harshavardhana 5. Ravikirti 6. Samudragupta 7. Harshavardhana 8. Banabhatta 9. Aihole
E. Answer the following questions briefly.
1. Lichhavis ruled over Vaishali. It covered portions of North Bengal and Bihar and also obtained posession of Patliputra, the Capital of the Kushans. 2. We come to know about Samudragupta from the Allahabad inscription which depict him as a hero of hundred battles. 3. Historians have found the gold coins of the times of Samudragupta period. They had Greeke influence in design. Coins depict the king playing veena or trampling a tiger. 4. He controlled the ports of Bharuch, Sopara and Cambay. 5. Gupta rulers worshipped Vishnu. They believed in the policy of religious freedom. They made new temples and kept the images of Gods and Goddesses & it led to the revival of Hinduism. 6. Fu-Hien was a Chinese scholar. He praised the times of Chandragupta II. According to him people were very honest. F. Answer the following questions in detail.
1. • Led a military campaign across the Deccan and controlled the forest tribes of the Vindhya region. • Led campaign along the eastern coast across the modern day Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and north Tamil Nadu. • Brought the powers revolting against his authority in the gangetic plains under his control. 2. Samudragupta’s interest in art & music: • He was well known for his poetry. • Played Veena.
• Gave rewards to people for learning Sanskrit language. • He was good at music and singing. Religious Belief: He was devotee of God Vishnu. Respected other religions and even allowed the king of Srilanka to set up a monastry at Gaya. 3. Gupta Period as Golden Period: • There was improvement in agricultural production. • Trade with other countries increased and brought prosperity. • Kings patronized learned people like poet Kalidasa and the astronomer Aryabhata. • Kings looked after the welfare of the people. • Gupta kings were religiously tolerant and beautiful temples of Deogarh and Bhitargaon were built. • People were honest. • Gold coins depict the prosperity of the kingdom. 4. Nalanda as a seat of learning: • 15000 students were getting free education. • More than 50 subjects were taught. • There were over 1000 teachers. • Selection process was strict. • Only 10-20% candidates could secure admission. • The revenue from a hundred villages was earmarked for Nalanda. • Students from abroad used to come for education.
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