Mehama ( Bactrian: ''Meyam'',

Brahmi Brahmi ( ; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system from ancient India. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' or ...

𑀫𑁂𑀳𑀫 ''Me-ha-ma''), ruled c.461-493, was a king of

Alchon Huns The Alchon Huns, ( Bactrian: ''Alkhon(n)o'' or ''Alkhan(n)o'') also known as the Alkhan, Alchono, Alxon, Alkhon, Alakhana, and Walxon, were a nomadic people who established states in Central Asia and South Asia during the 4th and 6th centurie ...

dynasty. He is little known, but the Talagan copper scroll mentions him as an active ruler making a donation to a Buddhist

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

in 492/93.For an image of the copper scroll: Coin Cabinet of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienn
Showcase 8
/ref> At that time, it is considered that the Alchon Huns were firmly in charge of the Buddhist region around

Taxila Taxila or Takshashila () is a city in the Pothohar region of Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and is just south of the ...

, but had not yet started to conquer much else in the India sub-continent. Mehama is named ''Maha Shahi Mehama'' (Great Lord Mehama) in the Talagan copper scroll. Mehama appears in a letter in the Bactrian language he wrote in 461-462 CE. The letter comes from the archives of the Kingdom of Rob, located in southern Bactria. In this letter he presents himself as: Kadag is Kadagstan, an area in southern Bactria, in the region of Baghlan. Significantly, he presents himself as a vassal of the

Sasanian Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

king

Peroz I Peroz I () was the Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings () of History of Iran, Iran from 459 to 484. A son of Yazdegerd II (), he disputed the rule of his elder brother and incumbent king Hormizd III (), eventually seizing the throne after a ...

. Mehama allied with Sasanian king

(459-484) in his victory over the

Kidarites The Kidarites, or Kidara Huns, were a dynasty that ruled Bactria and adjoining parts of Central Asia and South Asia in the 4th and 5th centuries. The Kidarites belonged to a complex of peoples known collectively in India as the Huna people, Huna, ...

in 466 CE, and may also have helped him take the throne against his brother Hormizd III. It is thought that Mehama, after being elevated to the position of Governor for Peroz, was later able to wrestle autonomy or even independence. File:Mehama_coin.jpg, Coin of Mehama, with portrait and fire altar with attendants on the reverse, in the style of Sasanian coinage. File:Mehama. Circa 461-493 Bactria mint.jpg, Coin of Mehama, -493, in the style of the Kushans,

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

on the reverse. Bactria mint File:Bactrian language letter from Meyam, King of the people of Kadag, 461-462 CE.jpg, Bactrian language letter from "Meyam, King of the people of Kadag", dated to 461-462 CE.

References

Central Asia Kings of the Alchon Huns 493 deaths {{CAsia-hist-stub

See also

References