The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire, founded by Maharaja Sri Gupta, which existed from approximately

320 to 550 ! and co"ered much of the Indian Subcontinent# $he peace and prosperity created under the leadership of the Guptas enabled the pursuit of scientific and artistic endea"ors# $his period is called the Golden %&e of India and was mar'ed by extensi"e in"entions and disco"eries in science, technolo&y, en&ineerin&, art, dialectic, literature, lo&ic, mathematics, astronomy, reli&ion and philosophy that crystalli(ed the elements of what is &enerally 'nown as )indu culture# handra Gupta I, Samudra Gupta the Great, and handra Gupta II the Great were the most notable rulers of the Gupta dynasty# $he *th century ! Sans'rit poet +alidasa credits Guptas with ha"in& con,uered about twenty one 'in&doms, both in and outside India, includin& the 'in&doms of -arasi'as .-ersians/, the )unas, the +ambojas, tribes located in the west and east 0xus "alleys, the +innaras, +iratas etc# $he hi&h points of this cultural creati"ity are ma&nificent architecture, sculptures and paintin&s# $he Gupta period produced scholars such as +alidasa, %ryabhata, 1arahamihira, 1ishnu Sharma and 1atsyayana who made &reat ad"ancements in many academic fields# Science and political administration reached new hei&hts durin& the Gupta era# Stron& trade ties also made the re&ion an important cultural center and set the re&ion up as a base that would influence nearby 'in&doms and re&ions in 2urma, Sri 3an'a, and Southeast %sia# $he earliest a"ailable Indian epics are also thou&ht to ha"e been written around this period# $he empire &radually declined because of many factors such as substantial loss of territory and imperial authority caused by their own erstwhile feudatories and the in"asion by the )una peoples from entral %sia# %fter the collapse of the Gupta !mpire in the 4th century, India was a&ain ruled by numerous re&ional 'in&doms# % minor line of the Gupta clan continued to rule Ma&adha after the disinte&ration of the empire# $hese Guptas were ultimately ousted by 1ardhana ruler )arsha 1ardhana, who established an empire in the first half of the 5th century# Origin of the Guptas: %ccordin& to many historians, the Gupta !mpire was a 1aishya dynasty# )istorian 6am Sharan Sharma asserts that the 1aishya Guptas 7appeared as a reaction a&ainst oppressi"e rulers7# %#S# %lte'ar, a historian and archaeolo&ist, who has written se"eral boo's on Gupta coina&e, also re&arded the caste of the Guptas as 1aishya on the basis of the ancient Indian texts on law, which prescribe the name8endin& with Gupta for

a member of the 1aishya caste# %ccordin& to historian Michael # 2ranni&an, the rise of the Gupta !mpire was one of the most prominent "iolations of the caste system in ancient India# $here are conflictin& theories re&ardin& the ori&inal homeland of the Guptas# %ccordin& to ) 6aychoudhuri the Guptas ori&inated from the 1arendri re&ion which is now part of 6an&pur and 6ajshahi 9i"ision of 2an&ladesh# 9 Gan&uly on the other hand considers the surroundin& re&ion of Murshidabad as the ori&inal home of the Guptas# :a ;ian was the first of the hinese pil&rims who "isited India durin& the rei&n of Gupta emperor handra&upta II# )e started his journey from hina in 3<< ! and reached India in *05 !# 9urin& his stay in India up to *== !, he went on a pil&rima&e to Mathura, +anauj, +apila"astu, +ushina&ar, 1aishali, -ataliputra, +ashi and 6aj&riha and made careful obser"ations about the empire>s conditions# :a ;ian was pleased with the mildness of administration# $he -enal ode was mild and offences were punished by fines only# :rom his accounts, the Gupta !mpire was a prosperous period, until the 6ome8 hina trade axis was bro'en with the fall of the )an dynasty, the Guptas> did indeed prosper# Srigupta and Ghatotkacha: $he most li'ely time for the rei&n of Sri Gupta is c# 2*0?2@0 !# % number of modern historians, which include 6a'haldas 2andyopadhyay and +# -# Aayaswal, thin' he and his son were possibly feudatories of the +ushans# )is son and successor Ghatot'acha ruled probably from c# 2@0?3=< !# In contrast to their successor, handra&upta I, who is mentioned as Maharajadhiraja, he and his son Ghatot'acha are referred to in inscriptions as Maharaja %t the be&innin& of the 5th century the Guptas established and ruled a few small )indu 'in&doms in Ma&adha and around modern8day 2ihar# Chandragupta I: Ghatot'acha .rei&ned c# 2@0?3=< .rei&ned c# 3=<?335 !/ .not to be confused with !/, had a son named handra&upta handra&upta Maurya .3*0?2<3 2 !/, handra&upta was married to

founder of the Mauryan !mpire#/ In a brea'throu&h deal,

+umarade"i, a 3ichchha"i princessBthe main power in Ma&adha# Cith a dowry of the 'in&dom of Ma&adha .capital -ataliputra/ and an alliance with the 3ichchha"is, handra&upta set about expandin& his power, con,uerin& much of Ma&adha, -raya&a and Sa'eta# )e established a realm stretchin& from the Gan&es 6i"er to -raya&a .modern8day %llahabad/ by 32= !# )e assumed the imperial title of Maharajadhiraja# )e expended his empire throu&h marria&e alliances#