Vallabhi was occupied as early as theHarappan period,[1] and was later part of theMaurya Empire from about 322 BCE until 185 BCE.
Sculptural depiction of the second Vallabhi Council with AcharyaDevardhigani Kshamashraman in the center and other Jain monks surrounding him and writing the canonical scriptures at Vallabhi.
TheSatavahana dynasty ruled the area, off and on, from the late second century BCE until the early third century CE. TheGupta Empire held the area from approximately 319 CE to 467 CE.[2]
In the fifth century (CE), the first twoMaitraka rulers, Bhatarka and Dharasena I, only used the title ofSenapati (general). The third ruler, Dronasimha (Dronasena[7]), declared himselfMaharaja (literally "Great King").[8] King Guhasena came after him. Unlike his predecessors, the king stopped using the termParamabhattaraka Padanudhyata alongside his name, a term that denotes nominal allegiance to the Gupta overlords. He was succeeded by his son Dharasena II, who used the titleMahadhiraja. The next ruler was his son, Siladitya-I Dharmaditya, who was described by the Chinese scholar and travellerXuanzang as a "monarch of great administrative ability and of rare kindness and compassion". Siladitya I was succeeded by his younger brother Kharagraha I.[9][10][11]
During the time of Kharagraha I, a copperplate grant was found from 616 CE that shows that his territories includedUjjain. During the reign of the next ruler, his son Dharasena III, north Gujarat was assimilated into the kingdom. Dharasena II was succeeded by another son of Kharagraha I, Dhruvasena II, Baladitya. He married the daughter ofHarshavardhana and their son Dharasena IV assumed the imperial titles ofParamabhattaraka Mahrajadhiraja Parameshvara Chakravartin and Sanskrit poetBhatti was his court poet. The next powerful ruler of this dynasty was Siladitya III. After him, Siladitya V ruled, and it is suspected that during his reign, there was an Arab Invasion. The last known ruler of the dynasty was Siladitya VII.[8][9]
The rule of the Maitrakas is believed to have ended during the second or third quarter of the eighth century when theArabs invaded.[12][13]
Evolution of Brahmi numerals from the time of Ashoka, including the numerals from the Valahbi inscriptionsc. 600 CE.
Religious inscriptions are known from Valhabi, which were dedicated to the Brahmans as well as the Buddhist and Jains.[14] The IndologistSylvain Lévi wrote an article entitled"Les donations religieuses des rois de Valhabi".[15]
^Patel, Ambika (2007). "Material Culture and Technology of Early Historic Gujarat, Western India".Proceedings of the Indian History Congress.68 (Part Two):1377–1400.
^"M. Sylvain Levi (Les donations religieuses des rois de Valhabi) analyse, d'après les documents de l'époque, les donations faites, du VI au VIII siècle de notre ère, par les souverains de ce petit royaume bindou ou plutôt rajpoute, en faveur des communautés brahmaniques, bouddbiques et jainas, avec un éclectisme que Tauteur rappelle n'être pas rare dans l'Inde préislamique."Revue de l'histoire des religions (in French). Presses Universitaires de France [etc.] 1896. p. 345.
