The gupta empire (320 A.D. to 500 A.D.)
500 years after the fall of the Mauryan Empire, a new ruler called Chandra Gupta came to power and formed another massive empire. India's second empire oversaw a period of great cultural and technological advances, so many historians today consider it to be India's golden age.
At the end of the third century A.D., India was a collection of small states and nations broken up from the earlier Mauryan Empire. Around this time king named Srigupta founded a small nation on the eastern plain of the Ganges. The family rose to power when Chandra Gupta married a princess of a royal family, and took the title "Great King of Kings" in 320 A.D. His empire included the province of Magadha along the Ganges River and areas north of it.
When his son Samudra Gupta took the throne in 335 A.D., he expanded the empire through almost 40 years of conquest. Some historians consider Samudra to be the real founder of the dynasty, since he conquered a myriad of nations and expanded the empire west to the Indus river and south to the Narmada river. Samudra also had a peaceful side though, as he was a lover of the arts and a skillful musician and poet.
Samudra's grandson Chandra Gupta II was also a good ruler. He expanded the empire to its maximum extent through battles and treaties with other nations, and the empire was at the apex of its glory at this time. Arts, technology, and mathematics all had major advancements during Samudra and Chandra Gupta II's rule. Trade with other countries like China and Arabia also contributed to the empire's growth.
After Chandra Gupta II died, the empire slowly declined as fierce central Asian nomads called Hunas threatened northen India. Gupta's son Skanda Gupta fought them and crushed the invasions, but the Hunas and rival Indian kingdoms kept attacking and chipping away at the empire. In the end the Gupta empire shattered and was reduced to small nations on the fringes of the new empire the Hunas established.
When his son Samudra Gupta took the throne in 335 A.D., he expanded the empire through almost 40 years of conquest. Some historians consider Samudra to be the real founder of the dynasty, since he conquered a myriad of nations and expanded the empire west to the Indus river and south to the Narmada river. Samudra also had a peaceful side though, as he was a lover of the arts and a skillful musician and poet.
Samudra's grandson Chandra Gupta II was also a good ruler. He expanded the empire to its maximum extent through battles and treaties with other nations, and the empire was at the apex of its glory at this time. Arts, technology, and mathematics all had major advancements during Samudra and Chandra Gupta II's rule. Trade with other countries like China and Arabia also contributed to the empire's growth.
After Chandra Gupta II died, the empire slowly declined as fierce central Asian nomads called Hunas threatened northen India. Gupta's son Skanda Gupta fought them and crushed the invasions, but the Hunas and rival Indian kingdoms kept attacking and chipping away at the empire. In the end the Gupta empire shattered and was reduced to small nations on the fringes of the new empire the Hunas established.
Although the Gupta Empire only lasted around two centuries, its cultural achievements left their mark. The use of the language Sanskrit spread throughout the empire, and the nationalization of Sanskrit allowed literature and ideas to be easily conveyed and spread around the empire. Kalidasa (drama and poetry), Dandin (poetry and prose), and Subandhu and Banabhatta (prose) written in Sanskrit developed during this time, and religions like Hinduism and Buddhism gained many followers. Advances in mathmatics and metalworking dispersed to foriegn nations and improved science and engineering. Like the Mauryan Empire, the Gupta Dynasty's achievements lived on after its fall.
An important factor in both empires' growth was trade and commerce with other countries. Click on the button to learn more.
An important factor in both empires' growth was trade and commerce with other countries. Click on the button to learn more.