Hiuen tsang who visited harshavardhanas empire noted buddhism was declining in india while brahmanism was on rise. The gupta empire brought a golden age to india because of the great number of discoveries they made in many different areas of life, and also because of the peace and prosperity they obtained. The latter rulers could not hold back the administration of the vast gupta empire. They maintained an empire over northern and parts of central and western india from the early 4th to the late 6th century ce. Pdf treasures of the gupta empire sanjeev kumar aka.
E the gupta empire collapsed mostly due to the financial pressure of nomadic tribes that came in from central asia huns. The golden age of the guptas why, for whom, and to what extent. Decline and collapse of the maurya and gupta empires. The gupta dynasty, founded by chandragupta i accession c. The mauryan empire in thinking about the mauryan empire and, later the gupta empire we need to consider what kinds of states they were, avoiding imposing political notions from modern, western experience on material from the past. Gupta decline later gupta rulers lived extravagantly, which weakened the peoples loyalty. Gupta empire declines, indian sculptural style evolves and continues until the 16th century. Mastering the content circle the letter next to the. Under the rule of candra gupta i, india became unified and prosperous again. For nearly 250 years the gupta empire provided political unity, good administration and economic and cultural progress to north india.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Not much information is available about their rule of these two maharajas. This period is considered as the golden age of india by some historians. The internal weakness of the empire was primarily responsible for its downfall though, of course, external attacks also contributed to it. The gupta empire profited greatly from religious trade and religious pilgrims. Mauryan empire was in india, yet the gupta dynasty was successful in creating an. Readers must note that madisons work are built on du. Fall of the gupta empire, decline of the gupta empire, gupta. A similar blow was hurled over the gupta empire by the huns invasion that heavily disturbed its stability. Since the fall of the mauryan empire in the second century. The art and architectural contributions of harshas period are very few and mostly followed the guptas. Many advances were made in india during the gupta empire, but not. Trade and commerce in the pregupta and gupta period. The last king was brihadratha was assassinated in 185 bc183 bc by his general pushyamitra shunga who was a brahmin.
There is a repeating climatic event called the bond event that is very crucial to understanding the major historical events of the world. There were four major kingdoms in north india between the period in which the guptas declines and the rise of harsha i. Many authorities on gupta history believe that they came from magadha or northern bengal, which was the original nucleus of their empire. At the end of the 3rd century ad, a new power emerged in north eastern india to fill the void left by the collapse of the kushanas. This new power was the gupta dynasty which at its zenith controlled most of north and central india. The eastern portion of the roman empire experienced less decline than the west for all of the following reasons. The original homeland of the guptas is not known for certain. The ruling dynasty of the empire was founded by the king sri gupta. Political factors responsible for the decline of gupta empire the last great king of the gupta was skanda gupta was ascended the throne about 455 a. The same way, the later gupta rulers failed to face their external enemies like the vakatakas and the hunas.
The period, therefore, has been rightly regarded as the most glorious epoch in indian history. It traces the origin and rise of the ruling family to srigupta 240280 a. The ruling dynasty of the empire was founded by sri gupta. Budhagupta was the only gupta ruler who continued to rule over a large part of the empire. Even during the later years of kumar guptas reign, the empire was attacked by a tribe called pushyamitra but it was repulsed, and immediately after the accession of skanda gupta, hunas made. Although the late gupta ruler narasimhagupta managed to drive the huns out of northern india in 528 ce, the effort and expense doomed the dynasty.
The guptas were the first architects of purposebuilt hindu but sometimes also buddhist temples which evolved from the earlier tradition of rockcut shrines. The decline of the guptas invasion of the white huns in the 4c signaled the end of the gupta golden age, even though at first, the guptas defeated them. These occur about every 0 years and every time brings substantial changes. In a period of about 50 years after ashokas death, seven kings followed him in succession. Classical 500 bce500 ce india empires gupta and mauryan. The gupta empire ended in 550 ce, when it disintegrated into regional kingdoms after a series of weak rulers and. The gupta empire was an ancient indian empire centered in the kingdom of magadh, existing from the midtolate 3rd century ce to 590 ce. It was founded by maharaja sri gupta and was a classical civilization.
The gupta age in ancient india has been called the golden age of india because of the many achievements in the field of arts, science and literature that indians made under the guptas. Soon after ashokas death, the empire broke up and the decline of the mauryan empire set in. Abstract the process of political disintegration in northern india set by the decline of the kushan empire in the 3rd century ce gave rise to a. Gupta empire agrawal major reference works wiley online. In this article we will discuss about the causes of the downfall of the gupta empire. Political decentralization vassals ruled difficult to fight off invaders quality of leaders external. The empire was divided into an eastern and western part. Gupta dynasty, rulers of the magadha now bihar state in northeastern india. The present work describes the material and moral progress which india had achieved during the paramount sovereignty of the gupta emperors in the fourth and fifth centuries a. Even during the later years of kumar guptas reign, the empire was attacked by a tribe called pushyamitra but it was repulsed, and immediately after the accession of skanda gupta, hunas made inroads, but they too were repelled. After the gupta period, india was divided into different small and medium kingdoms. The population of the empire has been estimated to be about 5060 million making the mauryan empire one of the most popular empires of the time. Fall of the gupta empire, decline of the gupta empire.
