History, asked by uttamds6254, 1 year ago

Samudragupta why he his called the indian napelon

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Answered by sonabrainly
0

He is called Napoleon of India for his monumental achievements in a single lifetime and amazing military prowess, and his lifestyle. He is also credited with reunification of India to a great extent for the first time since Mauryan Empire.



Then he marched on his biggest rival and the last remaining state in India that had not submitted - the huge Vakataka kingdom. After heavy fighting he also managed to defeat them and was able to crown himself Samrat Chakravarin Maharajadhiraj, Emperor and Lord paramount of India.


He spent the rest of his life fighting small border wars in Himalayas, or to the east of Bengal, or subduing the few tiny states that managed to remain out of his reach. And then back at home trying to govern his huge territory efficiently and keep his economy intact after a generation of warfare.


The result was, beginning with a small stagnating and unstable realm, Samudragupta turned it into a giant empire which enjoyed prestige from Rome, Constantinople and Ctesiphon all the way to Luoyang and Jiankang. His policies of matrimonial alliance followed by clever threatening and blockading turned every other kingdom within India into his vassal, and a nominal part of his empire. Where the policy didn't work (like in case of Vakatakas for example), he simply marched over them and fought until they were too exhausted to keep waging war, and thus forced them to submit.


He created the largest military of his time, and the most powerful and effective navy of the late antiquity era. His army was capable of matching the prowess of Mauryan Empire's military that had died centuries ago. He also initiated construction of walled towns and restored older border outposts that had been dormant for a long, long time.


Economically, his vast empire easily became richest in the world. India had trade links from China to Rome both on land and sea. His navy patrolled around India and to some extent in Southeast Asia (a sort of Indian colony at the time), which kept piracy and naval threats minimum. His gold coins are found everywhere along north India. The wealth of the Gupta India was never matched again until a millenia later.


He also designed a great administration system that helped him further his goals a lot. He completely overhauled the method of government and ruling that had been the norm until his rules...and being a strong supporter of Vedic system he designed it around that. The system was way too dependent on personal ability and attitude of ruler and gave too much power to his vassals, but as long as it worked it turned out to be marvelous (until death of Emperor Skandagupta). He also created a  very elaborate criminal and civil justice system, which worked wonders in keeping crime low and was praised by Indians as well as travellers of his time.


Culturally, India got into a golden age. This kind of stability and outflow of culture was never seen again until Mughal Empire a millenia later. Arts and knowledge started to flourish. Architectural construction reached a new height. Most of this would happen under the similarly excellent reign of his son, but Samudragupta was the man who laid the foundation for this era of peace and stability.


On a more intimate level, Samudragupta is known for his impressive personality. Ironically for a general, he was also an amazing poet, known to have participated and won in major poetry competitions and meetings. He was a man of culture, with a large record of holding patronage over various art fields and he himself was a good Veena player. He was not known to be ruthless in treatment of the citizens of his empire, conquered or otherwise. He was also adapt in personal combat like most other Indian princes, specializing in battle axes and archery, and he is known to have been personally jumped into the fighting around various battles.


He was also a staunchly religious man. Now this is where his major flaw lies - his economic, religious and social weren't an issue in his time but in the long run they gave rise to caste system of Hinduism.


Ironically, unlike Napoleon, Samudragupta is not known to have been defeated once. His campaigns against Vakataka kingdom got him into tough spots but he somehow managed to climb out and win in the end. There is not a single defeat attributed to him.


His son turned out to be as great an emperor as him. His empire was the foundation of Classical Era of Indian history.


He is considered one of India's most brilliant emperors of all time, and probably the best military commander in Indian history ever.


In fact, I would say, Napoleon was a somewhat less successful Samudragupta of France.


Answered by raunak025
0
Samudragupta (335-375 AD) of the Gupta dynasty is known as the Napoleon of India. Historian A V Smith called him so because of his great military conquests known from the 'Prayag Prashati' written by his courtier and poet Harisena, who also describes him as the hero of a hundred battles.
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