Chandragupta II, also known by his title Vikramaditya, as well as Chandragupta Vikramaditya, was the third ruler of the Gupta Empire in India, and was one of the most powerful emperors of the Gupta dynasty.
Indo-Scythians were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples of Scythian origin who migrated from Central Asia southward into modern day Afghanistan, Pakistan and Northwestern India from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 4th century CE.
The Satavahanas, also referred to as the Andhras in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty based in the Deccan region. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavahana rule began in the late second century BCE and lasted until the early third century CE, although some assign the beginning of their rule to as early as the 3rd century BCE based on the Puranas, but uncorroborated by archaeological evidence. The Satavahana kingdom mainly comprised the present-day Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra. 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).
Sodasa was an Indo-Scythian Northern Satrap and ruler of Mathura during the later part of the 1st century BCE or the early part of 1st century CE. He was the son of Rajuvula, the Great Satrap of the region from Taxila to Mathura. He is mentioned in the Mathura lion capital.
The Western Satraps, or Western Kshatrapas were Indo-Scythian (Saka) rulers of the western and central part of India, between 35 and 415 CE. The Western Satraps were contemporaneous with the Kushans who ruled the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, and were possibly vassals of the Kushans. They were also contemporaneous with the Satavahana (Andhra) who ruled in Central India. They are called "Western Satraps" in modern historiography in order to differentiate them from the "Northern Satraps", who ruled in Punjab and Mathura until the 2nd century CE.
Nahapana, was an important ruler of the Western Kshatrapas, descendant of the Indo-Scythians, in northwestern India, who ruled during the 1st or 2nd century CE. According to one of his coins, he was the son of Bhumaka.
Gautamiputra Satakarni was a ruler of the Satavahana Empire in present-day Deccan region of India. He was mentioned as the important and greatest ruler of Satavahana Dynasty. He ruled in the 1st or 2nd century CE, although his exact period is uncertain. His reign is dated variously: 86-110 CE, c. 103-127 CE, 106-130 CE, or more recently and specifically ca. 60-85 CE.
Rudradāman I was a Śaka ruler from the Western Kshatrapas dynasty. He was the grandson of the king Caṣṭana. Rudradāman I was instrumental in the decline of the Sātavāhana Empire. Rudradāman I took up the title of Maha-kshtrapa, after he became the king and then strengthened his kingdom.
The Pāratarājas or Pāradarājas was a dynasty of Parthian kings in the territory of modern-day western Pakistan from circa 125 CE to circa 300 CE. It appears to have been a tribal polity of Western Iranic heritage.
Jivadaman was a Saka ruler of the Western Kshatrapas in northwestern India from during the 2nd century CE. He was the son of Damajadasri I (170–175), and the brother of Satyadaman.
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 Abhiras became increasingly important. Some of them were even serving as generals. Ashvini Agrawal thinks that the Abhira king Isvardatta was a general in the service of Rudrasimha I who deposed his master in 188 A.D and ascended the throne. Ashvini Agrawal further says that Rudrasimha I soon deposed him and regained the throne in 190 A.D.
Rudrasena II (256–278) was a king of the Western Satraps, and the 19th ruler of the Kshatrapa dynasty. The Kshatrapa dynasty seems to have reached a high level of prosperity under his rule.
Damasena was a Western Kshatrapa ruler, who reigned from 223 to 232 CE. From the reign of Rudrasimha I, the date of minting of each coin, reckoned in the Saka era, is usually written on the obverse behind the king's head in Brahmi numerals, allowing for the quite precise dating of the rule of each king. 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 instead.
Peroz, was according to modern scholarship an early Kidarite ruler in Gandhara, right after the end of Kushano-Sasanians.
The Nashik inscription of Ushavadata is an inscription made in the Nashik Caves by Ushavadata, a son-in-law of the Western Satraps ruler Nahapana, in the years circa 120 CE. It is the earliest known instance of the usage of Sanskrit, although a rather hybrid form, in western India. It also documents the Indian tradition of dana (charity) to Brahmins, Buddhists and of building infrastructure to serve pilgrims and the general public by the 2nd-century CE.
Viśvasena was a ruler of the Western Satraps, and the 22nd ruler of the Kshatrapa dynasty. He was the last Kshatrapa ruler of the Chastana family, brother and successor to Bhartrdaman and son of Rudrasena II.
The Abhira dynasty was a dynasty that ruled over the western Deccan, where they succeeded the Satavahanas. From 203 to roughly 260, they formed a vast kingdom. They belonged to the ancient Abhira tribe. Abhira Era started by Ishwarsena in AD 249, continued with them and was called Abhira-Traikutika era. This era was later continued by Kalachuri Dynasty, calling it Kalachuri era, and later Kalachuri-Chedi era. After the rule of five traikuta kings, they retired to central provinces and assumed the name Haihaya (Chedi) and Kalachuri. Historians call this entire era as Abhira-Traikutika-Kalachuri-Chedi era. In the Ramayana and Mahabharata the Abhiras in the West are spoken of, and in the Puranic Geographie, the country on the western coast of India from the Tapti to Devagarh, is called Abhira or the region of cowherds. It seems probable that they were connected with the Yadavas who were in power in the eighth, and again appear as the rulers of Devagiri or Daulatabad in the 12th and 13th century.
The Saka-Satavahana Wars were a series of conflicts fought between the Saka ksatraps and the Satavahanas during the 1st-2nd century CE. Both sides achieved success at varying points during the conflicts, but in the end, it was the Satvahanas which prevailed. However, constant wars with the Sakas severely weakened them and was a major contributor in their fall.
Indo-Scythian art developed under the various dynasties of Indo-Scythian rulers in northwestern India, from the 1st century BCE to the early 5th century CE, encompassing the productions of the early Indo-Scythians, the Northern Satraps and the Western Satraps. It follows the development of Indo-Greek art in northwestern India. The Scythians in India were ultimately replaced by the Kushan Empire and the Gupta Empire, whose art form appear in Kushan art and Gupta art.
