Harsha

Harsha (Harshavardhana, reigned 606-647) was the last major emperor of the Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) dynasty of northern India, ruling a wide realm from his capital at Kannauj. He came to power after the death of his elder brother, the king of Thanesar, and built an empire covering much of the north, though his southward advance was checked near the Narmada River. A poet and patron of learning, he wrote the Sanskrit plays Nagananda, Ratnavali, and Priyadarsika, and his court and Buddhist patronage were described by the visiting Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang. His empire dissolved soon after his death.