Harsha's Empire

State · 612–655 CE · at its largest around 626 CE

A north Indian empire built by Harshavardhana and ruled from Kannauj. The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang visited his court; the empire fragmented after his death.

On its lands while it lasted

Vallabhi (c. 476–1948 CE): Capital of Maitraka Dynasty (476–731).
Harsha (c. 590 CE – 647 CE): Emperor who ruled much of northern India from Kannauj; his court was described by the poet Bana and the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang.
Brahmagupta (c. 598 CE – 668 CE): Mathematician and astronomer from Bhillamala in Rajasthan who gave the first rules for arithmetic with zero and negative numbers.
Songtsen Gampo (c. 605 CE – 649 CE): King who unified Tibet, moved the capital to Lhasa and is credited with introducing Buddhism and writing.
Tibetan Empire (c. 618–842 CE): Empire founded by the Yarlung dynasty that dominated the Tibetan Plateau and at times much of Central Asia.
Lhasa (c. 623 CE): Capital of Tibetan Empire (623–842), Khoshut Khanate (1650–1695).
Zero as a number (628 CE): In his Brahmasphutasiddhanta of 628, Brahmagupta treated zero as a number in its own right and set out rules for calculating with it.
Xuanzang’s journey to India (629–645 CE): The Buddhist monk Xuanzang left Chang’an without imperial permission, crossed Central Asia to study at Nalanda in India, and returned with hundreds of texts; his Great Tang Records on the Western Regions describe the lands he visited.
Jokhang (c. 647 CE): Temple in Lhasa founded under Songtsen Gampo, the most sacred site in Tibetan Buddhism.