Ancient and Medieval Indian Rulers

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. 

Bindusara is known as the “father of a son and the son of a father". He was the second Mauryan emperor (c. 320 BC – 272 BC, ruled. 298 BC – c. 272 BC) after Chandragupta Maurya. During his reign, the empire expanded southwards. He had two well-known sons, Susima and Ashoka, who were the viceroys of Takshashila and Ujjain. 

The last Mauryan ruler Brihadratha was assassinated by Pushyamitra Sunga. In 185 bce the last of the Mauryas, Brihadratha, was assassinated by his Brahman commander in chief, Pushyamitra, who founded the Shunga dynasty. 

Harshavardhan, on the bank of Narmada, was defeated by Pulakeshin II. When Pulikeshin II pushed forth up to the Narmada, he came face to face with Harshavardhana of Kanauj. In a decisive battle fought on the banks of the Narmada, Harsha lost a major part of his elephant force and had to retreat.

The capital of cholas dynasty was Thajavur. The other major towns were Uraiyur and Kudanthai, After Rajendra Chola moved his capital to Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Thanjavur lost its importance. The later Chola kings moved around their capitals frequently and made cities such as Chidambaram, Madurai and Kanchipuram their regional capitals. 

Udayin founded the city of Pataliputra. Pāṭaliputra, modern-day Patna, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Ajatashatru in 490 BC as a small fort near the River Ganges, and later the capital of the ancient Mahājanapadas kingdom of Magadha. Its key central location in north central India led rulers of successive dynasties to base their administrative capital here, from the Nandas, Mauryans, Sungas and the Guptas down to the Palas 

Iron was not used by Harappans. Distinctive seals were used among other applications, perhaps for identification of property and shipment of goods. Although copper and bronze were in use, iron was not yet employed.  

The Vedic Aryans were primarily pastoralists, and their diet heavily relied on milk and milk products like ghee, curd, and butter.

Krishnadeva Raya is widely considered the greatest ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire, known for his military conquests and patronage of arts and literature.