Everything about Middle Kingdoms Of India totally explained
Middle kingdoms of India refers to the political entities in
India from the
2nd century BC since the decline of the
Maurya Empire, and the corresponding rise of the
Satavahana dynasty, beginning with
Simuka, from
230 BC. The "Middle" period lasts for some 1,500 years, and ends in the
13th century, with the rise of the
Islamic Sultanates (the
Delhi Sultanate was established in
1206) and the end of the
Chalukya Cholas (
Rajendra Chola III died
1279).
This period was marked by waves of invasions from
Persia and
Central Asia, to the spread of
Buddhism from India, through to the
Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent.
North-Western Conquerors
In the wake of the disintegration of the
Mauryan Empire during the 2nd century BC, South Asia became a collage of regional powers with overlapping boundaries. The Indus Valley and Gangetic plains of the northwest attracted a series of invaders between 200 BC and 300 AD. The
Puranas speak of many of these tribes as foreigners and impure barbarians (
Mlechhas) First the
Satavahanas and later the
Gupta Empire, both successor states to the
Mauryan Empire, attempt to contain the expansions of the successive before eventually crumbling internally due pressure exerted by these wars.
The invading tribes are influenced by and adopt
Buddhism which continues to flourish under the patronage of both the invaders and the
Satavahanas and
Guptas and provides a cultural bridge between the two cultures. Overtime the invaders became "Indianized" as they influence society and philosophy across the gangetic plains and are conversely influenced by it. This period is marked by both intellectual and artistic achievements inspired by cultural diffusion and
syncretism as the new kingdoms straddle the
Silk route.
The Indo-Greek Yavanas
From 180 BC, the
Indo-Greeks, from neighbouring
Bactria, set up the
Indo-Greek Kingdom and were known to the Indic cultures as
Yavanas. They contributed to the development of visual arts, religion and numismatics.
The Indo-Scythian Sakas
The
Sakas (or
Indo-Scythians), came from the steppes of
Central Asia to the
Indus river.
The Indo-Parthian Pahlavas
With the rise of the
Parthians, the Indus Valley was once again brought under the influence of
Persia as they conquered the
Indo-Scythians.They had Gandhara as their Capital city.The
Indo-Parthian Kingdom was founded by
Gondophernes around 20 AD when he declared his Independence from the
Parthians. This Kingdom last only briefly until its conquest by the
Kushanas in 75 AD.
The Western Kshatrapas
The
Western Kshatrapas or
Satrapies dynasties retained control under the
Parthians and eventually ruled sizeable regions on their own competing with the
Kushans and
Satavahana.
The Kushanas
The
Yuezhi were yet another
nomadic people forced from their homes in the Inner Asian
steppes of
Mongolia, slowly took over the
Scythian lands and founded their own kingdom based from
Afghanistan before considerably expanding into the gangetic plains. The
Kushan Empire was the crucible of trade among the
Indians,
Persians,
Chinese, and
Roman and controlled a critical part of the legendary
Silk Road.
Kanishka, who reigned for two decades starting around 78 AD, was the most noteworthy
Kushan ruler. He converted to
Buddhism and convened a great Buddhist council in
Kashmir. The Kushanas were patrons of
Gandharan art, a synthesis between
Greek and Indian styles, as well as Sanskrit literature. They initiated a new era called Shaka in 78 AD, and their calendar was formally recognized by India for civil purposes starting on March 22, 1957.
They lost considerable amount of lands in central Asia in conflict with the
Sassanid Empire who set up the
Kushanshahs, and then in the gangetic plain to the rising
Gupta Empire. The remnant was then usurped by a vassal establishing the
Kidarite Kingdom.
The Indo-Sassanid Kushanshahs
The rise of a new
Persian dynasty, the
Sassanids saw them re-exert their influence into the Indus region and conquer lands from the
Kushans setting up the
Kushanshahs around 240 AD. They were to maintain their influence in the region until they were overthrown by the rising
Caliphate. They lost control of the region briefly during the
White Hun invasion before recapturing it.
The Kidarite Kingdom
The
Kidarite Kingdom was established by
Kidara who considered himself a
Kushan replacing the old dynasty. Thereby the
Kushan standard continued to fly and resist both the
Gupta Empire and the
Sassanid Empire until the
White Hun invasion.
The Hephthalite Huna
The
Hephthalite were another Central Asian nomadic tribe to invade. They are also linked to the
Yuezhi who founded the
Kushan Empire. From their capital in
Bamiyan,
Afghanistan they extended their rule across the Indus and Northern India thereby pressuring the collapse of the
Gupta Empire. They were eventually defeated by the
Sassanid Empire in alliance with other
Turkic tribes.
