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Our Pasts I, II & III (Classes 6–8)
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Alchon Huns (Hunas)
Foreign / northwestern kingdom
Level 2
c. 460 CE – c. 560 CE
Invaders under Toramana and Mihirakula who weakened the Guptas.
- Capital
- Sakala
- Region
- Northwest
- Duration
- 100 years
- Main period
- Gupta Empire & Regional Powers
Approximate extent.
At a glance
Move along the chart to read any year; click a ruler or event to open the map there.
Rulers
- Toramana Kingc. 493 CE – c. 515 CE
- Mihirakula Kingc. 515 CE – c. 540 CEDefeated by Yashodharman and Narasimhagupta.
Selected rulers; gaps in the list are not gaps in the dynasty.
Key events
| Year | Event | Place |
|---|---|---|
| c. 510 CE | Huna invasions under Toramana The Hunas seized parts of western and central India, weakening the Guptas. |
Eran |
📚 Recommended reading on the Alchon Huns (Hunas)
Textbook
Themes in Indian History, Parts I–III (Class 12)
Source-based chapters on Harappa, Vijayanagara, the Mughal court and 1857 — essential for UPSC.
Textbook
An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I (Class 11)
The standard base for art and architecture questions — stupas, temples and sculpture.
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India's Ancient Past
The expanded version of the classic old-NCERT ancient India text; clear and exam-friendly.
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📄 Research papers
Paper🏛 Library access
🇮🇳 Indian scholarship
Politics, violence and war in Kāmandaka's Nītisāra
Ideas of kingship, power and war in the Nītisāra, an early medieval text on statecraft.
Contemporaries
Powers that coexisted with the Alchon Huns (Hunas) for a significant part of its history. The bar shows when, within its own span.
Anuradhapura Kingdom ★
Sri Lanka · c. 437 BCE – c. 1017
Overlap: 100 years
Gupta Empire ★
Gangetic Plain · c. 240 CE – c. 550 CE
Overlap: 90 years
Pallava Dynasty ★
South · c. 275 CE – c. 897 CE
Overlap: 100 years
Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) Dynasty ★
North · c. 500 CE – c. 647 CE
Overlap: 60 years
Kalabhra Interregnum
South · c. 250 CE – c. 600 CE
Overlap: 100 years
Vakataka Dynasty
Deccan · c. 250 CE – c. 500 CE
Overlap: 40 years
Kadamba Dynasty
South · c. 345 CE – c. 525 CE
Overlap: 65 years
Western Ganga Dynasty
South · c. 350 CE – c. 1000
Overlap: 100 years
Kamarupa
Northeast · c. 350 CE – c. 1140
Overlap: 100 years
Licchavi Kingdom of Nepal
Himalaya · c. 400 CE – c. 750 CE
Overlap: 100 years
Maitraka Dynasty
West · c. 475 CE – c. 776 CE
Overlap: 85 years
Rai Dynasty of Sindh
Northwest · c. 489 CE – c. 632 CE
Overlap: 71 years
Later Guptas of Magadha
East · c. 490 CE – c. 750 CE
Overlap: 70 years