Ancient History 19 - Daily Class Notes
Ancient History 19 - Daily Class Notes
Ancient History 19 - Daily Class Notes
DAILY
CLASS NOTES
Ancient History
Lecture - 19
Mercantile Era (Part-2)
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Simuka:
Simuka is mentioned in Puranas as the “first” ruler of Satavahana regime.
However, his name has been mentioned as Sishuka, Sindhuka, Chhismaka, Shipraka, etc.
He declared his independence from Mauryan rule in about 230 BC.
Kanha:
Simuka’s brother who succeeded him. Extended the kingdom up to Nashik in the west.
His successor was Satakarni I.
Shri Satakarni I:
He was Simukas son and 3rd King of the Satavahana Dynasty.
He conquered western Malwa, Anupa (Narmada valley) and Vidarbha, taking advantage of the turmoil
caused by Greek invasions of northern India.
He also performed Vedic sacrifices.
Details of Satakarni I are mentioned at Nanaghat inscription by Naganika (wife).
Satakarni II:
He ruled for 56 years, during which he captured eastern Malwa from the Shungas.
He was succeeded by Lambodara.
Hala (17th):
He was the 17th ruler of Satavahana Dynasty.
He composed Gatha Saptashati (700 erotic verses in Maharashtri or Paishachi prakrit
Gunadhya, the author of 'Vrihat Katha' (in Prakrit), was the contemporary of Hala.
Pulumavi features in a large number of Satavahana inscriptions and his coins have been found distributed over
a wide area.
His coins featuring ships with double mast have been found on the Coromandel Coast, indicating
involvement in maritime trade and naval power.
Yajna Sri Satakarni:
Inscriptions at Nasik, Guntur and Kanheri.
He ruled over the whole Deccan and recovered much of the territory lost to the Western Kshatrapas, and issued
silver coinage, imitating them.
Recovered North Konkan and Malwa from Sakas.
Pulamayi IV:
He was the last Satavahana king and ruled until 225 BCE.
Several Buddhist monuments were constructed at Nagarjunakonda and Amaravati.
Satavahanas were finally succeeded by the Ikshvakus in 3rd Century AD.
Land Grants:
Satavahanas started the practice of donating land with fiscal and administrative immunities to Brahmans
and Buddhist monks, which eventually weakened their authority. The earliest inscriptional evidence of land
grants in India belongs to the 1st century BC.
Satavahana Administration:
At different times, their rule extended to parts of modern Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka. The
dynasty had different capital cities at different times, including Pratishthana (Paithan) and Amaravati
(Dharanikota).
The kingdom fragmented into smaller states by the early 3rd century CE.
The Satavahanas were early issuers of Indian state coinage struck with images of their rulers.
They formed a cultural bridge and played a vital role in trade and the transfer of ideas and culture to and from
the Indo-Gangetic Plain to the southern tip of India.
They supported Brahmanism as well as Buddhism, and patronised Prakriti literature.
They had to compete with the Sungas and then the Kanvas of Magadha to establish their rule. Later, they
played a crucial role to protect a huge part of India against foreign invaders like the Sakas, Yavanas and
Pahlavas. In particular their struggles with the Western Kshatrapas went on for a long time.
The great rulers of the Satavahana Dynasty Gautamiputra Satakarni and Sri Yajna Satakarni were able
to defeat the foreign invaders like the Western Kshatrapas and stop their expansion.
In the 3rd century CE, the empire was split into smaller states and later on it disintegrated.
Satavahanas were tolerant rulers. The Satavahana rulers were followers of the Vaishnav religion, but
Buddhist art and architecture flourished a great deal and resulted in Buddhist monuments from Ellora (a
UNESCO World Heritage Site) to Amaravati.
They were the first solid and strong dynasty of south India, who ruled for more than four centuries and provided
peace and glory towards the history of Deccan, while there was uncertainty and instability in south India.
The Satavahana coins, inscriptions and literature are a rich source of our knowledge about their administrative
system.
The Satavahanas followed the administration guidelines of the Shastras. Their government was less top-
heavy than that of the Mauryans, and featured several levels of feudatories:
Rajan, the hereditary rulers
Rajas, petty princes who struck coins in their own names
Maharathis, hereditary lords who could grant villages in their own names and maintained matrimonial
relations with the ruling family
Mahasenapati, civil administrator under Pulumavi II; governor of a janapada under Pulumavi IV
Mahatalavara, they were the "great watchman"
The royal princes (kumaras) were appointed as viceroys of the provinces.
Representation of King:
The Satavahana rulers strived to achieve the ideals set forth in Dharmashastra. The king was represented as
an upholder of Dharma.
