Rajuvula (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

;

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 ...

: , ;

Kharosthi Kharosthi script (), also known as the Gandhari script (), was an ancient script originally developed in the Gandhara Region of modern-day Pakistan, between the 5th and 3rd century BCE. used primarily by the people of Gandhara alongside vari ...

: , ; , ; , ) was an

Indo-Scythian The Indo-Scythians, also known as Indo-Sakas, were a group of nomadic people of Iranian peoples, Iranic Scythians, Scythian origin who migrated from Central Asia southward into the present-day regions of Afghanistan, Eastern Iran and the northwe ...

Great Satrap (''Mahākṣatrapa''), one of the " Northern Satraps" who ruled in the area of

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Delhi; and about from the town of Vrindavan. In ancient ti ...

in the northern

Indian Subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

in the years around 10 CE. The Mathura lion capital was consecrated under the reign of Rajuvula. In central India, the Indo-Scythians had conquered the area of

from Indian kings around 60 BCE. Some of their

satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median kingdom, Median and Achaemenid Empire, Persian (Achaemenid) Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic empi ...

s were Hagamasha and Hagana, who were in turn followed by Rajuvula.

Name

Rajuvula's name is attested on his coins in the

form and the

forms (), (), and (), which are derived from the

Saka The Saka, Old Chinese, old , Pinyin, mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples, Eastern Iranian peoples who lived in the Eurasian ...

name , meaning "ruling king"

Biography

Rajuvula is thought to have invaded the last of the

Indo-Greek The Indo-Greek Kingdom, also known as the Yavana Kingdom, was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era Ancient Greece, Greek kingdom covering various parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India. The term "Indo-Greek Kingdom" ...

territories in the eastern

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, and replaced the last of the Indo-Greek kings,

Strato II Strato II Soter (, ''Strátōn B΄ ho Sotḗr''; epithet means "the Saviour") also known as Stratha, was an Indo-Greek king. He ruled to 10 CE according to Bopearachchi. R. C. Senior suggests that his reign ended perhaps a decade earlier. He ma ...

and

Strato III Strato III Philopator (; epithet means "the Father-loving") was an Indo-Greek king who ruled c. 25 BCE to 10 CE. He is only known through the joint coins with his father Strato II. He may have been supplanted, in conjunction with his father o ...

. The main coinage of Rajuvula imitated that of the Indo-Greek rulers he supplanted. MathuraLionCapital

The Mathura lion capital, an

sandstone capital from

in Central India, and dated to the 1st century CE, describes in

kharoshthi Kharosthi script (), also known as the Gandhari script (), was an ancient script originally developed in the Gandhara Region of modern-day Pakistan, between the 5th and 3rd century BCE. used primarily by the people of Gandhara alongside vari ...

the gift of a

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 ...

with a relic of the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

, by queen Nadasi Kasa, "the wife of Rajuvula" and "daughter of Aiyasi Kamuia", which was an older view supported by Bühler, Rapson, Lüders and others. But according to a later view propounded by

Sten Konow image:StenKonow.jpg, Sten Konow Sten Konow (17 April 1867 – 29 June 1948) was a Norwegian Indologist. He was a professor of Indian philology at the University of Oslo, Christiania University, Oslo, from 1910, until moving to Hamburg Universi ...

, and accepted by later scholars, the principal donor making endowments was princess

Aiyasi Kamuia The Mathura lion capital is an Indo-Scythian sandstone Capital (architecture), capital (a part of a pillar) from Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, Mathura in Northern India, dated to the first decade of the 1st century CE (1–10 CE). It was consecrated u ...

, "chief queen of Rajuvula" and "daughter of Yuvaraja Kharaosta Kamuio". Nadasi Kasa (or Nada Diaka) was daughter of Ayasia Kamuia. According to an older view, Yuvaraja Kharaosta Kamuio was thought to be the son of Ayasi Kamuia who in turn was thought to be the widow of Arta whom Rajuvula later married. Konow refuted this view, and concluded that Ayasia Kamuia, chief queen of Rajuvula, was the daughter and not the mother of Kharaosta Kamuio. The fact that the last name ' Kamuia' has been used both by Yuvaraja Kharaosta as well as the princess Aiyasi clearly proves that Aiyasi Kamuia was the daughter and not the mother of Yuvaraja Kharaosta Kamuio (Kambojaka), since such family-names or designations are naturally inherited from the father's side and not from the mother's. Hence, Dr Konow's interpretation appears more convincing. The capital also mentions the genealogy of several Indo-Scythian satraps of Mathura. The presence of the Buddhist symbol triratana at the center of the capital suggests that Rajuvula was, at least nominally, following the Buddhist faith. Several other inscription from Mathura mention Rajuvula, such as the Mora Well Inscription. Sodasa, son of Rajuvula, succeeded him and also made Mathura his capital.

Coinage of Rajuvula

File:Rajuvula Northern Satrap with Greek legend and Athena Alkidemos.jpg, Coin of Rajuvula with Greek legend and Athena Alkidemos. File:Rajuvula Northern Satrap with lion and Herakles holding lion skin.jpg, Coin of Rajuvula with lion and

Herakles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through Amphitr ...

holding lion skin. Here the king's title is ''Mahakshatrapa "Great Satrap". Coin probably minted in

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 ...

. File:Coin of Rajuvula.jpg, Billon drachm of the Indo-Scythian king Rajuvula (-25 CE). Weight: 2.21 gm, diameter: 12 mm File:A118 SatrapRujuvula Jammu MACW2501 1ar (8723600518).jpg, A coin of a silver drachma of the satrap Rujuvula who governs the Jammu in India from ca 10/1 BC to 1/10 AD for the Indo-Scythians. A / Diademed bust of the satrap to the right in stereotyped style. Greek inscription BASILEPS SPTROS around. R / Pallas left and inscription Chatrapasa apratihatachakrasa in Kharoshti around, control mark in the field. Dimension: 13 mm Weight: 2.42 g. Workshop of

Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...

. File:Coin bearing the face of Rajavula.jpg, A coin bearing the face of Rajuvula File:Coins of Satakarani.jpg, Two coins from the reign of Rajuvula File:Coins of Strato and Rajuvula discovered together in a mound in Mathura.jpg, upright=1.3, Coins of Strato (top) and Rajuvula (bottom) discovered together in a mound in Mathura.

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

Coins of Rajuvula
{{authority control Northern Satraps 1st-century monarchs in Asia 1st-century Iranian people