Ancient and Medieval Indian Rulers

Amoghavarsha was the Rashtrakuta ruler to have sacrificed his fingers to Mahalakshmi. Amoghavarsha was a Rashtrakuta emperor and one of the great emperors of India. He deeply cared for his subjects and once when a calamity threatened to harm them, he offered his fingers as a sacrifice to the goddess Mahalakshmi. 

Emperor Kanishka belonged to the Kushan Dynasty. The rule of Kanishka,fifth Kushan king, who flourished for about 13 years from c. 127.  Kanishka was the son of Vima Kadphises and the grandson of Sadashkana. Kanishka's era was used as a calendar reference by the Kushans for about a century, until the decline of the Kushan realm. 

Saiyad dynasty ruled India during 1437-1451. The Sayyid dynasty was the fourth dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate from 1437 to 1451. They succeeded the Tughlaq dynasty and ruled Delhi sultanate until they were displaced by the Lodi dynasty. 

Chandragupta Maurya's empire extended in the North-West up to Hindu kush. Mainstream scholarship asserts that Chandragupta received vast territory in the west of the Indus, including the Hindu Kush and the Balochistan province of Pakistan. 

Samudragupta was related to the Licchavis on his mother's side. The Licchavis were the most famous clan amongst the ruling confederate clans of the Vajji Mahajanapada of ancient India. Samudragupta was described as the grandson of the Licchavis from his mother's side, in Allahabad Pillar inscription. 

The coins of the Guptas reveal their love for music. The Guptas had good proficiency in music and were accomplished lyrists. This fact is amply demonstrated in their lyrist type coins. These coins are unique, very special and rare. 

After the decline of the Guptas, a large part of North India was reunited by Harshavardhana. Under Harshavardhana, North India was reunited briefly, but neither the Guptas nor Harsha controlled a centralized state, and their administrative styles rested on the collaboration of regional and local officials. 

Solankis were the rulers of Gujarat. In Gujarat, Anhilwara served as their capital. Gujarat was a major center of Indian Ocean trade, and Anhilwara was one of the largest cities in India with an estimated population of 100,000 in the year 1000. 

Sakas were finally overthrown by Gautamiputra Satakarni. Gautamiputra Satakarni have defeated Sakas in 78 CE and started the calendar known as Shaka era, which is followed by the Gujarati, Marathi, Kannadiga and Telugu people and is today known as the Indian national calendar. 

The first king to have the image of Lord Buddha inscribed on his coins was Kanishka. The Buddhist coins of Kanishka are comparatively rare. Several coins show Kanishka on the obverse and the Buddha standing on the reverse, in Hellenistic style. 

Samudragupta has been called the 'Napoleon of India'. He was called so because he waged many wars. At first he defeated the rulers of Western UP and Delhi and brought them under his direct rule. Next, frontier states of Kamrupa (Assam), Bengal in the East and Punjab in the West, were made to accept his suzerainty. 

The earliest capital of Magadha Kingdom was Rajgir. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of the Ganges; its first capital was Rajgir and then Patna. 

Sarnath's Lion Capital is attributed to Ashoka. The Lion capital of Ashoka is a sculpture of four Indian lions standing back to back. It was originally placed at top of the Aśoka pillar at Sarnath in India by Emperor Ashoka circa 250 BC. 

Shashanka, the king of Gaur, was a contemporary of Harshvardhana. Shashanka is often attributed with creating the first separate political entity in a unified Bengal called Gauda and as such is a major figure in Bengali history. He reigned in 7th century AD, and some historians place his rule approximately between 590 AD and 625 AD. 

The dynasty ruling over North India at the time of Alexander’s invasion was Nanda. After Shishunag dynasty, Nanda dynasty ruled over Magadh. Mahapadma Nanda was the founder of the dynasty and was the first ruler. Dhana Nanda was the last ruler of this dynasty. During his time, Alexander invaded India.