Rāṇāditya Satya (formerly read Raṇa Datasatya on his coins), was a ruler in the area of

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

, modern-day Pakistan, in the 5-6th centuries CE, probably circa 480 CE. The name "Rāṇāditya" is otherwise known, and it appears in several parts of the '' Rajatarangini''. His coins employ a sun symbol together with the portrait of the ruler, and have on the reverse a fire altar of the type seen on Sasanian coinage, in which the traditional attendants of Sasanian coinage are replaced by a legend in

Brahmi script Brahmi (; ; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such ...

. The legend in Brahmi reads Gupta_allahabad_r

''Rāṇāditya Satya''. The coins of Rāṇāditya Satya are considered as modelled on the coins of

Peroz I Peroz I ( pal, 𐭯𐭩𐭫𐭥𐭰, Pērōz) was the Sasanian King of Kings () of 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 afte ...

, particularly from the portrait type. These coins are the latest known of the series of Sasanian-type "coinage of Sindh", which were minted in the area of

in modern

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, from

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the olde ...

to the mouth of the

Indus river The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kash ...

, on the model the coinage of Sasanian Empire rulers

Shapur II Shapur II ( pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 ; New Persian: , ''Šāpur'', 309 – 379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Iran. The List of longest-reigning monarchs, longest ...

down to

, and are covering approximately the period from 325 to 480 CE. Sasanian rulers from the reign of

Shapur I Shapur I (also spelled Shabuhr I; pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩, Šābuhr ) was the second Sasanian King of Kings of Iran. The dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his father Ar ...

did claim control of the Sindh area in their inscriptions. Shapur I installed his son

Narseh Narseh (also spelled Narses or Narseus; pal, 𐭭𐭥𐭮𐭧𐭩, New Persian: , ''Narsē'') was the seventh Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 293 to 303. The youngest son of Shapur I (), Narseh served as the governor of Sakastan, Hind a ...

as "King of the Sakas" in the areas of Eastern Iran as far as Sindh. These coins are often attributed to the Hephthalite Huns, whose

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

tribe invaded India in the 5th century. According to R.C. Senior, Hunnic characteristics only appear on the later phases of the Sasanian coinage of Sindh, with the apparition of Hunnic Tamghas on the coinage, corresponding to the period when the Hephthalites took over Sasanian rule in India. The Sasanians may have been forced to cede the area of Sasanian Sindh to Hunnic tribes. This type of coinage disappeared with the Arab conquest of Sindh, in the 8th century CE. Ranaditya Satya is now often considered as the first ruler of the

Rai dynasty The Rai dynasty (c. 489–632 CE) was a polity of ancient Sindh. Scholarship Pre-Islamic Sindh has been the subject of voluminous scholarship concerning the eve of Arab conquests; otherwise, the paucity of source materials remains a severe hin ...

. He has been tentatively identified with the ruler named Rai Diwaji (Devaditya) in Arab sources, and may have ruled circa 524 CE. File:Rana_Datasatya_Circa_mid_6th_century_CE_INDIA_Sindh.jpg, Coin of Ranadityasatya on the model of the

dinar, with solar symbol facing the ruler, and ''Ranaditya satya'' Brahmi legend on the reverse. File:Sindh._Rai_Dynasty._Ranadityasatya._Circa_524_to_mid_6th_century_CE_Crowned_bust_right;_sun-wheel_symbol_to_right_Fire_altar;_ranadityasatya_in_Brahmi_around.jpg, Ranadityasatya. Circa 524 to mid-6th century CE. Crowned bust right; sun-wheel symbol to right. Fire altar; ''ranadityasatya'' in Brahmi around.

References

{{reflist Hephthalites