His coins show that
he was undoubtedly suzerain in Irān; for they bear the imperial title toge-
ther with the type 'Victory' which was first issued by Orthagnes (Pl.
he was undoubtedly suzerain in Irān; for they bear the imperial title toge-
ther with the type 'Victory' which was first issued by Orthagnes (Pl.
Cambridge History of India - v1
72 B.
C.
Liko
(Liaka]
[Patika]
Rañjubula
C. 30 B, C. Pātika
Ranjubula
Çdāosa
16 . B. C
Çodāsa
In that portion of Pahlava history which comes after the Christian
era, the period of the reign of Gondopharnes may be regared as almost
definitely fixed. The date of its beginning appears to be certain ; and it is
certain also that it lasted for at least 26 years. The evidence for this
is supplied by a monument of this king's rule in the Peshawar District com-
monly known as the Takht-i-Bahi inscription. It is dated in the 26th year
of the king's reign, and on the 5th day of the month Vaicākha in the year
103². There can be little doubt that the era is the Vikrama samvat which
began in 58 B. C. , and that, therefore, Gondopharnes began to reign in
19 A. D. and was still reigning in 45 A. D.
The king's name is unquestionably Pahlava (Parthian), for the various
forms in which it appears on the coins are merely attempts to render local
pronunciations of the Persian Vindapharna, 'the winner of glory,' in Greek
letters. Many of his types are continued from the money of bis predeces-
sors, and, like them, may be traced back to Yavana originals (PII. VII, 32;
VIII, 47, 52, 53). They seem to indicate that he succeeded to the dominions
of the Pahlavas and Çakas both in eastern Irān and in N. W. India. That
he ruled also in the Kābul valley, which was probably annexed before his
reign (p. 518), appears to be shown by the large numbers of his coins which
were found on its ancient sites by Masson and other erplorers at the time
when such exploration was still possible.
Coins show also that his immediate predecessor on the throne was
Azes II ; for the two monarchs are associated with the same strategos or
'commander-in-chief’ Aspavarman, son of Indravarman (Pl. VIII, 46 and
1 Takshaçilā copper-plate, Bühler, Ep. Ind. IV, p. 54; Mathurā Lion Capital, Eo.
Ind. , IX, p. 139 ; Coins of Rañjubula and Çodāsa Rapson, J. R. A. S. , 1891, p. 517;
Āmohini votive tablet, Bühler, Ep. Ind, II,, p. 199. No. 2 and Plate Bühler originally
read the date as 40 (? ) 2. He subsequently corrected this to 702 (Ep. Ind. , IV. p. 55,
note 2) ; but his original reading seems undoubtedly to be justified hy the accompanying .
Plate, and by his own table of numerals in Indische Palaeographic, Plate IX, On grounds
of style, Sir John Marshall holds that this votive tablet 'dates from about the beginning
of the Christian era' r. Inf. Chapter XXVI, p. 547.
For the satrap Zeionises, t. Inf. p. 525, n For Hagāmasha and Hagāna r. sup.
p. 474. For other satraps commemorated on the Lion Capital see Thomas, op. cit. ; Fleet,
J. R. A. S. 1913, p 1909 ; Marshall, ib, 1914, p. 985.
2 For the reading of the date see Thomas, J. R. A. S. 1903, p. 636.
## p. 521 (#559) ############################################
XXIII]
THE STRATEGOI
521
Summary, p. 532).
The Greek title strategos, which is the equivalent of the Indian
senā pati, 'lord of the army,' was inherited by the Çakas and Pahlavas from
the Yavanas'. Aspavarman is a representative of the Çaka military chiefs
who are repeatedly mentioned in the inscriptions of Western India in the
second century A. D. , when this region was governed by Çaka satraps. The
names ending in -varman and-datta show that they had become Hinduised,
and claimed to be Kshatriyas. To this class belongs the Çaka Ushavadāta
(Rishabhadatta), the brother-in-law of Nahapāna. On the coins of
Gond opharnes and on those of his successor, Pacores, we find the name of
another of these military governors, Sasas, who no doubt succeeded
Aspavarman as commander-in-chief (Pl. VII, 33). The sequence of the
strategoi thus affords valuable evidence for the order of succession of their
sovereigns and for the chronology of the period. Two generations of these
military chiefs – Aspavarman and his nephew, Sasas (pp. 524-5) – held
office during the reigns of Azes II, Gondopharnes, and Pacoras, and for a
period which began before 19 A. D. and ended after 45 A. D.
