Discribe in brief the downfall of the Gupta's empire
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The most important cause of the downfall of the Gupta Empire was the dissention within the royal family. Possibly after the death of Kumar Gupta I, his sons fought among themselves for the throne. His second son Skandagupta ascended the throne by defeating his two other brothers, Purugupta and Ghatotkachagupta II. We find another war of succession when after the death of Puru Gupta, the empire was virtually partitioned among Bhanugupta in the west, Narsimhagupta in the centre and Vinyagupta in Bengal in the east. Of course our knowledge about these wars of succession and its real extent are still miger for paucity of adequate information’s. Yet this is true that these wars of successions had tremendously weakened the hold of the central authority over the various provinces and the feudatories.
The second fundamental cause of the fall of the Gupta Empire was the invasions of the Vakatakas of Deccan. Samudragupta’s victorious march into Deccan East left the Vakataka power of Western Deccan unscathed. The Vakatakas were the western neighbor of the Guptas and they could easily put the empire in trouble by dint of their geographical position. In order to avert of any possible clash with the Vakatakas Chandragupta II made a matrimonial alliance with them by giving marriage of her daughter Prabhavati Gupta with the Vakataka king Rudrasena II. But Chandragupta II’s successors maintained no peaceful relation with the Vakataka rulers. That was why during Budhagupta’s rule the Vakataka king Narendrasena invaded Malwa, Kosala and Mekala. His invasion considerably weakened the authority of the Gupta Kingdom over the vast tract of Central India and Bundelkhand. In later years Vakataka king Harishena further conquered Malwa and Gujrat from the Imperial Guptas.
The later Gupta’s embraced Buddhism while their predecessors were staunch Hindus. The change of religion had reflection over their political and military activities. It is true due to non-violent pacific influence of the Buddhism the late Gupta’s did not care to follow a strong and vigorous military and foreign policy. The lack of militant spirit of the later Gupta’s simply paved the ground for the unscrupulous enemies and powerful feudatories to hit hard the dying Gupta Empire. The Gupta Kingdom was on the declining trend.
Narsimhagupta and his successors ruled in diminished glory in Magadha, Northern Bengal and part of Kalinga. We are not yet very sure exactly when and how the Gupta empire breathed its last. However, the Maukharis ultimately overthrew the Gupta rule from Magadha, sometimes in or about 554 A.D.
The second fundamental cause of the fall of the Gupta Empire was the invasions of the Vakatakas of Deccan. Samudragupta’s victorious march into Deccan East left the Vakataka power of Western Deccan unscathed. The Vakatakas were the western neighbor of the Guptas and they could easily put the empire in trouble by dint of their geographical position. In order to avert of any possible clash with the Vakatakas Chandragupta II made a matrimonial alliance with them by giving marriage of her daughter Prabhavati Gupta with the Vakataka king Rudrasena II. But Chandragupta II’s successors maintained no peaceful relation with the Vakataka rulers. That was why during Budhagupta’s rule the Vakataka king Narendrasena invaded Malwa, Kosala and Mekala. His invasion considerably weakened the authority of the Gupta Kingdom over the vast tract of Central India and Bundelkhand. In later years Vakataka king Harishena further conquered Malwa and Gujrat from the Imperial Guptas.
The later Gupta’s embraced Buddhism while their predecessors were staunch Hindus. The change of religion had reflection over their political and military activities. It is true due to non-violent pacific influence of the Buddhism the late Gupta’s did not care to follow a strong and vigorous military and foreign policy. The lack of militant spirit of the later Gupta’s simply paved the ground for the unscrupulous enemies and powerful feudatories to hit hard the dying Gupta Empire. The Gupta Kingdom was on the declining trend.
Narsimhagupta and his successors ruled in diminished glory in Magadha, Northern Bengal and part of Kalinga. We are not yet very sure exactly when and how the Gupta empire breathed its last. However, the Maukharis ultimately overthrew the Gupta rule from Magadha, sometimes in or about 554 A.D.
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After the downfall of the Kushanas in north and Sattavahanas in south, no great power had arisen in India. For more than a hundred years, India was divided into many independent states that continuously struggled for power. It was the Guptas who established a strong foundation of their Empire by coalescing the disintegrated republics. The Gupta period constituted the "Golden era" in history of ancient India. However, such a vast and strong foundation like the Guptas also declined due to the weak successors of Skandagupta. According to scholars there were several natural and local causes, which contributed to the collapse of the Guptas. Internal dissension, rebellion of the provincial governors, growth and feeling of the local independence and impact of foreign invasions, had chiefly worked behind the gradual decline and downfall of the Guptas.
The reign of Skandagupta marked the beginning of the decline of the Gupta Empire. In spite of the sweeping military success against the Pushyamitras and the Huns, the strain of constant war depleted the resources of the realm. The debased coinage and the lack of variety of coins during Skandagupta testified the financial drain of the royal exchequer of the Guptas. The death of Skandagupta and the short reign of Puru Gupta hastened the pace of decline. The latter rulers could not hold back the administration of the vast Gupta Empire. Buddha Gupta was the last great ruler who tried to halt the process of decline for sometime, but his hold over the western part of the Gupta Empire was very weak. The feudatories of Kathiawar and Bundelkhand region had assumed a semi-independent status during his reign. The Maitrakas of Valabhi became the hereditary rulers and unfurled the flag of their independence. The other provincial governors of Bundelkhand, Uchchakalpa etc. also declared their independence, defying the dominion of Buddha Gupta. In Jaipur, in Uttar Pradesh and in Narmada valley, the local governors became the de-facto sovereign. Brahmadatta, the governor of Pundravardhana in North Bengal had assumed the high-sounding title of 'Uparika Maharaja' and thus declared his independence. All these factors led to the decline of the Gupta authority in the outlying provinces during the reign of Buddhagupta. The Vakataka invasion in Malwa reduced the authority of Buddhagupta in that region also. As a result, forces of disintegration set within the Gupta Empire and it augmented after the death of Buddhagupta.
The reign of Skandagupta marked the beginning of the decline of the Gupta Empire. In spite of the sweeping military success against the Pushyamitras and the Huns, the strain of constant war depleted the resources of the realm. The debased coinage and the lack of variety of coins during Skandagupta testified the financial drain of the royal exchequer of the Guptas. The death of Skandagupta and the short reign of Puru Gupta hastened the pace of decline. The latter rulers could not hold back the administration of the vast Gupta Empire. Buddha Gupta was the last great ruler who tried to halt the process of decline for sometime, but his hold over the western part of the Gupta Empire was very weak. The feudatories of Kathiawar and Bundelkhand region had assumed a semi-independent status during his reign. The Maitrakas of Valabhi became the hereditary rulers and unfurled the flag of their independence. The other provincial governors of Bundelkhand, Uchchakalpa etc. also declared their independence, defying the dominion of Buddha Gupta. In Jaipur, in Uttar Pradesh and in Narmada valley, the local governors became the de-facto sovereign. Brahmadatta, the governor of Pundravardhana in North Bengal had assumed the high-sounding title of 'Uparika Maharaja' and thus declared his independence. All these factors led to the decline of the Gupta authority in the outlying provinces during the reign of Buddhagupta. The Vakataka invasion in Malwa reduced the authority of Buddhagupta in that region also. As a result, forces of disintegration set within the Gupta Empire and it augmented after the death of Buddhagupta.
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