Kanishka

Kanishka (Kanishka the Great), (Sanskrit: कनिष्क, Bactrian language:Κανηϸκι, Middle Chinese: 迦腻色伽 (Ka-ni-sak-ka > New Chinese: Jianisejia)) was an emperor of the Kushan dynasty (127–151) who ruled an empire extending from Turfan in the Tarim Basin to Pataliputra on the Gangetic plainand famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements. His main capital was at Purushpura (Peshawar in present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,Pakistan) with regional capitals at the location of present-day Bagram inAfghanistan and Mathura in India.

Shivaji

Shivaji Bhonsle (Marathi [ʃiʋaˑɟiˑ bʱoˑs(ə)leˑ]; c. 1627/1630^[2] – 3 April 1680) was an Indian warrior king and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji, in 1674, carved out an enclave from the declining Adilshahi sultanate of Bijapurthat formed the genesis of an independent Maratha Empire with Raigad as its capital.

Ashoka

Ashoka Maurya (Sanskrit: अशोक मौर्य), (304–232 BCE), commonly known asAshoka and also as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from circa 269 BCE to 232 BCE.^[1] One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over a realm that stretched from the Hindu Kush mountains in the west to Bengal in the East and covered the entire Indian subcontinent except parts of present day Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The empire's capital was Pataliputra (in Magadha, present-day Bihar), with provincial capitals at Taxila and Ujjain.

Akbar

Akbar (IPA: [əkbər]; 14 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), also known as Akbar the Great or Akbar I,^[6][7] was Mughal Emperor from 1556 until his death. He was the third and one of the greatest rulers of the Mughal Dynasty in India. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expand and consolidate Mughal domains in India. A strong personality and a successful general, Akbar gradually enlarged the Mughal Empire to include nearly all of the Indian Subcontinent north of theGodavari river. His power and influence, however, extended over the entire country because of Mughal military, political, cultural, and economic dominance. To unify the vast Mughal state, Akbar established a centralised system of administration throughout his empire and adopted a policy of conciliating conquered rulers through marriage and diplomacy. In order to preserve peace and order in a religiously and culturally diverse empire, he adopted policies that won him the support of his non-Muslim subjects. Eschewing tribal bonds and Islamic state identity, Akbar strived to unite far-flung lands of his realm through loyalty, expressed through a Persianisedculture, to himself as an emperor who had near-divine status.

Chandragupta Maurya

Chandragupta Maurya (340 BC – 298 BC) was the founder of the Maurya Empire and the first emperor to unify most of Greater India into one state. He ruled from 322 BC until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favour of his son Bindusara in 298 BC.^[2][3][4]

Chandragupta Maurya was a pivotal figure in the history of India. Prior to his consolidation of power, most of South Asia was ruled by small states, while theNanda Empire dominated the Indus-Gangetic Plain.^[5] Chandragupta succeeded in conquering and subjugating almost all of the Indian subcontinentby the end of his reign,^{[nb 1]} except the Tamil regions (Chera, Chola andPandya) and Kalinga. His empire extended from Bengal in the east, toAfghanistan and Balochistan in the west, to the Himalayas and Kashmir in the north, and to the Deccan Plateau in the south. It was the largest empire yet seen in Indian history.^[6][7]