Damasena was a

Western Kshatrapa The Western Satraps, or Western Kshatrapas ( Brahmi:, ''Mahakṣatrapa'', "Great Satraps") were Indo-Scythian ( Saka) rulers of the western and central part of India ( Saurashtra and Malwa: modern Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pr ...

ruler, who reigned from 223 to 232 CE. From the reign of

Rudrasimha I 300px, Gunda inscription of Rudrasimha, Saka year 103. Rudrasimha I was a Western Kshatrapa ruler, who reigned from 178 to 197 CE. He was son of Rudradaman I, grandson of Jayadaman, and grand-grandson of Chashtana. During his reign, the Abhir ...

, the date of minting of each coin, reckoned in the

Saka era The Shaka era (IAST: Śaka, Śāka) is a historical Hindu calendar era (year numbering), the epoch (its year zero) of which corresponds to Julian year 78. The era has been widely used in different regions of India as well as in SE Asia. Hist ...

, is usually written on the obverse behind the king's head in

Brahmi numerals The Brahmi numerals are a numeral system attested from the 3rd century BCE (somewhat later in the case of most of the tens). They are a non positional decimal system. They are the direct graphic ancestors of the modern Hindu–Arabic numeral s ...

, allowing for the quite precise dating of the rule of each king.Rapson CCVIII This is a rather uncommon case in Indian numismatics. Some, such as the numismatist R.C Senior considered that these dates might correspond to the much earlier

Azes era The "Azes era" (also known as the ''Aja'' or ''Ajasa'' era, Prakrit: ''Ayasa vaṣaye'') starting 47/46 BCE, was named after the Indo-Scythian king, "King Azes the Great" or Azes I. As a number of inscriptions are dated in this era it is of great ...

instead.

Notes

References

* Rapson, "A Catalogue of Indian coins in the British Museum. Andhras etc..." {{Western Satraps Western Satraps