Ancient and Medieval Indian Rulers

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. 

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.

The famous Pala Dynasty, whose rule over Bengal commenced in the second half of the eighth century, began with Gopala. Gopala (ruled 750 – 770 CE) was the founder of the Pala Dynasty of Bengal. The last morpheme of his name Pala means protector and was used as an ending for the names of all the Pala monarchs. 

The first gold coins were issued by the Indo- Greeks. The Indo-Greek kings were the first to issue gold coins in India and their coins were special in the sense that each king had his own distinctive coins by which he could be definitely identified. 

Asoka was the son of Bindusara ascended to the throne.  Bindusara wanted his son Sushim to succeed him but Ashoka was supported by his father's ministers. A minister named Radhagupta seems to have played an important role. Ashoka managed to become the king by getting rid of the legitimate heir to the throne, by tricking him into entering a pit filled with live coals. 

The founder of the Satavahana Dynasty was Simuka. Simuka was an Indian king and the founder of the Satavahana dynasty. He is described as Sishuka or Sindhuka in the Puranas. He is also known as Gadabhilla, father of Vikrama in the accounts of the Jains, and is said to have ruled in the area of Pratishthan and Malwa. 

Harisena, the author of the famous “Prayag Prashasti” adorned the court of Samudragupta. Samudragupta was a great warrior - this is well proved by the account of Harisena in Allahabad Pillar inscriptions although the description is poetic.