History of India

[Neal Robbins]

The family which founded the Gupta empire in northern India originally ruled a small kingdom near Magadha. It was in what is now Bihar. A Gupta king named Sri Gupta built a temple where Chinese monks could worship while on pilgrimage in India. Ghaotkacha was the son of Sri Gupta. His son Chandragupta I took the initial step on the road toward expanding the Gupta domain and creating a large empire. In 320 A.D. Chandragupta married a Licchavi princess named Kumaradevi. This united the two kingdoms. Chandragupta took the title Maharajadhiraja ("Great King of Kings"). Gold coins were issued in commemoration of his marriage.
Chandragupta also made some military conquests. He took part of Bengal.
In 335 A.D. his son Samudragupta came to the throne. He also expanded the empire by subduing the princes of the Gangetic plain. His military campaigns went as far south as Kanchipuram. Samudragupta died in 380 and his son Rama Gupta succeeded him. Rama Gupta was captured in a battle with Shaka Satrap and had to abdicate when he was released. But Rama Gupta's brother Vikramaditya (Chandragupta II) had Shaka Satrap killed and was able to take the throne.
Chandragupta II married the daughter of King Rudrasena II of the Deccan. This gave Chandragupta a powerful ally. He defeated the Satraps of Malwa, Gujarat, and Saurashtra. That campaign lasted until 409. By 395 he had conquered much of Bengal and defeated his main rival Rudrasimha III.
Kumaragupta, also known as Mahendraditya, ruled until 455. In the last part of his reign, a tribe of the Nerbudda Valley, known as the Rushamitras, threatened the Gupta empire. Kumaragupta's successor Skandagypta defeated the Rushamitras, but a new threat soon appeared. A branch of the Huns invaded northern India. Fighting with the Huns financially drained the Gupta government. Skandagupta died in 480 and was succeeded by his son Narasimhagupta Baladitya. Buddagupta and Purugupta were the next rulers. The last Gupta monarch was Vishnugupta, who ruled from 540 to 550. The Gupta emperors in the late period of the empire fought a losing war with the Huns. Although the Huns established their rule in northern India, they could not keep control of it for long. After a few decades their dominion became seriously weakened. A man named Harsha rose to power and reunited Northern India.
Many cultural and scientific achievements took place during the time of the Gupta empire. For example, the great astronomer Aryabhatta correctly concluded that the earth is a sphere and that it rotates on its axis. He also made the observation that the earth rotates around the sun. Furthermore, Aryabhatta determined the exact causes of eclipses.
The great poet Kalidasa spent time in the court of Vikramaditya. Kalidasa wrote Meghdoot and Kumarsanhita. He was also the author of the play titled Shakuntala (I have read a translation of Shakuntala.).
The mathematician Varahamira did work with developing the use of decimal points. He also calculated the value of pi. His treatise Bhrihatasamhita has an enormous amount of mathematical data.
All in all, the time of the Gupta empire is a significant period for India.

Neal Robbins

P.S. The Guptas did a lot of trading with Rome. After 300 A.D. their trade with Rome declined and they began to carry on commerce with the countries of Southeast Asia. The Guptas imported a considerable amount of gold and silver from that region.

[Neal Robbins]

