The Early History of India, from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan Conquest, including the Invasion of Alexander the Great c31.s9.8

c31.s9.8

The real difference between the ancient and mediaeval periods is that the living tradition concerning the former has been broken, while that concerning the latter survives. The Mauryas and Guptas belong to a dead and buried past, remembered only through books, inscriptions, and coins, whereas the clans whose ruling families came into notice during the mediaeval period are still very much alive, and in many cases form numerous and influential sections of the existing population.