Key Developments in India Post-Mauryan Era
Influence of Central Asian Dynasties
Menander (165–45 BCE):
Importance of the Indo-Greek Rule:
The Coins of the Graeco-Bactrians
The Indo-Greek coins that circulated north of the Hindu Kush were made of gold, silver, copper, and nickel. They followed the Attic weight standard and featured Greek legends.
Indo-Greek coins that circulated south of the Hindu Kush were made of silver and copper, often square in shape. They had bilingual inscriptions in Greek and Kharoshthi (less frequently, Brahmi) and followed an Indian weight standard.
The coin series of King Agathocles is notable for depicting Samkarshana Balarama on the obverse and Vasudeva Krishna on the reverse. The coins of the Shakas, Parthians, and Kshatrapas followed the basic features of Indo-Greek coinage, including bilingual and bi-script legends.
The Greeks were succeeded by the Shakas, also known as the Scythians. The Shakas dismantled Greek authority in both Bactria and India, extending their control over a much larger portion of India than the Greeks had. The history of Shaka rule in India is primarily documented through inscriptions and coins.
Shaka Rule in India
Resistance and Vikramaditya
Shaka Rule and Western India
Conflict with the Satavahanas:
Kardamakas:
Junagadh Inscription:
Rudradaman’s Inscription:
Eulogy of Rudradaman:
Sudarshana Lake:
Kujula Kadphises (Kadphises I):
Vima Kadphises:
Kanishka:
Kanishka’s Conquests:
Trade and Expansion:
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Indo-Greeks, Sakas, Kushanas, Western Kshatrapas
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Kanishka’s Religious Eclecticism:
King as Divine:
Other Rulers:
Numismatic Evidence of the Kushanas:
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