Conquests

Conquests On his accession in CE Harsha focused his attention on the affairs of his sister Rajyasri who had fled to Vindhya mountains to escape from the evil design of Deva Gupta of Malwa to covet her. Harsha went to Vindhya mountain ranges and succeeded in saving his sister who was about to burn herself after killing Deva Gupta. Harsha consoled Rajyasri and brought her back to the kingdom of Kanauj. Later Rajyasri took to Buddhism and was instrumental in converting Harsha to Buddhism. Harsha Coin According to Bana, Harsha, in an effort to build an empire, sent an ultimatum to the following kings to either surrender or be prepared for a battle: . Sasanka, the Gauda ruler of Bengal. . The Maithrakas of Valabhi and Gurjara of Broach region. . The Chalukya king, Pulikesin II, in the Deccan . Rulers of Sindh, Nepal, Kashmir, Magadha, Odra (northern Odisha) and Kongoda (another geographical unit in ancient Odisha). XI History - Lesson - - Harsha and Rise of Regional Kingdoms Extent of Harsha’s Empire Harsha ruled for years. His feudatories included those of Jalandhar (in the Punjab), Kashmir, Nepal and Valabhi. Sasanka of Bengal remained hostile to him. Though it is claimed that Harsha’s Empire comprised Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Kanauj, Malwa, Odisha, the Punjab, Kashmir, Nepal and Sindh, his real sway did not extend beyond a compact territory between the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. The kingdom of Harsha disintegrated rapidly into small states after his death. Harsha’s Relations with China Harsha had cordial relations with China. The contemporary T’ang emperor, Tai Tsung, sent an embassy to his court in and again in CE. On the second occasion, the Chinese ambassador found that Harsha had recently died. On learning that the throne had been usurped by an undeserving king, the Chinese ambassador rushed to Nepal and Assam to raise a force to dislodge the usurper. Later, the king who had usurped the throne was taken to China as a prisoner. Administration According to historian Burton Stein, a centralised administration did not even exist under the