Gupta+Empire

= The Gupta Empire =

The Rise of the Gupta Empire
· After the Kushan Empire of India fell, the Guptas rose to power and took over, starting their own diplomacy. This clan obtained possession of Pataliputra, the Capital of the Kushans. Sri Gupta was the first ruler of this dominion. After him his son Ghatokacha ruled with the title of Maharaja. In the fourth century a Lichchavi princess got married to a king in the Magadha who was called Chandragupta I. He was the first known ruler of the Gupta line. Chandra Gupta I, whose early life is unknown, became a local chief in the kingdom of Magadha. · The reign of Chandragupta I is said to have come to an end in about 330AD. After everything had settled down the Guptas expanded their empire by marring into the royal families, negotiating the terms with the princess.

The Thriving Gupta Empire
· The Guptas rule lasted two centuries in India, becoming a large and great empire; though not being as large as previous empires, it sufficed. The accomplishment of the Guptas were that throughout their lives, they rose to power by saying that it was the will of god, and that the gods support their causes, this can be related to the mandate of heaven. · One advancement of the Guptas was their creation of a tax system and a demand for it, even achieving a sixth food production from all the taxes they gained. · Although the Guptas were a strong prosperous empire they did not establish a bureaucracy, instead the allowed defeated local lords to rule so long as they swore their allegiance with the Guptas and had one of the Gupta representatives constantly survey them. · No single language was imposed in the Gupta empires, Sanskrit was the only type of reading or writing the promoted but still the diversity was great, their people all spoke different languages. · The Guptas offered general services such as the spread of general law and their being sponsored as patrons in cultural activities of art and literature's including university life. This was the time known as the golden age.

The Fall of the Gupta Empire
· This great empire did not last and, just as all other great empires have fallen, so too did this one, after parts of north India were overturned by the Huns, the Guptas lost power and negotiations with many princesses losing their keys to victory, eventually the empire fell all together and the Gupta rule was destroyed forever by the Huns. Before their complete destruction some integrated into the warrior caste of India. More information on The Collapse of the Gupta Empire and results of the fall can be found here.

Article written by Adrian Mariscal and Christopher Clark Period 8 Citations: Stearns, Peter N. World Civilizations: The Global Experience. New York: Pearson Longman, 2003. Print. .

“Chandra Gupta I.” 2012. The History Channel website. Jan 24 2012, 10:32 http://www.history.com/topics/chandra-gupta-i. 