page_title: History of Pakistan
section_title: Gupta Empire
hierarchical_section_title: History of Pakistan / Classical period – Middle Kingdoms / Gupta Empire
caption_attribution_description: English: Locator map of the Gupta Empire at its peak. (Partially based on Atlas of World History (2007) - South and Southeast Asia, States and Empires 300-1525, map)
context_page_description: The history of Pakistan encompasses the region of the Indus Valley, which spans the western expanse of the Indian subcontinent and the eastern Iranian plateau. The region served both as the fertile ground of a major civilisation and as the gateway of South Asia to Central Asia and the Near East.
  Situated on the first coastal migration route of Homo sapiens out of Africa, the region was inhabited early by modern humans. The 9,000-year history of village life in South Asia traces back to the Neolithic site of Mehrgarh in Pakistan, and the 5,000-year history of urban life in South Asia to the various sites of the Indus Valley Civilization, including Mohenjo Daro and Harappa.
  The ensuing millennia saw the region of present-day Pakistan absorb many influences—represented among others in the ancient Buddhist sites of Taxila, and Takht-i-Bahi, the 14th-century Islamic-Sindhi monuments of Thatta, and the 17th-century Mughal monuments of Lahore.
context_section_description: The Gupta Empire existed approximately from 320 to 600 CE and covered much of the broad swathe of northern South Asia, including modern Pakistan but excluding the southern peninsular region. Founded by Maharaja Sri-Gupta, the dynasty was the model of a classical civilization and was marked by extensive inventions and discoveries.
  The high points of this cultural creativity are magnificent architectures, sculptures and paintings. Science and political administration reached new heights during the Gupta era. Strong trade ties also made the region an important cultural centre and set the region up as a base that would influence nearby kingdoms and regions in Burma, Sri Lanka, Maritime Southeast Asia and Indochina.
  The empire gradually declined due in part to loss of territory and imperial authority caused by their own erstwhile feudatories, and from the invasion by the Hunas from Central Asia. After the collapse of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century, South Asia was again ruled by numerous regional kingdoms. A minor line of the Gupta clan continued to rule Magadha after the disintegration of the empire. These Guptas were ultimately ousted by the Vardhana king Harsha, who established an empire in the first half of the 7th century.
caption: The Gupta Empire at its maximum extent.
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