The Early History of India, from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan Conquest, including the Invasion of Alexander the Great c29.12

c29.12

Certain it is that Chandra-gupta was raised by his Lichchhavi connexion from the rank of a local chief, as enjoyed by his father and grandfather,¹ to such dignity that he felt justified in assuming the lofty title of ‘Sovereign of Mahārājas’, usually associated with a claim to the rank of lord paramount. He struck coins in the joint names of himself, his queen, and the Lichchhavis; and his son and successor habitually described himself with pride as the son of the daughter of the Lichchhavis. Chandra-gupta, designated as the First, to distinguish him from his grandson of the same name, extended his dominion along the Gangetic valley as far as the junction of the Ganges and Jumna, where Allāhābād now stands; and ruled during his brief tenure of the throne a populous and fertile territory, which included Tirhūt, South Bihār, Oudh, and certain adjoining districts. His political importance was sufficient to warrant him in establishing, after the Oriental manner, a new era dating from his formal consecration or coronation, when he was proclaimed as heir to the imperial power associated by venerable tradition with the possession of Pātaliputra. The first year of the Gupta era, which continued in use for several centuries, and in countries widely separated, ran from February 26, A.D. 320, to March 13, 321; of which dates the former may be taken as that of the coronation of Chandra-gupta I.²