Seekhe

History Notes Part III – Important Dynasty (Static GK Material for Competitive Exams)

by ·

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Important History notes, Lucent G.K. material for History, Gupta Dynasty, Kushans, Sangam Period, The Cheras, The Pandyas, The Chola Kingdom, Indian Napolean, History Notes, History Notes for Competitive Exams. Important Dynasties of Ancient India and Medieval India, Gupta Period, One Liners for History. 

Kushans

  • The main ruler of Kushans was Kanishka. He is known for starting ”Saka era” which started from 78 AD. He is also known as ‘Second Ashoka’.
  • Kushans ruled in two dynasties- a. Kadphises and b. Kanishkas.
  • The first capital of Kushan dynasty was Purushpur and Mathura was their second capital.
  • The successors of Kanishka were Varisha, Huvishka, Kanishka II and Vasudeva I.
  • The downfall of kingdom started during the rule of Vasudeva II in middle of 2nd century AD. Vasudeva II was the last Kushan ruler.

SANGAM PERIOD (1-3 century AD)

The main kingdoms of Sangam Period were The Cheras, The Cholas and The Pandyas.

The Cheras

  • The Chera kingdom occupied the portion of states of Kerela and Tamil Nadu.
  • The Capital of Chera kingdom was Vanjii.
  • The Romans built a temple of Augustus at Muzris, which was a main port of Chera kingdom.
  • Udiyangeral was a well-known ruler of Chera kingdom. He was given the title of Udiyangeral because he fed both the armies of Kurukshetra war.
  • Senguttuvam was the greatest Chera King. He was the founder of Pattini cult related to worship of goddess of chastity-Kannagi.

The Cholas

  • Chola kingdom was also known as Cholamandalam. Chola kingdom was situated between rivers Pennar and Vellar.
  • Chola kingdom was to the North East of Pandya Kingdom.
  • Tanjore and Tiruchchirappalli districts are the present places of Chola kingdom.
  • Uraiyaur was the capital of Chola kingdom and Puhar, a main port was alternative capital of Chola kingdom.
  • Elara, who conquered Sri Lanka was the earliest known ruler. He ruled Sri Lanka for 50 years.
    Karikala was the greatest king of Cholas. He founded Puhar (presently Kaveripattanam) and he constructed 160 km of embankment along Kaveri river.
  • The Chola kingdom ended with the attack of Pallavas from the North.

The Pandyas

  • Pandyas were first mentioned by Megasthanese. According to him the kingdom of Pandyas was famous for Pearls.
  • The modern districts of Pandya Kingdon are Tirunelvelli, Ramand and Madhurai in Tamil Nadu.
  • The Capital of Pandyas was Madhurai, which is situated on the banks of river Vaigai.
  • Mudukudumi was the earliest known Pandyan ruler. The greatest Pandya king was Nendujeban.

GUPTA PERIOD (319 AD – 540 AD)

Gupta Dynasty was founded in 4th century by Chandragupta I in Magadha. Gupta Dynasty extended from the Brahmaputra to the Yamuna and Chambal, from the Himalayas to the Narmada. Gupta Dynasty ruled for more than 200 years.

Chandragupta I (319-334 AD)

  • Chandragupta I founded the Dynasty and assumed the title Maharajadhiraj.
  • He strengthened his kingdom with the help of matrimonial alliances with powerful kingdom.
  • He married Lichchhvi princess Kumaradevi. This marriage earned him enormous power, resources and prestige.
  • He ruled over Magadha, Prayaga and Saketa. Chandragupta I started the Gupta Era in 319-20 AD.
  • He was succeeded by his son Ghatotkach.

Samudragupta (335-380 AD)

  • Samudragupta was the greatest ruler of Gupta Dynasty.
  • He annexed the territories of Central India and Gangetic Valley and defeated the South Indian rulers.
  • Samudragupta was also known as the Indian Napoleon as he never suffered a defeat in the battlefield.
  • During reign of Samudragupta, Meghavarma the king of Sri Lanka sent an embassy for his permission to build monastery at Bodh Gaya.

Chandragupta II or Chandragupta Vikramaditya (380-414 AD)

  • Samudragupta was succeeded by Ramgupta. But Ramgupta was a coward and impotent king.
  • He agreed to surrender his wife Dhruvadevi to Saka invader. But the younger brother of Ramagupta, Chandragupta II disguished as queen and killed the Saka invader.
  • Chandragupta II killed his brother Ramagupta seized the throne and also married his widow Dhruvadevi.
  • He also married Kubernaga of Naga dynasty which helped him to extend his empire.
  • He also established matrimonial alliance with Vakataka kingdom by marrying his daughter Prabhavatigupta to Vakataka prince Rudrasena II.
  • Fahien, a Chinese pilgrim, visited India and during the reign of Chandragupta II and described the kingdom and administration in his travelogue ‘fo-gu-oji’.

Kumaragupta I (414-455 AD)

  • Kumaragupta I assumed throne after his father Chandragupta II. Kumaragupta I worshipped God Kartikeya.
  • He founded the Nalanda Mahavihara.

Skandagupta (455-467 AD)

  • Skandagupta was the son of Kumaragupta. He was the last ruler of Gupta dynasty.
  • During his father reign the kingdom was threatened by Huns. He succeeded in defeating Huns.
  • The kingdom weakened due to the continuous attacks by the Huns. The result of which kingdom declined after the death of Skandagupta.

Also Read :

Tags:

You may also like...