Harsha

This article deals with the Indian great king Harsha. The US politician of the same name can be found under Bill Harsha .

Dominion of Harsha

Harshavardhana von Kannauj ( Hindi हर्षवर्धन Harṣavardhana ; Harsha = "cheerfulness"; * around 590 ; † 647 ) was a North Indian great king from the 7th century and a figure of light in the beginning Indian Middle Ages. His deeds are described in the so-called Harshacharita by the poet Bāṇabhaṭṭa , and also by the Chinese pilgrim monk Xuanzang (630–643 in India).

Takeover of power in North India

The king came from the family of the Vardhanas (also Pushyabhuti ); these were generals of the Guptas based in Thanesar (approx. 156 km north of Delhi). Harsha's father spent his time fighting the disintegrating Hunas (Indo-Hephtalites, but it was probably the Alchon ) and other Indian princes. It came to a marriage alliance with the Maukhari emperors of Kannauj to keep your back free.

Harsha ascended the throne in 606 at the age of 16 after his older brother Rajya fell victim to a plot: Rajya had moved to Kannauj to drive out the kings of Malwa and Bengal , who had dethroned the Maukhari emperor and his widow Rajyashri (606). There he was murdered during a trial with Shashanka , King of Bengal.

Coin from the time of Harsha

Harsha managed to attack Shashanka's capital and force him into a treaty. At the same time he took over the rule in Kannauj. But he avoided taking on the title of Great King in order not to oust his sister Rajyashri as the rightful heiress. As the avenger of the Maukhari emperors, he was able to conquer northern India with Valabhi , Magadha , Kashmir , Gujerat and Sindh . In just 6 years of incessant wars, he founded an empire up to 3000 kilometers in length. The capital was relocated to Kannauj am Ganges , 400 km southeast of its old capital. Only the king of Bengal, Shashanka († 621), remained a rival, his empire could only be eliminated after his death. Harsha also failed to conquer the Indus Valley and the Indian west coast. Here he was defeated in 630 by the Chalukya king Pulakeshin II († 642) and had to recognize the Narmada as a border river to the south.

Society and Administration

In Harsha's time India was still quite progressive - so the number pi was calculated more precisely than in Greece (cf. Brahmagupta ). However, the high culture has long been limited to the exclusive castes of the military nobles, priests and large merchants who controlled the monetary system, long-distance trade, the guilds and administration. As described by the people of Xuanzang, “The common people are generally lighthearted, yet righteous and honorable, honest about money, and deliberate about legal matters. ... There are only a few criminals and rebels, one rarely has anything to stand against them. "

The king set up a centralized administration and constantly traveled through his territories to inspect and settle disputes. In ancient India, the direct sovereignty of a ruler could rarely be exercised over a radius of more than 150-200 kilometers . The rest of the areas were subject to sporadic controls up to an operating range of around 2000 kilometers. They were content with not admitting an equivalent ruler and exterminating individual opponents or sending them into exile. A complete elimination of noble families, however, was regarded as unknightly, which was certainly a problem for the Indian states of the time.

Harsha's reign was 30 years of peace. He used his own money to finance public projects and charitable institutions for the poor and the sick. Xuanzang wrote, “Since the administration of the land is based on mild laws, it is easy to carry out. The families are not registered and there is no forced labor. The crown estates are divided into four parts: the first is used for the state budget, the second is used to pay ministers and civil servants, the third is available for rewards for deserving men, and the fourth is used to support religious communities. "

Nevertheless, Harsha's state had problems: his empire was cut off in the west from the traditional long-distance trade routes with the east , the economy shrank and the amount of money in circulation declined. Harsha proceeded to gift his Brahmins and other dignitaries with state lands because his coffers were empty. Of course, this diminished his authority and increased that of the recipient, because the Brahmins hardly performed priestly, but rather administrative functions as officials. The land that was given away was not subject to taxation and royal officials and soldiers were not allowed to enter it. (However, there was still plenty of undeveloped land that could be developed through such a procedure.)

In spite of all of this, Harsha's army was not exactly small; from the beginning there were 5,000 war elephants , 20,000 horsemen (horses were five times more expensive in India than in the Franconian Empire ) and 50,000 foot soldiers. It is said to have been significantly increased later.

Religious politics

Harsha promoted the Buddhist University of Nalanda , which at that time had 4,000 students, but he himself remained a follower of Shiva . In Kannauj there were over 100 Buddhist monasteries, 1000 Buddhist monks and 500 Brahmins were fed there . Hinduism could not be bypassed, however; it was far too deeply rooted in the people for that, while Buddhism concentrated on the upper class. Both religions now existed side by side, with Hinduism developing its six philosophical schools (see Indian philosophy ) and the king is said to have also relaxed some Hindu laws ( widow burning ). Harsha himself was the author of three plays that mixed Buddhist and Hindu traits.

Every five years, Harsha held a major religious celebration. In the year 643 it was like this: On the first day Buddha was worshiped, on the second Vishnu as the sun god and on the third Shiva . There were 18 vassal kings, 3,000 Buddhist monks and 2,000 brahmins and followers of other teachings. Nevertheless, the Chinese pilgrim monk Xuanzang narrates that Harsha proceeded in an authoritarian manner in the interests of Mahayana Buddhism. (He threatened the loss of the head or tongue of anyone who sought the death or reviled Xuanzang - a staunch advocate of the belief.)

The end

Eventually the Brahmins undertook two conspiracies against the king. Harsha exposed the first and had many arrests made, but forgave the ringleaders so that he fell victim to the second in 647. He was killed by his officers.

Harsha had no heirs, so a minister took power. He fell out with Tang China and Tibet , was defeated and taken to China as a prisoner. However, the importance of the episode has been questioned. After Harsha, the late Gupta ruled in Magadha and Bengal in the 2nd half of the 7th century , who were eliminated by Yaśovarman , a promoter of art poetry, who in turn became a vassal of Lalitaditya of Kashmir († 754). A few decades later the empire found itself in the hands of the Pratihara - Rajputs .