Establishment of Empires and Kingdoms in India

 Establishment of Empires and Kingdoms in India
Political History: Establishment of Empires and Kingdoms

 Persians under Cyrus the Great and Macedonians under Alexander the Great dominated India

322 B.C.

 Mauryan Empire

o   Chandragupta Maurya- harsh but effective governance

o   Bindusara- continued to expand the empire

o   Asoka- greatest of the Mauryan leaders; renounced violence and followed Buddhism (“ahimsa”- avoidance of violent means and instead respect of all living things)

• Succeeding leaders were not effective in controlling the empire

320 C.E.

 Gupta Empire- had a well organized government

o   Chandragupta I

o   Samudraguptra

o   Chandragupta II

• The empire’s power waned and collapsed in the hands of new conquerors
• White Huns (Iranians or Turks)-failed to establish an empire

606 C.E.

 Harsha Vardhana – temporarily unified several empires

o   Encouraged literature, arts and Buddhism

 Harsha Vardhana

 After the fall of the Gupta dynasty, there came up a new royal dynasty in Thaneswar near Kurukshetra in the seventh century A.D. The star ruler of this dynasty was Harsha Vardhana, whose regime lasted for a long period from 606 through 647 A.D.

He shifted his capital to Kanauj in the North West. An acclaimed author, Harsha Vardhana scripted the Sanskrit plays Ratnavali, Naganandam, and Priyadarshika. Banabhatta, who authored Harshacharita and Kadambari, was one of Harsha’s prominent courtiers.

Though a Hindu, Harsha Vardhana offered generous services to Buddhism. Once Harsha disappeared from the scene, it took a long time before north India became a unified empire again – during the reign of the celebrated Moghul or Mughal Emperor, Akbar.

648 C.E.

Experienced political disintegration which continued for hundreds of years until the establishment of the Mogul Empire by the Muslims in India (16^th century)