Samanta

Samanta was a title and position used by the army people of kings in the history of the Indian subcontinent. The institution of Samanta finds mention for the first time in epigraphs of northern India dating to the 6th century. The institution is considered to and is closely associated with the origin and growth of feudalism in India. However, the institution is known to have existed prior to the Gupta period, though details on them are vague. A Pallava inscription dating to the time of Santivarman (AD 455 - 470) uses the term Samanta-Chudamanayah (best feudatories). The Samanta in South India was used to mean a vassal to an emperor. In North India, the earliest use of the term in a similar sense was in Bengal in the Barabar Hill Cave Inscription of the Maukhari Chief, Anantavarman (dating to the 6th century AD) in which his father is described as the Samanta-Chudamanih (best among feudatories) of the imperial Guptas. The Samanta vassal provided military support to the monarch and governed over a portion of territory.