Shunga dynasty
The Shunga were an ancient Indian dynasty whose empire succeeded the Maurya Empire . The Shunga dynasty ruled between 185 BC. BC and 73 BC A large part of northern India from Magadha . The capital cities were Pataliputra in Magadha and Vidisha in Malwa , with opinions divided as to which of the two cities was more important for the administration of the empire.
history
The history of the Shunga dynasty began after the Harshacarita (7th century) with a coup by General Pushyamitra (ruled approx. 185–151 / 149 BC) against the rule of his master Brihadratha († approx. 180 BC). BC), a grandson of Emperor Ashoka . Pushyamitra took over the royal dignity of Magadha, which ended the Maurya dynasty.
Pushyamitra, the founder of the Shunga dynasty, came from a Brahmin family despite his military background and ruled for more than 30 years. He was in the battles with his opponents, the Shatavahanas of King Satakarni (around 180 BC), the Bactrian Greeks under the kings Demetrios I and II and their general Menander from 183 BC. BC or the conqueror Kharavela of Kalinga apparently not particularly successful; on the other hand, he and his allies conquered Pataliputra at an unclear point in time .
Pushyamitra's son Agnimitra was viceroy in central India, and his capital was Vidisha in Malwa . According to a play by Kalidasa , he is said to have ended hostility to the Vidarbha empire in Berar (which may already have been under the Shatavahanas) by marriage. The advance of the well-known Indo-Greek King Menander fell into his time .
Despite their reign of over a hundred years, little is known about the Shunga. They preferred Brahmanism again to Buddhism and cultivated Sanskrit . The financing of Buddhist monasteries for the purpose of enhancing the general culture was probably too expensive for them compared to the settlement of Brahmin families. Although the Buddhist representation speaks of the persecution of the Buddhists by Pushyamitra (100 gold pieces per capita) and the destruction of 84,000 stupas , their monasteries grew and the stupa of Bharhut was built at this time. The Shunga apparently lifted many of Ashoka's prohibitions on festivals and animal sacrifices, as did their neighbor in Kalinga; In addition, Pushyamitra is said to have celebrated the Vedic horse sacrifice ( ashvamedha ) again.
In the course of about 100 years, the Shunga Empire shrank to the core area of Magadha and several independent principalities and tribal states emerged in its place. The ninth king, Bhagavata, is mentioned on the Heliodoros column near Vidisha, in which there is also talk of an embassy from the Indo-Greek king Antialkidas . The Shunga dynasty ended when the tenth king Devabhuti in 73 BC. At the instigation of his minister Vasudeva was murdered by a slave. Vasudeva in turn founded the empire of the short-lived Kanva dynasty (73-28 BC) on the "ruins" of the Shunga empire , which only had four kings and under the Magadha up to the Gupta period on the periphery status of the Shatavahanas fell back.
art
In contrast to the Maurya, the Shunga again preferred more Indian elements in art. Only a few stone reliefs from this period have survived; the most important come from the vedika stone fence of the stupa of Bharhut . Typical of the Shunga period are conspicuously knotted headgear, as can be seen on some figural reliefs in Sanchi or Bhaja .
Woman with child
feminine figure
dto.
List of Shunga Kings
- Pushyamitra Shunga (185-149 BC)
- Agnimitra (149–141 BC)
- Vasujyestha (approx. 141 BC)
- Vasumitra (141–137 / 1 BC)
- Andraka
- Pulindaka
- Ghoshavasu
- Vajramitra (? –116 BC, ab.)
- Bhagavata (116-83 BC)
- Devabhuti (83-73 BC)
literature
- Hermann Kulke , Dietmar Rothermund : History of India. From the Indus culture to today . 2nd edition of the special edition. CH Beck, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-406-60414-0 , p. 91ff.
Web links
Remarks
- ↑ An interpretation of Indian literary texts. See Propylaea World History , Vol. 2, p. 423.