Humayun was the second emperor of the Mughal dynasty of India. He came to power in 1530 when his father Babur died. Babur had founded the Mughal empire. Humayun took the throne and things went well for a while. But in 1540 the Afghan ruler Sher Khan defeated him and took over the Mughal domain in northern India. Humayun was exiled and had to go to Iran (then called Persia). His journey there involved a certain hazard. While he and his party (which included his family) were traveling, the governor of Kandahar was determined to have him captured and sent a letter to the Baluchi tribal leaders. The letter contained orders to apprehend Humayun and bring him to Kandahar.
A Baluchi chieftan named Malik Khati organized a party to look for Humayun. Humayun and his group arrived at Malik Khati's village while Malik Khati was absent. The Baluchi villagers were very nice to Humayun and his group and invited them to stay for the night. Hospitality has long been a Baluchi tradition. Malik Khati and his men arrived at the village in the early evening. Malik Khati said to Humayun, "If I had met you out on the open road, I would have had to arrest you and take you to the governor of Kandahar. But since you are a guest in my village, I cannot do that. In our traditional culture, it is dishonorable to hand over a guest to an enemy. Hence we shall show you respect and give you safe escort to the king of Persia."
So Malik Khati let Humayun and his party stay in the village for a few days. Then Malik Khati and his men escorted Humayun and his group to the border of Persia. The Persian king Tahmasp (He was of the Safavi dynasty.) welcomed Humayun, but he had some ulterior motives. Tahmasp knew that Humayun's wife Begam was a devout Shiite Muslim, though Humayun was of the Sunnite branch of Islam. Humayun signed an agreement stating his conversion to the Shiite branch and that worked to his advantage.
Humayun eventually returned to Delhi, India in 1555 with some Persian troops. He won a major battle against Firuz Shah, the grandson of Sher Khan. Thus Humayun regained his throne. Humayun died the following year. His thirteen year old son Akhbar became ruler under the regent Bairam Khan.

Neal Robbins

P.S. It can certainly be said that the Baluchi chieftan named Malik Khati affected the course of history by helping Humayun.

P.P.S. I have studied the Baluchi language to a considerable extent. It is an Indo-Iranian language and is spoken in a number of places, including Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan. Baluchi is an interesting language; I thoroughly enjoyed studying it. I have read some Baluchi literature (in Baluchi), including poetry and short stories.

[Neal Robbins]

Kanishka I was the son of Vima Kadphises and succeeded him as ruler of the Kushan empire. During Kanishka's reign (100-144 A.D.) a lot of significant things happened. The empire expanded to a considerable extent. It covered a large amount of the Indian subcontinent, from Kashmir to the coast of Gujarat, which was much farther to the south.
Kanishka made conquests in Central Asia and took territory that had been ruled by China. Kushan rule extended as far east in what is now the Tarim Basin.
Kanishka was very much involved with Buddhism. He had a hand in the activities of the 4th Buddhist Council in Kashmir. The council had a goal of spreading Mahayana Buddhism. Kanishka made a profound contribution to Buddhist architecture. He had the great stupa constructed in Peshawar. Archaeologists have examined the remains of the structure and determined that it had a diameter of 286 feet. Ancient Chinese manuscripts tell of Buddhist pilgrims reporting that the stupa had a height of 591-689 feet. [Note - These measurements they stated were in Chinese units, which were 600-700. This measurement translates into 591-689 feet.
Kanishka's religious affiliation was not confined to Buddhism. He supported both the Gandhara school of Greco-Buddhist art and the Hindu art school of Mathura. Kanishka's personal religious beliefs apparently included doctrines of Buddhism and the cult of Mithra, which began in Persia.
Buddhist monks of Gandhara did a lot of missionary work during the reign of Kanishka. A Kushan monk named Lokasema translated Mahanyana Buddhist writings into Chinese. He also set up a translation agency at the Chinese capital of Loyang.
Greek cultural elements were still present in the society of the Kushans. Coins minted during Kanishka's reign have inscriptions written in the Greek alphabet. Greek images of gods are also on the coins. Kushan coinage of Kanishka's time also includes Hindu, Buddhist, and Persian figures of deities.
Kanishka had a great deal of control over the land and sea trade routes. The Kushan empire did a huge amount of trading with Rome.
Kanishka I was often referred to as "Kanishka the Great". Although two later kings would also bear the name Kanishka, their status did not compare with that of Kanishka I.

Neal Robbins

P.S. This is an example of a coin minted during the reign of Kanishka I:

Obverse: Kanishka is standing and is wearing a heavy Kushan coat and boots. Flames are coming out of his shoulders. He holds a standard in his left hand and is making sacrifices over an altar. A Kushan legend on the coin says: SHAONANOSHAO KANHSHKI KOSHANO. It means "King of Kings, Kanishka the Kushan". This inscription was made in Greek letters.

Reverse: A Buddha is standing in Hellenistic style. He makes the reassuring gesture with his right hand. The Buddha holds a part of his robe with his left hand. A legend says BODDO (Buddha). It is inscribed in Greek letters.

