Western Satraps

This article is about the specific polity Western Satraps and therefore only includes events related to its territory and not to its possessions or colonies. If you are interested in the possession, this is the link to the article about the nation which includes all possessions as well as all the different incarnations of the nation.

If you are looking for the page with the statistics about this polity you can find it here:All Statistics

Were Indo-Scythian (Saka) rulers of the western and central part of India (Saurashtra and Malwa: modern Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh states).

Establishment

January 2: The Western Kshatrapa ruler Nahapana controlled the northern Deccan plateau, the northern Konkan coastal plains, and the mountain passes connecting these two regions.

Chronology

Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation

1. Conquests of Chandragupta II

Conquests by Gupta ruler Chandragupta II.

January 411: Chandragupta II expanded his realm westwards, defeating the Saka Western Kshatrapas of Malwa, Gujarat and Saurashtra in a campaign lasting until 409.

January 413: The Western Satraps were eventually conquered by emperor Chandragupta II. Inscriptions of a victorious Chandragupta II in the year 412-413 CE can be found on the railing near the Eastern Gateway of the Great Stupa in Sanchi.

2. Further events (Unrelated to Any War)

January 36: Indo-Scythian (Saka) rulers of ancient India who ruled over the region of Sindh, Makran, Saurashtra and Malwa (in modern Sindh, Balochistan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh of India and Pakistan), between 35 and 405 CE.

January 41: During 15-40 CE the Western Satraps of Malwa and Konkan extended their influence into the northern Deccan plateau, the northern Konkan coastal plains, and the mountain passes connecting these two regions.

January 51: Kujula Kadphises was the founder of the Kushan Dynasty, a powerful empire that ruled over northern India in the 1st century AD. Under his leadership, the Kushans expanded their territory by absorbing the northern Indian part of the kingdom.

January 51: The Satavahana power was revived by Gautamiputra Satakarni, who is considered the greatest of the Satavahana rulers. Charles Higham dates his reign c. 103 - c. 127 CE. S. Nagaraju dates it 106-130 CE, the new consensus is shared by Shailendra Bhandare, Akira Shimada, and Oskar von Hinuber, who regard Gautamiputra Satakarni's reign was ca. 60-85 CE, Andrew Ollett considers it as 60-84 CE. The king defeated by him appears to have been the Western Kshatrapa ruler Nahapana, as suggested by Nahapana's coins overstuck with names and titles of Gautamiputra. The Nashik prashasti inscription of Gautamiputra's mother Gautami Balashri, dated to the 20th year after his death, records his achievements. The most liberal interpretation of the inscription suggests that his kingdom extended from the present-day Rajasthan in the north to Krishna river in the south, and from Saurashtra in the west to Kalinga in the east. He assumed the titles Raja-Raja (King of Kings) and Maharaja (Great King), and was described as the Lord of Vindhya.

January 79: A new dynasty, called the Bhadramukhas or Kardamaka dynasty, was established by the "Satrap" Castana. The date of Castana is not certain, but many believe his reign started in the year 78 CE, thus making him the founder of the Saka era. The territory of the Western Satraps at the time of Chastana is described extensively by the geographer Ptolemy in his "Geographia", where he qualifies them as "Indo-Scythians". He describes this territory as starting from Patalene in the West, to Ujjain in the east ("Ozena-Regia Tiastani", "Ozene/Ujjain, capital of king Chastana"), and beyond Barigaza in the south.

January 101: Nahapana became a very powerful ruler. He occupied portions of the Satavahana empire in western and central India. Nahapana held sway over Malwa, Southern Gujarat, and Northern Konkan, from Bharuch to Sopara and the Nasik and Poona districts.

February 101: Nahapana and Ushavadata were ultimately defeated by the powerful Satavahana king Gautamiputra Satakarni. Gautamiputra drove the Sakas from Malwa and Western Maharashtra, forcing Nahapana west to Gujarat. His victory is known from the fact that Gautamiputra restruck many of Nahapana's coins (such a hoard was found in Jogalthambi, Nashik District) and that he claimed victory on them in an inscription at Cave No. 3 of the Pandavleni Caves in Nashik.

January 102: As a result of his victories, Rudradaman regained all the former territories previously held by Nahapana, except for the extreme south territories of Pune and Nasik. Satavahana dominions were limited to their original base in the Deccan and eastern central India around Amaravati.

January 131: Rudradaman regained all the previous territories held by Nahapana, probably with the exception of the southern areas of Poona and Nasik .

January 181: The south Indian ruler Yajna Sri Satakarni (170-199 CE) of the Satavahana dynasty defeated the Western Satraps in the late 2nd century CE, thereby reconquering their southern regions in western and central India, which led to the decline of the Western Satraps.

January 201: Sri Yajna Sātakarni, the last person belonging to the main Satavahana dynastic line, briefly revived the Satavahana rule. According to S. N. Sen, he ruled during 170-199 CE. Charles Higham dates the end of his reign to 181 CE. His coins feature images of ships, which suggest naval and marine trade success. Wide distribution of his coins, and inscriptions at Nashik, Kanheri and Guntur indicate that his rule extended over both eastern and western parts of Deccan. He recovered much of the territory lost the Western Kshatrapas, and issued silver coinage, imitating them.

January 249: The Abhiras ruled western Maharashtra which included Nasik, Aparanta, Lata and Khandesh from 248 AD.