Gupta Dynasty

The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire that existed from the mid-3rd century to the mid-6th century CE. The empire was founded by Sri Gupta and ruled by his descendant Chandragupta I, who became the first emperor of the dynasty around 320 CE. The empire’s peak was marked by a period of cultural and scientific advancements, and is often referred to as India’s Golden Age.

Administratively, the Gupta kingdom was divided into provinces, and these in turn were divided into smaller units called pradeshas or vishayas. The provinces were governed by high imperial officers or members of the royal family. A decentralized system of authority is indicated by the composition of Gupta-era municipal boards.

The first ruler of the empire was Chandra Gupta I, who united the Guptas with the Licchavis by marriage. His son, the celebrated Samudra Gupta, expanded the empire through conquest. It would seem that his campaigns extended Gupta power in northern and eastern India and virtually eliminated the oligarchies and the minor kings of central India and the Ganges valley, regions which then came under the direct administrative control of the Guptas. The empire’s third ruler, Chandra Gupta II (or Vikramaditya, “Sun of Valour”), was celebrated for extending the empire to Ujjain, but his reign became more associated with cultural and intellectual achievements than with military conquest. His successors—Kumara Gupta, Skanda Gupta, and others—saw the gradual demise of the empire with the invasion of the Hunas (a branch of the Hephthalites). By the mid-6th century, when the dynasty apparently came to an end, the kingdom had dwindled to a small size.