When the Gupta Empire fought the Huns | Gupta-Huns Wars

Around 388 AD, large portions of the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent had come under the control of the Huns. These Huns, according to most scholars, were the Kedarite Huns, and during this time, they not only controlled the Gandhar region of the Indian subcontinent, but they also controlled territories north of the Hindu Kush mountains. The expansion of the Kedarite Huns into the Indian subcontinent had brought them close to the Gupta Empire. During the time when the Kedarite expansion into the Indian subcontinent was happening, we find that the Gupta Empire was ruled by the Gupta Emperor Chandragupt II. And most likely, it was during the reign of Chandragupt II that the first conflict between the Guptas and the Huns took place. We know this from the Iron Pillar inscription. This inscription, according to some scholars, tells us an expedition of Chandragupt II into the region of Balkh or Bactria. Based on this inscription, it appears that this expedition of Chandragupt II was a punitive expedition, and the Guptas did not establish their rule in this region. What we also find is that, most likely, this expedition had stopped the expansion of the Kedarite power further into the Indian subcontinent, but the region of Gandhar still lay under the control of the Huns. One of the main reasons why Chandragupt II was not able to uproot the Hunnic rule over Gandhar region was because most of his energy was focused in the western part of the Indian subcontinent. During this period, the western part of the Indian subcontinent was controlled by the western Kshatras, and Chandragupt II had focused all his energy in this campaign against the western Kshatras. This massive campaign of Chandragupt II against the Shirkers of western India was the highlight of his reign, and by the time his reign ended, most of the eastern part of Gujarat had come under the control of the Guptas. It was only during the reign of his successor, Kumargupt, that we find, by the time of 420 AD, that the western Kshatra power had completely disappeared from western India, and now, this part of the Indian subcontinent had come under the control of the Guptas. The fact that during most of Chandragupt II's reign, his attention was diverted in western India had allowed the Huns who controlled the western Punjab and central Punjab region to consolidate their power in this part of the Indian subcontinent. During the reign of his successor Kumargupt, we find that the Huns did not try to expand their power into the Indian subcontinent, and Kumargupt on his part also did not wage any campaign against the Huns. So, it appears that during the reign of Kumargupt, there was this mutual understanding between the Guptas and the Huns, and these two powers did not wage any conflict between each other. But this understanding did not last long, because what we find is that when Kumargupt's reign ended, the Huns started their expansion into the Gupta territory. The main reason why this expansion of the Hunnic power had taken place at the end of Kumargupt's reign was because during this time, there was this civil war between the son of Kumargupt, Skandgupt and the brother of Kumargupt, Ghatotkachgupt, and this civil war had engulfed the entire Gupta empire. This was also a great opportunity for the Huns to expand their power further into the Punjab region. This expansion of the Huns into the Indian subcontinent did not materialize fully. This was because of the political situation of this period. What happened is that around the time of 453 AD, Attila, the Hunnic warlord who was waging war against the Romans had died. And with the death of Attila, what we find is that around the same time, the Sassanid ruler Yazdegerd II had also started the campaign against the Huns. Now, what is interesting is that around the same time, we learn from Skandgupt's inscription that he also waged war against the Huns. So, the date according to Skandgupt's inscription is 455 AD. So, it appears that when Attila died, at the same time, Yazdegerd II had started his campaign against the Khidrites who were ruling the territory north of the Hindukush mountains. And around the same time, Skandgupt II had also started his campaign against the Huns who were situated in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The fact that when Attila died, both the Sassanid ruler and the Gupta emperor started their campaign simultaneously against the Huns raises some important questions. One of the most important questions that could be asked is whether these two rulers were coordinating their campaigns or not. Now, there is no evidence for us to prove that there was this coordination between the Sassanid ruler and the Guptas. But it could be argued that this news of the death of Attila reached the Sassanid court and the Gupta court and both these rulers decided simultaneously to mount an attack over the Khidrite Huns. But for the Sassanid under Yazdegerd II, their campaign against the Huns did not went as planned. Instead of capturing the bulk region which was under the Khidrite control, they lost badly to the Khidrites and they became the feudatory of the Khidrites. But for the Guptas, the situation was much more positive. From the inscription of Skandgupt which is also called the Bhitari Pillar inscription, we learn that the Guptas were able to successfully check the Hunnic advance deep into their territory. Although Skandgupt was able to successfully check the Hunnic advance, he was not able to eradicate the Hunnic power in the western and central Punjab region. This can be seen from the absence of Gupta coin in this region and we also see that the coins of the Huns are present in this region. This suggests that although the Huns were not able to advance deep into the Gupta territory, the region of western and central Punjab was still under their control. This conflict between the Guptas and the Huns most probably took place when Skandgupt was still a Gupta prince. It was only around 456 AD that Skandgupt proclaimed himself as the Gupta emperor and from his inscription, it appears that he was able to successfully maintain his rule from the western coast to the eastern coast. But the civil war and this conflict with the Huns had significantly weakened the Gupta empire. This can be seen from the coins of Skandgupt, particularly the gold coins. We find that the gold coins of Skandgupt are fewer in number and their quality is also less when compared to the gold coins of Kumargupt. And when we look at the Huns, we find that these Huns after their defeat by Skandgupt were not able to expand in the eastern Punjab region and there was also a power shift that happened. Now, the Kedrites south of the Hindu Kush were not ruling. A new dynasty had emerged and this new dynasty in their coins call themselves Alkan. Now, the question of who these Alkan Huns were and how they are different from the Kedrite Huns will be answered in a later video. You can watch that video here. And if you want to know about the Kedrite Huns, please watch this video. Thank you for watching.