Indo-Parthian Kingdom
The Indo-Parthian Kingdom existed in the first century AD in what is now Sistan and Pakistan . The founder was probably Gondophares . The capital was initially Taxila , at the end of the empire it was in the Kabul area .
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The history of the empire can almost only be deduced from the coins. There are few direct written sources on them. The Indo-Parthians can possibly be identified with the Pahlavas in some Indian sources. The coins are partly Parthian and Hellenistic. There are Zeus and Athena , called the front shows a picture of the respective rulers, but also the Indian god Shiva occurs some coins currently in Gondophares two-armed shape. The legends are in Greek and Kharoshti , later also in Pahlavi .
history
Around 20 AD, the Parthian prince Gondophares made himself independent from the Parthians, declared himself king and began to mint his own coins. Under his rule, which lasted almost 30 years, the empire also achieved its greatest power and, in addition to the above-mentioned tribal areas, also included the Kabul valley and the Punjab . Even under his successor there were signs of decay. Gondophares' successor was perhaps his nephew Abdagases I (approx. 50 - 65). He was primarily a general, but not a king. Under him the empire was already losing power and size; the capital was relocated near Kabul. North India was conquered by the Kushan and from now on the empire was limited almost exclusively to today's Afghanistan. The last ruler Pakores (approx. 100-135) ruled in Sakastan and Turan. The Shatavahana ruler Gautamiputra Sātakarni (approx. 106-130) finally described himself as the victor over the Indo-Parthians, the Greeks and the Sakas. He seems to have finally destroyed the empire, although most of it went up in the Cushan empire.
The most important Indo-Parthian kings
- Gondophares I. (approx. 20–50) coin
- Abdagases I. (approx. 50-65) coin
- Satavastres (approx. 65–70) coin
- Sarpedones (c. 70) coin
- Orthagnes (c. 70) coin
- Ubouzanes (approx. 77) coin
- Sanabares (approx. 80)
- Sases or Gondophares II (c. 85) coin
- Abdagases II. (Approx. 90) coin
- Pacores (approx 100) coin
supporting documents
- ^ The Geographical Data in Early Puranas, a Critical Studies, 1972, p 135, Dr MR Singh; Sacred Books of the East, XXV, Intr. p cxv; Rapson, Coins of Ancient India, p 37, n.2.
literature
- Ainslie T. Embree , Friedrich Willhelm: India. History of the subcontinent from the Indus culture to the beginning of English rule (= Fischer world history . 17). Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1967.
- Hermann Kulke : Indian history until 1750 (= Oldenbourg ground plan of history . 34). R. Oldenbourg, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-486-55741-6 .
- Hermann Kulke, Dietmar Rothermund : History of India. From the Indus culture to today. Special edition. CH Beck, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-406-54997-7 .
- Vincent A. Smith : The Oxford History of India. 3rd edition. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1958.
Web links
- Christine Fröhlich: INDO-PARTHIAN DYNASTY . In: Ehsan Yarshater (Ed.): Encyclopædia Iranica (English, including references)
- Coins of the Indo-Parthians
Coordinates: 30 ° N , 69 ° E