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The article expresses skepticism about the concept of the Middle Ages, particularly the notion of a "Global Middle Ages," questioning its relevance for regions outside Eurochronology. Topics include the challenges of defining the Middle Ages in relation to global contexts, the complexities introduced by comparing the fall of various empires like the Han and Gupta; and alternative frameworks for periodization, such as "postclassical era" and "late premodern."

To show how kingship was enacted and materialised in specific contexts within the 'Gupta Ecumene', writ large, this article presents a detailed analysis of two sites that served as centres for political performance, devotional practice, and artistic production between the fourth and the sixth century CE: Eran and Sondhni in the Indian heartland of Madhya Pradesh. Eran is commonly held to be a key site for the study of Gupta art and architecture and holds several important inscriptions from the beginning to the end of the Gupta period, including one issued by Samudragupta. Sondhni is marked by two inscribed columns of Yaśodharman, a former Gupta subordinate who challenged the imperial rulers using metaphors borrowed from Samudragupta's Allahabad Pillar Inscription. Examining these two sites in dialogue presents an opportunity to identify a shared cultural realm in which local polities participated and developed a transregional 'Gupta' political discourse. This study normalises a Gupta-centred imperial history and, in doing so, participates in a wider departure from dynastic history by emphasising the ways in which localised polities and rulers negotiated the political idioms of their day, challenged them, and created spaces for innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gupta Empire is often thought of as the symbol of the Golden Age in Ancient India. From the fourth to the beginning of the sixth centuries ce, Gupta emperors ruled over the greater part of North India. It is noteworthy that the true founder of the Gupta Empire, Samudragupta (c. 350 -- 75), claimed sovereignty over Sri Lanka. Besides, North India played a major role in the Singhalese chronicles written by Buddhist monks from the island. This situation leads us to study the special relationship between North India and Sri Lanka during the Gupta period. The first part of the article deals with the expansion of the Gupta Empire to control, even if indirectly, the coastal regions. The second part focuses on Buddhism, which is the ferment of cultural unity among several regions within South Asia. The third part addresses the building of the imaginary representation of Sri Lanka through the study of some extracts mainly from the Rämäyana and, to a lesser extent, from the Raghuvamsa, both texts known or thought to be known during the Gupta period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the enduring open questions in ancient Indian history is the identity of the king who identifies himself on the reverse of his gold coins as prakāśāditya. Most authors have assumed that he was a Gupta king. This paper reviews the various proposals on the identity of Prakāśāditya, arguing why we can be quite sure, as suggested by Robert Göbl, that he was in fact a Hun king and not a Gupta. Then, by presenting a near-complete reading of the obverse legend, it is shown that it is virtually certain that he was in fact the Hun king Toramāṇa, as Göbl had speculated. Implications of this finding are then considered. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The horizontal spread of the state society accompanying the institution of land grants leading to the formation of a monarchical state polity is frequently witnessed during c. 300–600 CE. Among the many new and small kingdoms which surfaced during the time of the Guptas was the kingdom of Valkhā in Central India located on the banks of the Narmada. The kingdom, as it appears from their land grants, was situated on both sides of the Narmada river, at the southern periphery of the important Gupta strongholds in central India (Airikiṇa, Eran) and beyond the northern frontier of the Vākāṭakas kingdom to the south. In case of the Valkhā kingdom, it appears that in the process of transition from a pre-state to a state, it can be placed in a category where, with the formation of the kingdom around the mid-fourth century CE, Valkhā has just transcended the pre-state stage and could be placed in the genre of an early state. We seek to understand the early character of the Valkhā state through the lens of twenty-seven copper plates found together in a hoard and five others published in a scattered manner. It goes to the credit of K.V. Ramesh and S.P. Tewari who edited the plates in 1990 and revealed the names of the rulers of Valkhā. Through a reading of these charters we seek to understand the emergence and growth of the Valkhā state. Due to the donations, the donee assumes a significant position and so the nature of patronage of the Valkhā rulers becomes central to our study. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Most dynastic lists of the Gupta kings state that Kumāragupta I was succeeded by Skandagupta. However, it is widely accepted that Skandagupta did not accede to the throne peacefully. Nor is it certain that the succession was immediate, since there is a gap between the known dates of Kumāragupta's and Skandagupta's reigns. This paper is concerned with the events following the death of Kumāragupta, using numismatic evidence as the primary source, and inscriptional and other epigraphic evidence as further support. Some of the numismatic evidence is new, and even the evidence that is not new has so far received little attention in the literature on the succession after Kumāragupta. Questions are raised about one particular theory that is presently enjoying some currency, that Skandagupta was challenged primarily by his uncle Ghaṭotkacagupta. Some other possible scenarios for the political events in the period after the death of Kumāragupta I will then be proposed and analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Jains are not readily identifiable as a prominent component of society during the Gupta Empire, with the archaeological record of their activities being relatively meagre. This has led to the hypothesis that this community may have migrated from the Gupta realms to the west and south of the subcontinent as a result of antipathy towards the non-orthodox articulated in brahmanical/Vaiṣṇava texts such as theViṣṇupurāṇa. This paper identifies in the Śvetāmbara text, theTitthogālī, a possible apocalyptic interpretation of this period in which the Jains are described as being subjected to oppression by King Caturmukha and a goddess in the form of a stone cow. TheTitthogālīalso records the disastrous impact of the flooding of the city of Pāṭaliputra. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines a bronze sculpture of the Buddha in the British Museum and offers a revised reading of its dedicatory inscription. A close examination of the paleography, combined with a study of the sculpture’s style, shows that the image belongs in the early years of the sixth century. This provides a date for the ruler Harirāja named in the record and allows us to disassociate him from the Harigupta known from early Gupta coins. In addition, the re-dating of Harirāja provides new material for understanding the historical and cultural complexities of the late Gupta kingdom. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The time of the imperial Guptas (c.fourth to sixth centuries CE) represents a pivotal moment in the development of ‘mature Hinduism’. This was characterised by many changes, but most conspicuously by the establishment of institutional worship in temples. Clear archaeological signatures were inscribed across the cultural and physical landscapes of India in the fourth and fifth centuries: away from zones of urbanisation, numerous settlement areas retain sculptural and architectural vestiges in stone, most of them religious in nature. These vestiges, anchored and distributed in space, and with site-specific contexts, reveal much about the production and reproduction of sacred and socio-economic space, which were inextricably tied to water and the environment. For the purpose of this special issue, this article focuses on the archaeological landscapes of Baḍoh-Paṭhāri (Vidiśā District, Madhya Pradesh), an historical site which developed as an important population centre from at least early historic times onwards, if not before, and was connected to the political, trade, and defensive networks of the upper Betwā Basin. Some important remains from Gupta and later Gupta times are found in the immediate surroundings of this place. Their study provides an interesting basis upon which to explore issues relating to the conception and spatiality of new devotional, institutional, and socio-economic domains; and the integration, articulation, and transformation of natural features and local geography in the making of gods’ territory during this crucial period. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A number of "masks" cast in metal are known from the North-West, particularly Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. They are not used as theatre masks, they lack openings for view or speech, and are found in temples fixed to a wall. One, found near Peshawar in Gandhara is conspicuous by its artistic beauty. It is inscribed on its lower rim; both script and style allow to date it in the middle or late Gupta period. The inscription has been read and interpreted by G. Fussman, who assumed that some of his readings would need revision. A new reading is proposed and discussed here, as it admits of two rather divergent interpretations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Right from the time of the Painted Grey Ware (PGW) culture, dating to c. 1200–600bce, more than 210 archaeological sites in India have provided evidence of glass, but there has been no attempt to date the glass-yielding layers by radiometric techniques. This has hampered the establishment of a chronology for the beginning and evolution of glass-making in India. The site of Kopia was excavated by the first author for three seasons from 2004 to 2006 to understand the history, development and technology of glass production in India. The excavation produced evidence of a long period of occupation, covering the Fine Grey Ware (FGW), Northern Black Polished Ware (NBP), Sunga–Kushana and Gupta periods. Twenty accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and radiocarbon dates, all derived from charcoal samples and processed independently by three laboratories, are available from the site. The dates range in their calibrated form on average from the ninth to the second centurybce in locality I and from the second centurybce to the second centuryad in locality II. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patronage by the royal court of religious institutions and foundations is one of the hallmarks of the development of India under the rule of the Gupta and Vākāṭaka kings (4th-5th centuries). This patronage was extended also to religious movements other than the king's own persuasion. The evolving culture of religious tolerance and enthusiasm is apparent in the temple monuments of the time. In this article we focus on four archeological sites where these developments become best visible: Udayagiri, Māṇḍhaḷ, Rāmagiri (Ramtek), and Mansar. The close relationship of the Gupta and Vākāṭaka realms is investigated in its local settings. Renewed attention is given to the 'Mandhal Inscription, Year 5' of the Vākāṭaka king Rudrasena II and the deity on whose authority the charter was issued: Muṇḍasvāmin. It is argued that the name Muṇ ḍ a refers to no one else than the Gupta queen of Rudrasena II, Prabhāvatī Guptā. During the last decade, excavations in Mansar (5 km west of Ramtek) have brought to light the state sanctuary of the youngest son of Prabhāvaī, Pravarasena II. The findings there are placed within the tradition that can be traced back, through Rāmagiri and Māṇḍḥaḷ, to the religious foundations in Udayagiri. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the features of the Gupta-Vākāṭaka age is the growth of Śaivism. In this article some of the epigraphical evidence for this process is assembled and discussed. While the direct evidence for the adoption of Śiva worship among the Guptas is limited to ministers of the Gupta court, it is clear that the Vākā ṭaka kings were predominantly Māheśvaras. New fragmentary wall inscriptions uncovered from Mansar, the site of Pravarasena II's palace, hint at a possible connection with the teachings of the Śvetā śvatara-Upaniṣad. Two post-Gupta inscriptions from the area around Mandasor are discussed in the light of a tendency towards religious hierarchisation, an attitude which came to be increasingly characteristic of early medieval Śaivism. In the second part attention is drawn to the variety of Pā śsupata and Māheśvara worship in the Gupta-Vākāṭaka age, as well as to the trifold organisation of the Pā śupata movement. The article ends with a note on the interaction with non-Śaiva traditions, in particular Buddhism, and its possible impact upon the formation of the Pā śupata movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has only recently been possible to affirm that Srī-Lakṣmī was depicted in the north-west of the Indian subcontinent, and this paper represents the first survey of Srī-Lakṣmī's early imagery in the region known as Greater Gandhara in antiquity. Lakṣmī's northern imagery falls into three conceptual classifications which stem from concepts initially associated with the Goddess in Brahmanic and Epic texts, and in Indian reliefs dating as early as the second century BC. As might be expected, in this multicultural region she is attributed emblems derived from foreign goddesses. A series of hitherto unpublished seals, mainly dating to the Kuṣaṇa Period, as well as recently analyzed terracottas, show not only how Srī-Lakṣmī adopted such foreign emblems, but conversely, how the Goddess, especially in her aspect as Abhiṣeka Lakṣmī, influenced the imagery of northern deities conceptually similar to her. As a result, the north-western evidence produces transitional figures. As for Lakṣmī, some of the attributes she acquires as a result of her northern sojourn remain with her, and surface in her Gupta and Post-Gupta depictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the influence of the Gupta family to the corruption scandal in South Africa wherein the Guptas were the small-scale businessmen in India.

An introduction is presented in which the editors discusses the theme of the issue, religion and civilization during the Indian Gupta dynasty period in South Asia.