The Gandharan Kambojas
After the collapse of the
Sassanid Empire to the
Caliphate the Gandharan
Satrapy became an independent Kingdom based from
Afghanistan and vied with the
Tang dynasty,
Tibet, the
Caliphate and other
Turkic tribes for domination in the region.
Gandhara was ruled by the Turk-
Shahi dynasty for two centuries until 843 when the dynasty changed to the Hindu-
Shahis, who ruled form almost another two centuries before being conquered by the
Ghaznavid Empire.
The Gangetic Plains and The Deccan
Following the demise of the
Mauryan Empires the
Satavahanas rose as the successor state to check and contend with the influx of the
Central Asian tribes from the Northwest. The Satavahanas straddling the
Deccan plateau also provided a link for transmission of
Buddhism and contact between the Northern
Gangetic plains and the Southern regions even as the
Upanishads were gaining ground. Eventually weakened both by contention with the northwestern invaders and internal strife they broke up and gave rise to many smalled nations around Deccan and central India regions even as the
Gupta Empire arose in the gangetic plains and ushered in a
"Golden Age" and rebirth of Empire as decentralized local administrative model and the spread of Indian culture until collapse under the
Huna invasions. After the fall of
Gupta Empire the gangetic region broke up into smaller states temporarily reunited under
Harsha then giving rise to the
Rajput dynasties.
In the Deccan, the
Chalukyas arose forming a formidable nation marking the migration of the centers of cultural and military power long held in the gangetic plains to the new nations forming in the southern regions of
India.
The Satavahana
The
Sātavāhanas started out as feudatories to the
Mauryan Empire but declared independence soon after the death of
Ashoka (232 BC). They were the first Indic rulers to issue coins struck with their rulers embossed and are known for their patronage of
Buddhism resulting in buddhist monuments from
Ellora to
Amaravati. They formed a cultural bridge and played a vital role in trade and the transfer of ideas and culture to and from the gangetic plains to the southern tip of India.
The
Satavahanas had to compete with the
Sunga and the
Kanva dynasty of the
Mauryan Empire to establish first their independence then to expand their rule. Later they'd to contend in protecting their domain from the incursions of
Sakas (
Western Kshatrapas),
Yavanas (
Indo-Greeks) and
Pahlavas (
Indo-Parthians). In particular their struggles with the
Western Kshatrapas weakened them and the kingdom split into smaller states.
The Gupta Empire
The
Classical Age refers to the period when most of
North India was reunited after the Mauryans under the
Gupta Empire (ca. 320 AD–550 AD). This period is called the "Golden Age" and was marked by extensive cultural achievements that crystallized the elements of what is generally known as Hindu culture. These classical patterns began to spread south only much later after the end of the empire. The high points of this cultural creativity are magnificent and creative architecture, sculpture, and painting. The poet
Kalidasa was the greatest writer of the time. Strong trade ties also made the region an important cultural center and set the region up as a base that would influence nearby kingdoms and regions in
Bengal,
Burma,
Sri Lanka and
Cambodia.
The Gupta period marked a watershed of Indian culture: the Guptas performed Vedic sacrifices to legitimize their rule, but they also patronized
Buddhism, which continued to provide an alternative to Brahmanical orthodoxy. The military exploits of the first three rulers—
Chandragupta I (ca. 319–335),
Samudragupta (ca. 335–376), and
Chandragupta II (ca. 376–415) —brought all of North India under their leadership from capital at
Pataliputra. They successfully resisted the North-Western Kingdoms until the arrival of the
Hunas.
The Vakatakas
Contemporaries of the
Gupta Empire and the successor state of the
Satavahanas they formed the southern boundaries of the north and ruled over today's modern day states of
Madhya Pradesh and
Maharashtra during the 3rd and 5th centuries. They were eventually overrun by the
Chalukyas.
Harsha Vardhana
After the collapse of the
Gupta Empire, the gangetic plains fractured into numerous small nations.
Harsha of
Kannauj was able to briefly bind them together under his rulership. Only a defeat at the hands of the
Chalukyas prevented him from expanding his reign south of the
Narmada river. This unity didn't last long beyond his reign and his empire fractured soon after his death in 647 AD.
The Vishnukundinas
The
Vishnukundina ruled over the Eastern Deccan and the state of
Kalinga in today's
Orissa during the 5th and 6th centuries carving land out from the
Vakataka realm until being absorbed themselves by the
Chalukyas.
The Chalukyas
The
Chalukyas began to exert their independence during the time of the
Satavahanas. Their kingdom extended between the
Pallavas in the south and up to
Narmada River in the north and incorporated the realm of
Vishnukundina in the west.
The rise of the
Rashtrakutas brought about their decline and the rise of the
Chola dynasty of the south led to an ongoing contention over
Vengi.
