Chandragupta I

Chandragupta I is considered the founder of the Gupta dynasty, which ruled over northern and parts of central and western India from the early 4th to the mid-6th century ce. He was the grandson of Sri Gupta, the first known ruler of the Gupta line. Chandragupta I increased his power and territory by marrying Princess Kumaradevi of the Lichchhavi tribe, which then controlled north Bihar and perhaps Nepal. Toward the close of the 3rd century ce, India consisted of a number of independent states, both monarchical and nonmonarchical; it is highly probable that the Guptas and Lichchhavis ruled over adjoining principalities. Their union by marriage enhanced the power and prestige of the new kingdom. Special gold coins depicted the king and queen on one side and the Lichchhavis on the other. The chronology of the Gupta era, dating from about 319 ce and used in India for several centuries, is believed to be based on the date of either his coronation or his marriage.

Chandragupta I’s empire possibly included parts of modern-day Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. His dominions must have been sufficiently large to justify his assumption of the imperial title, maharajadhiraja (“great king of kings”), and to enable his son Samudragupta to extend Gupta power in northern and eastern India, through conquest and subordination, eliminating the oligarchies and the minor kings of central India and the Ganges valley and gaining direct administrative control of these regions.