Throughout the rule of skandagupta within the fifth century a. On the basis of the provenance of early gupta coin hoards and the distribution of the important gupta inscriptions, historians have now come to accept the lower. Mauryan empire began to decline after the death of ashoka in 232 bc. The gupta empire was an ancient indian empire, existing from approximately 240 to 590 ce. Their form of government united a vast area of india and created a golden age on the subcontinent of. The death of skandagupta and the short reign of puru gupta hastened the pace of decline. They were called the hunas, and were related to the huns that invaded rome.
Op has clearly been referring to angus madisons works and those derived from it. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 543 ce, it covered much of the indian subcontinent. When he died in 415 ad, the gupta empire was at its height. How to explain the decline of the gupta empire quora.
The gupta empire flourished under chandragupta ii, but began to falter under his son, kumaragupta, and grandson, skandagupta. Decline of rome, han, gupta human geography flashcards. Over the next 100 years, the gupta empire broke into small kingdoms. Majumdar rightly concludes, indeed, from various points of view the end of the gupta empire offers a striking analogy to that of the mughal empire. The last known inscription by a gupta emperor is from the reign of vishnugupta in which he makes a land grant in the area of kotivarsha. The gupta empire was an ancient indian empire existing from the midtolate 3rd century ce to 543 ce. Gupta empire indian history click here for all indian polity study material pdf download click here for all subject study materials pdf download. Thereafter, following significant rulers from gupta dynasty ruled during this period. Gupta empire 320 ce535 ce after chandra gupta ii died in 415 ce, new invaders threatened northern india.
Buddha gupta was the last great ruler who tried to halt the process of decline for sometime, but his hold over the western part of the gupta empire was very weak. Whether persian, indian, or roman, every empire in history broke down for certain obvious causes. The gupta empire rose to prominence in 320 ad and spread to large parts of northern india, central and small parts of southern india. Chapter 8 postgupta period i 600ad 750ad civilsdaily. Decline of the gupta empire world civilization lumen learning. Some of the causes of the downfall of the maurya empire are as follows. The huna people, also known as huns, invaded gupta territory and caused significant damage to the empire. It discusses the spirit of the age and the various trends in the sphere of. After the decline of the mauryan empire, india remained primarily buddhist for 500 years. The decline of the guptasthe decline of the guptas invasion of the white huns in the 4c signaledinvasion of the white huns in the 4c signaled the end of the gupta golden age, even thoughthe end of the gupta golden age, even though at first, the guptas defeated them.
Gupta rule, while solidified by territorial expansion through war, began a period of peace and prosperity marked by advancements in science, technology, engineering, art, dialectics, literature. Causes of the downfall of the gupta empire indian history. Decline of the gupta empire the gupta empire declined precipitously under chandragupta iis. 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. At its zenith from approximately 319 to 550 ce it covered much of the indian subcontinent. Gupta rulers spread hinduism in their empire through the building of temples and the promotion of hindu writings and rituals. The trend is away from the swelling modeled forms of the gupta period. Silk road served gupta, han, rome and persian dynasties indian merchants shipped ivory, jewels, and textiles, salt and iron the romans traded glass, jewels, and clothes. The gupta empire, founded by maharaja sri gupta, was an ancient indian realm that covered much of the indian subcontinent from approximately 320550 ce. Study and analysis of gupta empire in the history of india.
Over and above the usual causes of administrative inefficiency, weak successors and stagnant the fall of the guptas. The gupta empire came to rule because of their strong, central government that oversaw and gave considerable power to local leaders. Gupta empire existed approximately from 320 to 550 c. The lessons of late han china and the late roman empire are that the decline of a civilization, whether temporary or permanent, is not simply the result of attack by outside invaders. Skandagupta was succeeded by his brother purugupta. Guptas weakened by the expense of the war with white huns and competing india kingdoms. Ancient indian history decline of guptas tutorialspoint.
Among these causes, some causes appear almost as common, namely, the weak successors, vastness of the empire, independence of the. The gupta dynasty continued to be in existence for more than 100 years after the death of skandagupta in a. Harshavardhanas realm is associated with construction of numerous stupas and monasteries. Why did indias external trade decline during the gupta empire despite increase in prosperity. After him, lesser emperors, including narasimha gupta, kumaragupta ii, buddhagupta, and vishnugupta, ruled over the decline of the gupta empire. Weak central control of empire as local rajas revolted and fought among themselves.
Invasion by white huns costs of defense huge last gupta king deposed 550 ce but wealth continued trade. What happened on the indian subcontinent in the time period between the mauryan and gupta empires. He conquered many new lands for his empire, and even expanded the empire outside the indian subcontinent. Gupta empire india regional kingdoms followed end of mauryans internal. In addition to the hun invasion, the factors, which contribute to the decline of the empire include competition from the vakatakas and the rise of yashodharman in malwa. Chinese merchants traded silk, spices, tea, and porcelain.
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