Later Gupta dynasty | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c. 6th century CE–c. 8th century CE | |||||||||||||
!["Swordsman type" gold coin of Mahasenagupta from the 6th century CE. On the obverse, the King is shown holding a sword in his left hand. On the reverse, a Goddess is shown seated in a lotus pose.[1] of Later Gupta dynasty](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aSwordsman_type_coinage_of_Mahasenagupta_of_the_Later_Gupta_dynasty.png) "Swordsman type" gold coin ofMahasenagupta from the 6th century CE. On the obverse, the King is shown holding a sword in his left hand. On the reverse, a Goddess is shown seated in a lotus pose.[1] | |||||||||||||
  The later Gupta dynasty at its zenith, and its neighbours.[2] | |||||||||||||
| Capital | Pataliputra | ||||||||||||
| Religion | |||||||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||
• Established | c. 6th century CE | ||||||||||||
• Disestablished | c. 8th century CE | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
TheLater Gupta dynasty, also known as theLater Guptas of Magadha, were the rulers ofMagadha andMalwa from the 6th to 8th centuries CE. The Later Guptas emerged after the disintegration of theImperial Guptas. However, there is no evidence to connect the two dynasties and the Later Guptas may have adopted the -gupta suffix to link themselves with the Imperial Guptas.[3]
There are several important sources of information regarding the Later Guptas including two epigraphs, theAphsad inscription of Ādityasena, which sets out the genealogy of the ruling family from Kṛṣṇagupta to Ādityasena, and the Deo Baranark inscription of Jīvitagupta II. TheHarshacharita ofBāṇabhaṭṭa is also an important source of information as are the records of the Chinese pilgrimsXuanzang andYijing which also mentions them. TheGaudavaho of Vākpatirāja refers to the victory of KingYashovarman of theVarman dynasty against the king of Magadha, with the scholarly consensus being that this is a reference to Jīvitagupta II.[4][5]
The general consensus among researchers of the period is that the Later Guptas emerged from theMagadha region of what is nowBihar inIndia. The reasoning behind this is that all inscriptions relating to the dynasty have been found in this region. ANepalese inscription also refers to King Ādityasena as the "Lord of Magadha". They were likely originally feudatories under theImperial Guptas and came into possession of large territories in Magadha following the fall of the Empire.[6]
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After the decline of theGupta Empire, the Later Guptas succeeded them as the rulers ofMagadha.[3] The daughter of the dynasty's founder Krishnagupta is said to have married prince Adityavarman of theMaukhari dynasty. According to theAphsad inscription of Ādityasena, Krishnagupta's grandson Jivitagupta carried out military expeditions in the Himalayan region and southwesternBengal.[7]
During the reign of Jivitagupta's son Kumaragupta, the dynasty developed a rivalry with the Maukharis for control of theGanges valley.[4] Kumaragupta defeated the Maukhari kingIshanavarman in 554 CE, and extended his territory toPrayaga. His son Damodaragupta suffered reverses against the Maukharis and was pushed back into Magadha.[7]
Damodaragupta's sonMahasenagupta allied with thePushyabhuti dynasty. His sister married the rulerAdityavardhana. He invadedKamarupa and defeatedSusthita Varman.[7] But he subsequently faced three invaders: the Maukhari kingSharvavarman, the Kamarupa kingSupratishthita-varman, and theTibetan kingSongtsen. His vassalShashanka also abandoned him (and later established the independentGauda Kingdom). The Maukhari kingSharvavarman is thought to have defeated Damodaragupta, invading Magadha circa 575 CE, which made him ruler of the entireUttar Pradesh.[8][9] Under these circumstances, Mahasenagupta was forced to flee Magadha, and take shelter inMalwa. Subsequently, the Pushyabhuti emperorHarsha (ruledc. 606 – c. 647 CE) restored the Later Gupta rule in Magadha, and they ruled as Harsha's vassals.[3]
After Harsha's death, the Later Gupta ruler Adityasena became the sovereign ruler of a large kingdom extending from theGanges in the north to theChhota Nagpur in the south; and fromGomati River in the west to theBay of Bengal in the east.[10] However, he was defeated by theChalukyas.[11]
Jivitagupta II, the last known ruler of the dynasty, appears to have been defeated byYashovarman of theVarman dynasty of Kannauj circa 750 CE.[10]
Coinage from the reign of the Later Gupta kings has been relatively scarce. So far the only coins discovered are from the period ofMahasenagupta who ruled from 562-601 CE. The numismatic evidence makes it clear that the Later Guptas were devoutShaivites with depictions ofNandi replacing the depictions ofGaruda that were present in the coinage of the imperial Guptas. Two types of coinage from Mahasenagupta's reign have been discovered, the "archer type" and the "swordsman type".[1]
The known Later Gupta rulers include:[12][13][14]
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A small kingdom that ruled the area aroundLakhisarai district during the 11th and 12th centuries bore the nameGupta and have subsequently been linked as a surviving line of the Later Guptas.[15]Evidence of their rule comes from the Panchob copper-plate inscription which was discovered in 1919.[16]
