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India's classical golden age: Samudragupta, Kalidasa, Aryabhata and the birth of the zero.

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Gupta Empire · 320–550 AD
India's Golden Age

The Gupta Empire

From the founding of the Gupta line and the conquests of Samudragupta, through the brilliant reign of Chandragupta II, the plays of Kalidasa and the mathematics of Aryabhata, to the painted caves of Ajanta and the coming of the Huna invaders. Slide across the age remembered as India's golden age — when Sanskrit letters, Hindu art and Indian science reached a height whose ideas, from the zero to the decimal, would travel the whole world.

320 AD
The Founding
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320 AD

The Founding
  • Political

    Chandragupta I founds the Guptas

    A gold coin of Chandragupta I
    Via Wikimedia Commons

    From Magadha, Chandragupta I builds a new empire that will reunite much of northern India.

7 milestones

Meanwhile

Around 320 AD

Full Chronicle

The Gupta Empire

From the founding of the Gupta line and the conquests of Samudragupta, through the brilliant reign of Chandragupta II, the plays of Kalidasa and the mathematics of Aryabhata, to the painted caves of Ajanta and the coming of the Huna invaders. Slide across the age remembered as India's golden age — when Sanskrit letters, Hindu art and Indian science reached a height whose ideas, from the zero to the decimal, would travel the whole world.

  1. The Founding

    • Chandragupta I founds the Guptas

      From Magadha, Chandragupta I builds a new empire that will reunite much of northern India.

  2. The Conqueror

    • Samudragupta the conqueror

      Samudragupta extends Gupta power across India in a sweep of conquests praised on the Allahabad pillar.

  3. The Height of Empire

    • Chandragupta II and the peak of empire

      Chandragupta II, called Vikramaditya, brings the empire to its height; the Chinese pilgrim Fa-Xian marvels at its peace.

  4. The Golden Age

    • Kalidasa and classical Sanskrit

      The poet Kalidasa writes plays and verse that become the summit of classical Sanskrit literature.

  5. The Golden Age

    • The painted caves of Ajanta

      The murals of Ajanta and the rise of the Hindu temple mark a high point of classical Indian art.

  6. The Golden Age

    • Aryabhata and the science of numbers

      The mathematician Aryabhata advances astronomy and the decimal system that gave the world the zero.

  7. The Decline

    • The Huna invasions

      Waves of Huna invaders from Central Asia batter the empire, and Gupta power crumbles.