The Rajputs
The
Rajput were a Hindu clan who rose to power across a region stretching from the gangaetic plains to the Afghan mountains, and refer to the various dynasties of the many kingdoms in the region in the wake of the collapse of the
Sassanid Empire and
Gupta Empire and marks the transition of Buddhist ruling dynasties to Hindu ruling dynasties.
The Pratihara (Parihar)
A
Rajput clan that ruled the
Mandore,
Marwar region of
Rajasthan and
Kannauj.
The Solankis
A
Rajput clan that ruled the
Gujrat region.
The Paramaras
A
Rajput that clan ruled the
Malwa region.
The Revers
A
Rajput that clan ruled the
Tarangagadh region.
The Rever Dynasty- (STATE OF TARANGAGADH) is the biggest dynasty in Rajasthan history and state is Tarangagadh and Mandu- division of province.
The Chauhans
A
Rajput that clan ruled the
Rajasthan region.
The Pala Empire
The
Pala Empire were a Buddhist dynasty whose ruled centered over
Bengal,
Bihar and other regions of
Eastern India and played an important part in the spread of
Buddhism to
Tibet,
Bhutan and
Myanmar. They word
Pala means protector and under their patronage a resurgence was seen in Buddhism. They eventually gave way to the
Sena dynasty.
The Sena Dynasty
The Hindu
Sena dynasty replaced the
Pala dynasty and its founder was part of the Pala Empire before he seized power when the empire weakened.
The South
In the first half of the millennium the South saw various smalled kingdoms rise and fall mostly independent to the turmoil in the gangetic plains and the spread of the
Buddhism and
Jainism to the southern tip of
India. During the second half of the millennium after the fall of the
Gupta Empire we see a gradual shift of the balance of power both military and cultural from the northern states to the rise of large southern kingdoms.
In fact, from the mid-seventh to the mid-thirteenth centuries, regionalism was the dominant theme of political or dynastic history of South Asia. Three features commonly characterize the sociopolitical realities of this period.
- First, the spread of Brahmanical religions was a two-way process of Sanskritization of local cults and localization of Brahmanical social order.
- Second was the ascendancy of the Brahman priestly and landowning groups that later dominated regional institutions and political developments.
- Third, because of the seesawing of numerous dynasties that had a remarkable ability to survive perennial military attacks, regional kingdoms faced frequent defeats but seldom total annihilation.
Peninsular India was involved in an eighth-century tripartite power struggle among the
Chalukyas (556–757), the
Pallavas (300–888) of
Kanchipuram, and the
Pandyas. The Chalukya rulers were overthrown by their subordinates, the
Rashtrakutas (753-973). Although both the
Pallava and
Pandya kingdoms were enemies, the real struggle for political domination was between the
Pallava and
Chalukya realms.
The emergence of the
Rashtrakutas heralded a new era in the history of South India. The idiom of a Pan-Indian empire had moved to south. South Indian kingdoms had hitherto ruled areas only up to and south of the
Narmada River. It was the
Rashtrakutas who first forged north to the Gangetic plains and successfully contested their might against the
Palas of Bengal and the
Rajput Prathiharas of
Gujarat.
Despite interregional conflicts, local autonomy was preserved to a far greater degree in the south where it had prevailed for centuries. The absence of a highly centralized government was associated with a corresponding local autonomy in the administration of villages and districts. Extensive and well-documented overland and maritime trade flourished with the
Arabs on the west coast and with
Southeast Asia. Trade facilitated cultural diffusion in Southeast Asia, where local elites selectively but willingly adopted Indian art, architecture, literature, and social customs.
The interdynastic rivalry and seasonal raids into each other's territory notwithstanding, the rulers in the
Deccan and South India patronized all three religions—
Buddhism,
Hinduism, and
Jainism. The religions vied with each other for royal favor, expressed in land grants but more importantly in the creation of monumental temples, which remain architectural wonders. The cave temples of
Elephanta Island (near
Mumbai or
Bombay, as it was known formerly),
Ajanta, and
Ellora (in Maharashtra), and structural temples of
Pattadakal,
Aihole,
Badami in Karnataka and
Mahaballipuram and
Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu are enduring legacies of otherwise warring regional rulers.
By the mid-seventh century,
Buddhism and
Jainism began to decline as sectarian
Hindu devotional cults of
Shiva and
Vishnu vigorously competed for popular support.
