Gupta Empire

Gupta Empire
c. 240–c. 579[1]
Map of the Gupta Empire c. 420 CE, according to Joseph E. Schwartzberg, with contemporary polities[2]
Status	Empire
Capital	Prayag[3][4][5][6] Ayodhya (after 455)[7][8][9][6]
Common languages	Sanskrit (literary and academic); Prakrit (vernacular)
Religion	Hinduism[10][11] (official) Buddhism[12] Jainism
Government	Monarchy
Maharajadhiraja
• c. 240 – c. 280	Gupta (first)
• c. 540 – c. 550	Vishnugupta (last)
Historical era	Classical India
• Established	c. 240
• Disestablished	c. 579[1]
Area
400 est.[13] (high-end estimate of peak area)	3,500,000 km2 (1,400,000 sq mi)
440 est.[14] (low-end estimate of peak area)	1,700,000 km2 (660,000 sq mi)
Population
• 5th century	75,000,000[15]
Currency	Dinara (gold coins) Rupaka (silver coins) Karshapana (copper coins) Cowries
Preceded by Succeeded by Western Satraps Nagas of Padmavati Pañcāla Arjunayanas Yaudheya Mahameghavahana dynasty Murunda dynasty Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom Later Guptas Kingdom of Valabhi Kingdom of Thanesar Gurjara kingdoms Aulikaras Maukhari Dynasty
Today part of	India Pakistan Bangladesh Nepal Afghanistan

The Gupta Empire was ruled by members of the Gupta dynasty from around 320 to 550 AD and covered most of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan and Pakistan with tributaries and vassals in parts of Central Asia and Southeast Asia. The time of the Gupta Empire is referred to as Golden Age of science, mathematics, astronomy, religion and philosophy in South Asia.

Plenty of information about this dynasty can be found through coins, inscriptions, monuments, and Sanskrit writings. The Gupta rulers were great conquerors and administrators. This brought on a series of invasions that weakened the empire, but many of their cultural and intellectual achievements were saved and transmitted to other cultures and live on today. Fa Hien visited India during the reign of Chandragupta II and stayed in this country for several years.

People lived a simple life. Goods were affordable and all round prosperity ensured that their requirements were met easily. Gold and silver coins were issued in great numbers which is a general indicative of the health of the economy. Trade and commerce flourished both within the country and outside. Silk, cotton, spices, medicine, priceless gemstones, pearl, precious metal and steel were exported by sea.^[source?]

1. ↑ Goyal, SR. History of the imperial Guptas. p. 367.
2. ↑ Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical atlas of South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 145, map XIV.1 (j); p.25. ISBN 0226742210. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
3. ↑ Sharma, R.S. (25 January 2007), "Rise and Growth of the Gupta Empire", India’s Ancient Past, Oxford University Press, p. 242, ISBN 978-0-19-568785-9, UP therefore seems to have been the place from where the Guptas operated and fanned out in different directions. Probably with their centre of power at Prayag, they spread into the neighbouring regions.
4. ↑ Cite error: The named reference ChaurasiaPrayag was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
5. ↑ Cite error: The named reference TRSharmaPrayag was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Cite error: The named reference GoyalPrayagAyodh was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
7. ↑ Cite error: The named reference AyodhyaKasi was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
8. ↑ Cite error: The named reference MookerjiAyodhKasi was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
9. ↑ Cite error: The named reference BakkerAyodhya was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
10. ↑ Sharma, Tej Ram (1978). Personal and geographical names in the Gupta inscriptions. Robarts - University of Toronto. Delhi : Concept. p. 112. An indication of the leaning of the Gupta kings towards Vaisnavism is clear from the Garuda emblem of the Guptas. The gupta monarchs also used the title 'Paramabhāgavata' i.e.; the devout devotee of Visnu, in their imperial records.
11. ↑ Bakker, Hans T. (12 March 2020). The Alkhan: A Hunnic People in South Asia. Barkhuis. p. 73. ISBN 978-94-93194-00-7. On the south banks of the Bina, the building of a religious complex dedicated to Vishnu, the Empire's tutelary deity, had expanded under Budhagupta.
12. ↑ pg.17 : Gupta Empire at its height (5th-6th centuries) connected with the development of Mahayana Buddhism with the development of Tantric Buddhism.Ganeri, Anita (2007). Buddhism. Internet Archive. London : Franklin Watts. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-7496-6979-9.
13. ↑ Turchin, Peter; Adams, Jonathan M.; Hall, Thomas D (December 2006). "East-West Orientation of Historical Empires". Journal of World-Systems Research. 12 (2): 223. doi:10.5195/JWSR.2006.369. ISSN 1076-156X.
14. ↑ Taagepera, Rein (1979). "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D". Social Science History. 3 (3/4): 121. doi:10.2307/1170959. JSTOR 1170959.
15. ↑ Angus Maddison (2001). "Growth of World Population, GDP and GDP Per Capita before 1820". p. 238.