page_title: Middle kingdoms of India
section_title: The Hephthalite Hunas
hierarchical_section_title: Middle kingdoms of India / The Northwest / The Hephthalite Hunas
caption_attribution_description: English: Billon drachm of the Hephthalite King Napki Malka (c. 475-576). Obv: Napki Malka type bust with winged headdress. Pahlavi legend "NAPKI MALKA". Rev: Zoroastrian fire altar with attendants either side. Sun wheel, or eight-spoked Buddhist Dharmacakra above left. Actual size: 27 mm, 3.3 g. Findplace: Afghanistan/ Gandhara.
context_page_description: The Middle kingdoms of India were the political entities in India from the 3rd century BCE to the 13th century CE. The period begins after the decline of the Maurya Empire and the corresponding rise of the Satavahana dynasty, starting with Simuka, from 230 BCE. The "Middle" period lasted for about 1500 years and ended in the 13th century, with the rise of the Delhi Sultanate, founded in 1206, and the end of the Later Cholas.
  This period encompasses two eras: Classical India, from the Maurya Empire up until the end of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century CE, and early Medieval India from the 6th century onwards. It also encompasses the era of classical Hinduism, which is dated from 200 BCE to 1100 CE. From 1 CE until 1000 CE, India's economy is estimated to have been the largest in the world, having between one-third and one-quarter of the world's wealth. It is followed by the late Medieval period in the 13th century.
context_section_description: The Hephthalite Empire was another Central Asian nomadic group to invade. They are also linked to the Yuezhi who had founded the Kushan Empire. From their capital in Bamyan (present-day Afghanistan) they extended their rule across the Indus and North India, thereby causing the collapse of the Gupta Empire. They were eventually defeated by the Sasanian Empire allied with Turkic peoples.
caption: Billon drachma of the Huna King Napki Malka (Afghanistan or Gandhara, c. 475–576).
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