A silver coin has this pattern:

Obverse: Kanishka is standing. A legend says BASILEUS BASILEON KANISHKOY. It means "King of Kings, Kanishka".

Reverse: There is an image of the Greek sun god Helios. An inscription says ILIOS (Helios).

[Neal Robbins]

Huvishka succeeded Kanishka I and ruled until about 164 A.D. Records of his reign have been found at Wardak, which is near Kabul. Huvishka took a number of titles; one was Devaputra, which means "son of god".
Huvishka did some impressive things during his reign. He had some splendid palaces constructed near Mathura. Huvishka also founded a city called Huvishka, which was named after him. This city was built in Kashmir.
Huvishka minted many gold and copper coins. These are examples:

Copper coin
Obverse: The king riding an elephant
Reverse: The moon goddess Mao
Weight: 5.65 gm.

Gold coin
Obverse: Bust of the king
Reverse: Moon goddess Mao. A crescent is on her head.
Weight: 7.9 gm.

Gold coin
Obverse: Huvishka is riding on an elephant. He has a trident in his right hand and an elephant prod in the left one.
Reverse: Herakles (Hercules) is portrayed as standing. He wears a lion skin headdress and is holding a club in his right hand. The object in his left hand may be a gourd.
Weight: 7.67 gm.

Huvishka made some noteworthy achievements, but a certain point should about his reign. The Kushan empire was no longer expanding. It was actually starting to decrease in size. The Kushans lost territory that was beyond Bactria in Central Asia.

Neal Robbins

[Neal Robbins]

Vasudeva I succeeded Huvishka as ruler of the Kushan empire. The reign of Vasudeva lasted until 200 A.D.
Greek and Persian cultural aspects sharply decreased. The Indian elements were clearly dominant. For example, images of Greek and Zoroastrian deities were no longer shown on coins. Coins were minted depicting Shiva or Lakshmi, both of which are Hindu deities. Most of the coins of Vasudeva's reign hav Shiva and the sacred bull Nandi on the reverse side. Legends were in Kharosthi. This is an example of a coin pattern:

Gold coin:
Obverse: The king is standing left. He wears a sword and holds a trident above an altar. The king is pointing a second trident to the right.
Reverse: Shiva is facing; he is holding a diadem and a trident. The sacred bull is to the left.
Weight: 7.91 g.

Vasudeva I was the last powerful Kushan king. After he died, the empire went into a state of decline under his successors. It split into eastern and western halves. Foreign invaders began taking a considerable amount of territory from the Kushans.

Neal Robbins

[Neal Robbins]

These are the main Kushan rulers who came after Vasudeva I:

Kanishka II 225-240 A.D.
Vashishka 240-250 A.D.
Kanishka III 255-275 A.D.
Vasudeva 290-310 A.D.
Shaka 325-345 A.D.
Kipunda 350-375 A.D.

During the reign of Kanishka II, the Sassanian Persians invaded Bactria and northern India. This cost the Kushans a considerable amount of land. Around 270 A.D. they lost territory on the Gangetic plain.
Foreign military invasions were not the only problem. The Kushan merchants were losing trade with Rome. Competition from South Indian traders was a major reason. Coastal parts of South India, such as Kerala, were increasing their commerce and trading very much with Rome. For example, Kerala was exporting many textiles.
Kipunda was the last Kushan monarch of any significance. After his reign, the Kushan empire was fragmented into a number of petty states. In the 5th century A.D. the Hephthalites (White Huns) smashed those remnants of the Kushan empire.

Neal Robbins

P.S. The goddess Ardoksho was depicted on many coins minted during the reigns of the later Kushan monarchs. This is an example of a coin pattern from the reign of Kipunda:

Gold state
Obverse: King holding trident in his raised left hand. He holds a lowered trident in his right hand over an altar.
Reverse: The goddess Ardoksho is sitting on a throne and facing. She is holding a cornucopeia. Tamgha is in the upper left field.

[luv2trip]

There is an exhibit of Indian painting - Domains of Wonder - first in San Diego and later will travel to Boston. Here's a link with more info and some excellent images.

http://www.iatwm.com/200510/DomainsofWonder/index.html