Shapur II vs Samudragupta?

In the middle of the 4th century CE, the Sasanian Shahanshah Shapur II. and the Gupta Maharaja Samudragupta were successful emperors and conquerors - and they came quite close to each other, geographically. Shapur repeatedly conducted campaigns to consolidate Sasanian control over former Kushana, which had stretched beyond the Indus. Samudragupta subdued many Indian polities and extended his sphere of power to the Indus, too.

What if Shapur`s and Samudragupta`s armies had crossed each other`s paths, had some reason for conflict, and engaged in war against each other?
How would such a confrontation have looked like and developed, and with what outcome? What were their respective strengths and weaknesses? And what could have happened after such a military confrontation?
 

fi11222

Banned
If the Sassanians manage to ally themselves with the Central Asian nomads of their time (like the Hephtalites, to whom they are quite close culturally), I believe they would stand a chance against the Gupta. This would be a win-win for both the Hephtalites and the Sassanians : they avoid fighting each other (which they did IOTL) and both gain at the expense of the Gupta.

Barring this kind of Alliance, I do not think the Sassanians stand much chance against the Gupta at their height. India is just too big and too wealthy while 90% of the Sassanian's territory is a semi-arid plateau. And the Persians are also in a state of semi-permanant war with the Romans in the west.
 

fi11222

Banned
OK, so the Gupta are bound to be numerically far superior.
What about tactics, weaponry etc.?
Both Sassanians and Ephtalites have heavy cavalry-centered armies + archers and auxillaries. Sassanians are as good as the Romans at siege warfare.

Guptas would have elephants + a rather disparate (but huge) army made up of various contingents from different locations/ethnic groups.

In strict military terms, the Guptas are probably inferior but more important than their pure military skill is the fact that they have enormous financial ressources with which to buy mercenaries / allies. That is why they are, in my opinion, impregnable unless the Sassanians and Hephtalites embark on a full-on joint conquest effort.
 
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