Chandragupta I: The Great Dynasty Of The Samudragupta Dynasty

Chandragupta I was the first great ruler of this dynasty who ruled from 320 AD to 335 AD. He expanded the empire by conquering kingdoms of Prayag, Magadha and Nepal. He made use of matrimonial alliances to expand the empire along the Gangetic plain. Samudragupta, the son of Chandragupta I, ascended the throne of the Gupta Empire in 335 AD and ruled till 380 AD. Samudragupta was known for his military prowess and is known as the Napoleon of India. He carried out a series of military conquests and conquered Afghanistan and Kashmir in the north. His empire stretched over the most of northern and central India. He was also a poet and patronized music and art. He tried to modernize the monetary system through the minting of different types of gold coins. Samudragupta was succeeded by his son, Chandragupta II (also called Vikramaditya), who ruled from 380 AD to 415 AD and was the greatest ruler of the dynasty. He expanded the Gupta Empire by annexing Gujarat and Malwa to an already vast territory. He set up his second capital at Ujjain and transformed it into a religious and commercial center of India. The Gupta Empire maintained a large army and was a very powerful empire in the world during his period. …show more content…
Harshavardhan of Kannauj was able to conquer these small kingdoms and establish the Empire of Harsha, with capital at Kannuaj. Harsha patronized art and learning and made several endowments to the Nalanda University. The Harsha Empire covered the whole of northern India and lasted from 606 AD until the death of Harsha in 647 AD. There was general prosperity in the kingdom and it attracted tourists and scholars from other Asian countries. The Chinese traveler, Xian Tsang, who visited India during the reign of Harshavardhan was positively surprised with the state of affairs during Harsha’s reign. The empire disintegrated into small kingdoms after the death of