The Satahavana King is represented as possessing the qualities of mythical heroes like Ram, Bhima,
Keshava, Arjuna, etc. All this was meant to attribute divinity to the King.
Several officials helped the king.
Senapati and Amatya
Koshadhyaksha Rajdoot
Special officials called Uparakshita charged with the duty of building caves etc for the monks.
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The king was the head of the Government as well as the protector of his people.
The people were involved in decision making and their opinions were respectable at every level.
Public grievances were well heard and there was an effective mechanism of redressal of their complaints.
Their administrative system was feudal. They had divided their empire among a number of feudal chiefs who
managed the land revenue system and looked after the administration.
The Satahavanas retained some of the administrative units found in Ashokan times. For example:
The districts were called Ahara.
The Officials were called Amatyas and Mahamatyas.
Other Officials were known as Senapati, Koshadhyaksha, and Rajdoot.
There were special officials called ‘Uparakshita’ charged with the duty of building caves, etc. for the
monks.
Provincial Governance:
The kingdom was divided into provinces and ‘Janapadas’ for administrative efficiency.
The highest official in a province was ‘Amatya’ or minister. His office was not hereditary. Men of proven
ability were appointed to this official. Each unit had several villages.
The Satahavanas appointed their Senapati as provincial governors. Strong military control in the Deccan was
necessary as the tribal people were not thoroughly and reconciled.
Village Administration:
Rural areas during Satavahanas were put under the control of Gaulmikas.
Gaulmika was the head of a military regiment consisting of 9 chariots, 9 elephants, 25 horses and 45-foot
soldiers.
The military character of Satavahana rule is also evident from the use of terms such as Kataka and
Skandhavaras in their inscriptions. These were military camps and settlements which served as administrative
centres so long as the king was there.
There were separate organisations to look after the administration of the towns and the villages.
The towns were administered by a body called the ‘Nagar Sabhas’ while in villages there were ‘Gram
Sabhas’.
Army:
The Military character of Satavahana rule is also evident from use of terms such as Kataka and
Skandhavaras in their inscriptions.
These were camps and settlements which served as administrative centres so long as the king was there.
Their army consisted of foot soldiers, cavalry and elephants.
Foot soldiers or infantry was the backbone of the army and they formed the vanguard and were flanked on
either side by horses and elephants.
The soldiers used swords, spears, axes and arm ours as weapons of war. They kept a regiment posted in each
village for maintaining peace and order.
They were maintained at the expense of the rural inhabitants. Thus, the village was an important unit in the
Satavahana administration.
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Religion in Sathavahana:
The worship of Siva and Krishna was popular. They were originally practising Hindu religion. However, in
spite of this, they gave patronage to Buddhism.
The Nanaghat inscription refers to other gods like Dharma, Indra, and guardians of the four quarters Yama,
Varuna, Kubera, and Vasava. It also mentions sacrifices by Satkarni I.
Social harmony and cohesion were great character of the period.
All Satavahanas cave temples are located on ancient caravan root which starts from Sopara (Suprak) and
through Junnar, Ellora, Bhogwardhan. The trading emporiums as well as art centres have flourished around
these cave temples.
The Edicts of Ashoka mention the Satavahanas as feudatories of Emperor Ashoka.
These coins are not in uniform design or size, and thus suggest
that multiple minting locations existed within the Satavahana
territory, leading to regional differences in coinage.
The Prakrit dialect has been used in these coins without
exception.
Several coins carry titles or matronyms that were common to
multiple rulers (e.g. Satavahana, Satakarni, and Pulumavi), so
the number of rulers attested by coinage cannot be determined
with certainty. The names of 16 to 20 rulers appear on the various
coins. Some of these rulers appear to be local elites rather than
the Satavahana monarchs.
The Satavahana coins give unique indications as to their chronology, language, and even facial features (curly
hair, long ears and strong lips).
They issued mainly lead and copper coins; their portrait-style silver coins were usually struck over coins of
the Western Kshatrapa kings.
The Satavahana coins also display various traditional symbols, such as elephants, lions, horses and chaityas
(stupas), as well as the "Ujjain symbol", a cross with four circles at the end.
A coin of Nahapana restruck by the Satavahanas king Gautamiputra Satakarni. Nahapana's profile and coin
legend are still clearly visible.
Language:
The official language of the Satavahanas was Prakrit.
All their inscriptions were composed in Prakrit and written in the Brahmi script, as was the case in Ashokan
times.
Some Satavahana kings may have composed Prakrit books also.
One Prakrit text called Gathasattasai, or the Gathasaptasati, is attributed to a Satavahana king called Fiala
or Hala.
It consisted of 700 verses, all written in Prakrit.
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