Gupta Empire

Gupta Empire

• The start of Gupta Empire is considered by many historian from the reign of Maharaja Shrigupta.
• Chandragupta-I was the first powerful ruler of Gupta Empire and ascended the throne in 320 AD.
• The Gupta Period from 320 AD to 550 AD is also known as the Golden Age of India.
• In the Gupta period India attained the peak of glory in every aspects starting from science, art, literature, mathematics, astronomy and philosophy.

Emperors of Gupta Empire

• Shrigupta and Ghatotkacha. The reign of Maharaja Shrigupta (240 AD to 280 AD) is considered by many historians to be the starting point of Gupta Empire.
• Ghatotkacha succeeded his father Shrigupta and ruled from 280AD to 319 AD.

Chandragupta I

• Chandragupta I was the son of Ghatotkacha and succeeded his father. He was the first powerful king of the dynasty. He ruled the Empire from 320 AD to 335 AD.
• Chandragupta I adopted the title of Maharajadhiraja: meaning King of Kings.
• He married princess Kumaradevi of neighboring kingdom Lichchhavi and gained the control of the territory of north Bihar.
• The starting of the reign of Chandragupta-I is considered by many historians as the beginning of Gupta era.

Samudragupta and Chandragupta II

• Samudragupta,succeeded his father Chandragupta I and ruled the Gupta dynasty for about 45 years from 335 AD to 380 AD. He is also known as 'Napolean of India'.
• Many historians believe that Chandragupta II was nominated by his father Samudragupta as the next heir of Gupta Empire.But Ramagupta,the eldest son of Samudragupta succeeded his father and became the emperor.
• Chandragupta II killed him and ascended the throne. He was an extremely powerful emperor. Chandragupta II is most commonly known as Vikramaditya,ruled the Gupta Empire from 380 AD to 413 AD.

Other Emperors

• Kumaragupta I,the son of Chandragupta II succeeded his father and ruled the dynasty till 455 AD. After Kumaragupta I, Skandagupta succeeded his father.
• He is considered to be the last of the great Gupta emperors.
• He also adopted the title of Vikramaditya.
• After Skandagupta, the Gupta dynasty didn't get any powerful ruler and finally the dynasty was overpowered by the Vardhana ruler Harshavardhana.

Note:Some of the weak rulers who ruled after Skandagupta were, Purugupta, Kumaragupta II, Budhagupta, Narasimhagupta, Kumaragupta III, Vishnugupta, Vainyagupta and Bhanugupta.

Fa-hien's India Visit

• Fa-hien was the first Chinese pilgrim who visited India during the reign of Gupta emperor Chandragupta II.