Although
Sanskrit was the language of learning and theology in South India, as it was in the north, the growth of the
bhakti (devotional) movements enhanced the crystallization of
vernacular literature in all four major
Dravidian languages:
Tamil,
Telugu,
Malayalam, and
Kannada; they often borrowed themes and vocabulary from Sanskrit but preserved much local cultural lore. Examples of Tamil literature include two major poems,
Cilappatikaram (The Jewelled Anklet) and
Manimekalai (The Jewelled Belt); the body of devotional literature of
Shaivism and
Vaishnavism—Hindu devotional movements; and the reworking of the
Ramayana by Kamban in the twelfth century. A nationwide cultural synthesis had taken place with a minimum of common characteristics in the various regions of South Asia, but the process of cultural infusion and assimilation would continue to shape and influence India's history through the centuries.
The Sangam Era Kingdoms
Farther south were three ancient Tamil kingdoms—
Chera (on the west),
Chola (on the east), and
Pandya (in the south) &mdash. They were involved in internecine warfare seeking regional supremacy. They are mentioned in Greek and Ashokan sources as important Indian kingdoms beyond the Mauryan Empire. A corpus of ancient
Tamil literature, known as
Sangam (academy) works, provides much useful information about life in these kingdoms in the era 300 BC to 200 AD. There is clear evidence of encroachment by
Aryan traditions from the north into a predominantly indigenous
Dravidian culture in transition.
Dravidian social order was based on different ecoregions rather than on the Aryan
varna paradigm, although the Brahmans had a high status at a very early stage. Segments of society were characterized by
matriarchy and matrilineal succession—which survived well into the nineteenth century—cross-cousin marriage, and strong regional identity. Tribal chieftains emerged as "kings" just as people moved from pastoralism toward agriculture sustained by irrigation based on rivers by small-scale tanks (as man-made ponds are called in India) and wells, as well as maritime trade with Rome and
Southeast Asia.
Discoveries of Roman gold coins in various sites attest to extensive
South Indian links with the outside world. As with
Patliputra in the northeast and
Taxila in the northwest (in modern
Pakistan), the city of
Madurai, the capital of the
Pandyan Kingdom (in modern
Tamil Nadu), was the center of intellectual and literary activity. Poets and bards assembled there under royal patronage at successive concourses to composed anthologies of poems and expositions on
Tamil grammar. By the end of the first century BC, South Asia was crisscrossed by overland trade routes, which facilitated the movements of Buddhist and
Jain missionaries and other travelers and opened the area to a synthesis of many cultures.
The Kalabhras
Little is of their origins or the time during which they ruled is known beyond that they ruled over the entirety of the southern tip of India during the 3rd to the 6th century, overcoming the
Sangam era kingdoms. The appear to be patrons of
Jainism and
Buddhism as the only source of information on them is the scattered mentions in the many
Buddhist and
Jain literature of the time. They were contemporaries of the
Kadambas and the
Western Ganga Dynasty. They were overcome by the rise of the
Pallavas and the resurgence of the
Pandyan Kingdom.
The Kadambas
The
Kadambas were an ancient royal dynasty of
Karnataka, who ruled from their capital at Banavasi in present day
Uttara Kannada district. Their sovereignty lasted between (345-525AD) after which they continued to rule as feudatories of the
Chalukyas and the
Rashtrakuta for over 500 years. They were contemporaries of the
Western Ganga Dynasty and the
Kalabhras.
The Western Ganga Dynasty
The
Western Ganga Dynasty of Talkad ruled a large part of ancient
Karnataka alongside the
Kadambas in India, during 350-550. They continued to rule until the 10th century as feudatories of the
Rashtrakutas and
Chalukyas.
The Badami Chalukyas
The Pandyan Kingdom
The Pallavas
The Rashtrakuta
The Western Chalukyas
Also know as Kalyani Chalukyas or Later Chalukyas
The Kakatiyas
The
Kakatiya dynasty was a South Indian dynasty that ruled parts of what is now
Andhra Pradesh, India from 1083 to 1323. They were one of the great
Telugu kingdoms that lasted for centuries.
The Hoysalas
The Chola Empire
The Cholas emerged as a powerful empire in the south in the 11th century and retained their pre-eminent position until the 12th century when the Hoysala Empire was founded in Karnataka. The Cholas, like the Chalukyas and Pallavas before them, and the Hoysala and Vijayanagar after them, were responsible for some of India's finest monuments, and being located on the south tip of the peninsula, ruled Sri Lanka, and culturally dominated most of South East Asia, where the Hindu Srivijaya and Khmer empires of Indonesia and Cambodia used south Indian temple design. The Chola Navy was powerful for its time having conquered the neighbouring island of Lanka and other areas across the Bay of Bengal. One particular medieval Chola ruler, Raja Raja the Great, is known as one of India's notable Emperors, having initiated a massive building programme that produced some of the finest temple archutecture in the subcontinent.
Chola archutecture,
Thanjavur temple
Virupaksha Temple
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