The Gupta Empire was ruled by members of the Gupta dynasty from around 320 to 550 AD covering most of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan and Pakistan with tributaries and vassals in parts of Central Asia and Southeast Asia. The time of the Gupta Empire is referred to as Golden Age of science, mathematics, astronomy, religion and philosophy in South Asia.
Gupta Empire | |
|---|---|
| c. 240–c. 579[1] | |
 Gupta empire on its peak | |
| Status | Empire |
| Capital | |
| Common languages | Sanskrit (literary and academic); Prakrit (vernacular) |
| Religion | |
| Government | Monarchy |
| Maharajadhiraja | |
• c. 240 – c. 280 | Gupta (first) |
• c. 540 – c. 550 | Vishnugupta (last) |
| Historical era | Classical India |
• Established | c. 240 |
• Disestablished | c. 579[1] |
| Area | |
| 400 est.[12] (high-end estimate of peak area) | 3,500,000 km2 (1,400,000 sq mi) |
| 440 est.[13] (low-end estimate of peak area) | 1,700,000 km2 (660,000 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 5th century | 75,000,000[14] |
| Currency | Dinara (gold coins) Rupaka (silver coins) Karshapana (copper coins) Cowries |
| Today part of | |
Plenty of information about this dynasty can be found through coins, inscriptions, monuments, and Sanskrit writings. The Gupta rulers were great conquerors and administrators. This brought on a series of invasions that weakened the empire, but many of their cultural and intellectual achievements were saved and transmitted to other cultures and live on today. Fa Hien visited India during the reign of Chandragupta II and stayed in this country for several years.
People lived a simple life. Goods were affordable and all round prosperity ensured that their requirements were met easily. Gold and silver coins were issued in great numbers which is a general indicative of the health of the economy. Trade and commerce flourished both within the country and outside. Silk, cotton, spices, medicine, priceless gemstones, pearl, precious metal and steel were exported by sea.[source?]
Gupta dynasty
changeThe Gupta dynasty ruled by the Gupta Empire of South Asia, from around 240 to 579.
Some of its main rulers were:
Coins
changeThe Guptas used coinage across their empire.This showed both their wealth-as some coins were trying to unify the empire by using the same coins over the empire.
Further reading
change- Karls, Farah. World History The Human Experience.
References
change- ↑ Goyal, SR. History of the imperial Guptas. p. 367.
- ↑ Sharma, R.S. (25 January 2007), "Rise and Growth of the Gupta Empire", India’s Ancient Past, Oxford University Press, p. 242, ISBN 978-0-19-568785-9,
UP therefore seems to have been the place from where the Guptas operated and fanned out in different directions. Probably with their centre of power at Prayag, they spread into the neighbouring regions.
- ↑ Cite error: The named reference
ChaurasiaPrayagwas used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page). - ↑ Cite error: The named reference
TRSharmaPrayagwas used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page). - ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cite error: The named reference
GoyalPrayagAyodhwas used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page). - ↑ Cite error: The named reference
AyodhyaKasiwas used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page). - ↑ Cite error: The named reference
MookerjiAyodhKasiwas used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page). - ↑ Cite error: The named reference
BakkerAyodhyawas used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page). - ↑ Sharma, Tej Ram (1978). Personal and geographical names in the Gupta inscriptions. Robarts - University of Toronto. Delhi : Concept. p. 112.
An indication of the leaning of the Gupta kings towards Vaisnavism is clear from the Garuda emblem of the Guptas. The gupta monarchs also used the title 'Paramabhāgavata' i.e.; the devout devotee of Visnu, in their imperial records.
- ↑ Bakker, Hans T. (12 March 2020). The Alkhan: A Hunnic People in South Asia. Barkhuis. p. 73. ISBN 978-94-93194-00-7.
On the south banks of the Bina, the building of a religious complex dedicated to Vishnu, the Empire's tutelary deity, had expanded under Budhagupta.
- ↑ pg.17 : Gupta Empire at its height (5th-6th centuries) connected with the development of Mahayana Buddhism with the development of Tantric Buddhism.Ganeri, Anita (2007). Buddhism. Internet Archive. London : Franklin Watts. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-7496-6979-9.
- ↑ Turchin, Peter; Adams, Jonathan M.; Hall, Thomas D (December 2006). "East-West Orientation of Historical Empires". Journal of World-Systems Research. 12 (2): 223. doi:10.5195/JWSR.2006.369. ISSN 1076-156X.
- ↑ Taagepera, Rein (1979). "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D". Social Science History. 3 (3/4): 121. doi:10.2307/1170959. JSTOR 1170959.
- ↑ Angus Maddison (2001). "Growth of World Population, GDP and GDP Per Capita before 1820". p. 238.
Other websites
change
- Frontline Article on Gupta Period Art Archived 2008-12-04 at the Wayback Machine