Guptas, emerged in the fourth century to take the Kushans’ place. Its founder, Chandra Gupta I, brought Northern India under his rule while states in the Deccan and Sri Lanka agreed to become the Guptas’ vassals. The Gupta Empire was one of the largest political and military empires in the world. It was ruled by members of the Gupta dynasty from around 320 to 600 CE and covered most of Northern India, the region presently in the nation of Pakistan and what is now western India and Bangladesh.
The Gupta period is seen as a golden age of Indian culture. Indian astronomers came up with the idea of a round earth rotating on its axis. Indian mathematicians developed such concepts as Pi, negative numbers, a decimal system with place value digits, zero, and quadratic equations. In literature, India’s two greatest epic poems, the Ramayana, and Mahabharata, which itself contains possibly the most revered work in Indian literature, the Bhagavad Gita, were written down in their final forms. India’s greatest playwright, Kalidasa, flourished at this time. Unlike Greek drama, the point of Indian drama is to delight the audience and leave it with a serene and peaceful feeling. Both Buddhist and the emerging Hindu art and architecture also thrived. Once again, Greek influence can still be seen in the simplicity and serenity of Buddhist art. Hindu temples were modeled after caves, which Indians always considered sacred and were decorated with sculptures.During this time, a major shift took place in the religious climate of India. The Guptas, like many rulers before them, had been active supporters of Buddhism. This, and their popularity among the rich middle classes, led to large contributions to Buddhist monasteries, which became quite wealthy.
