Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"Harsha . . . was an Indian emperor who ruled North India from 606 to 647 CE. . . . At the height of Harsha's power, his Empire covered much of North and Northwestern India . . . The peace and prosperity that prevailed made his court a centre of cosmopolitanism, attracting scholars, artists and religious visitors from far and wide. The Chinese traveller Xuanzang visited the court of Harsha and wrote a very favourable account of him, praising his justice and generosity. His biography Harshacharita ("Deeds of Harsha") written by Sanskrit poet Banabhatta, describes his association with Thanesar, besides mentioning the defence wall, a moat and the palace with a two-storied Dhavalagriha (white mansion)." [Wikipedia] "Yet Harsha also honored Buddhism. In 644, the year after the Arab army turned back from the Indus, he held an enormous assembly in the capital city so that thousands would have the opportunity to hear Xuan Zang’s teaching; . . . He was the last Indian king who would be able to build an empire in the north; the next ruler to dominate northern India would come from the outside." [Bauer: Medieval World, p. 302-4]