But before he succeeded Azes II as Great King of Kings in India,
Gondopharnes had also succeeded him as viceroy of Arachosia. In this
subordinate rule he was at one time associated, under the suzerainty of
Orthagnes, with Guda or Gudana (Gudāna) who may perhaps have been
his brother (p. 522. PI, VIII, 51). The coins, on which Orthagnes still
appears as chief ruler but with Gudana alone as his subordinate', must no
doubt be assigned to the period after Gondopharnes had succeeded Azes II
in the sovereignty of N. W. India.
The name of Orthagnes is Pahlava. It is of Persian origin, and the
Greek equivalent of Verethragna, 'the Victorious'. The type 'Victory' on
his coins may be an allusion either to an actual victory or to the king's
It is used also by Venones I of Parthia (8-11 A. D. ) (Pl. VIII, 50)
whose name has a similar meaning - Vanāna, 'the Conqueror' ; but in
this case it would seem undoubtedly to refer to the victory over
Artabanus,5
Most of the coins which Gondophạrnes struck either alone (Pl. VII,
32) or together with his nephew, Abdagases (VII, 34), and all of those
which he struck in association with his commanders-in-chiefs, Aspavarman
and Sasas (Summary, p. 532, and PI. VII, 33), bear the symbol º which is
1 For the detailed proof see Whitehead, Lahore Mus. Cat,, vol, I, Indo-Greek
Coins, p, 150, note.
2 For another Greek title which was used in India-
a-μεριδαρχης,
governor
of a province,' see Thomas, Festgrūss, Windisch, and J. R. A. S. , 1916, pp. 279 ff.
'the
3 For these Çaka families see Lūders, Sitz; K. P. A. , 1913, p. 412.
4 Whitehead, Lah. Mus. Cat. vol. I, Indo-Greek Coins, p. 156, no. 75.
B. M. Cat. , Parthia, 144, Pl. XXIV, 7.
name.
5
## p. 522 (#560) ############################################
522
[CH.
SCYTHIAN AND PARTHIAV INVADERS
so characteristic of his rule that it is usually called by his name ; and, as
this symbol is found counter-marked on coins of the Parthian kings Orodes
I (57-38 B. C. and Artabanus III (10-40 A. D. ), it is not improbable that
Gondopharnes may have conquered some of the Parthian dominions! There
can be little doubt that under his sway the Pahlava power attained its
height ; and it appears probable that this power was now controlled by a
single suzerain who reigned supreme over both eastern Irān and N. W.
India ; for the coins of Gondopharnes bear the types both of Orthagnes
(Pl. VIII, 52) and of Azes II (PI. VIII, 47), and seem to show therefore
that he had succeeded to the dominions of both of these suzerains.
The name of Gondopharnes, and possibly those of two princes of his
family, Guda and Abdagases, have been preserved in connexion with the
legends of St Thomas in the literature of the early Christian church. The
apocryphal Act of Judas Thomas the Apostle, which contains an account of
the ministry of St Thomas in India, exists in Syriac, Greek, and Latin
versions ; and of these the earliest, the Syriac, is supposed to date from
before the middle of the third century A. D. The story, as told in this
version, begins :
And when all the Apostles had been for a time in Jerusalem . . . . . . they divided
the countries among them, in order that each one of them might preach in the region
which fell to him and in the place to which his Lord sent him. And India fell by lot
and division to Judas Thomas (or the Twin) the Apostle. And he was not willing to
go, saying: 'I have not strength enough for this, because I am weak. And I am a
Hebrew; how can I teach the Indians? ' And whilst Judas was reasoning thus, our
Lord appeared to him in a vision of the night, and said to him : 'Fear not, Thomas,
because My grace is with thee. ' But he would not be persuaded at all, saying : Whic
thersoever Thou wilt, our Lord, send me ; only to India I will not go. ' And as Judas
was reasoning thus, a certain merchant, an Indian, happened (to come) into the south
country from—? , whose name was Habbān; and he was sent by the king Gūdnaphars,
that he might bring to him a skilful carpenter. (Trans. Wright, Apocryphal Acts of
the Apostles, II, pp. 146-7. )
Because of the unwillingness of St Thomas, our Lord appears,
and, claiming him as His servant, sells him to the merchant Habbān
for twenty pieces of silver ; and St Thomas journeys with Habbān to
the Court of King Gondopharnes, who orders him to build a palace.
St Thomas spends the money of the king in acts of charity- to build
a palace not made with hands, immortal in the heavens ; and the dis-
appointed king casts St Thomas and the merchant into prison. While
they are lying there, Gad, the king's brother, dies, and being carried by the
1 Rapson, J. R. A. S. , 1904, p. 677, referring to Cunningham, tum. Chron. .
1890, p. 119.
The name is illegible in the MS. , and it is not found in any other version,
Touðáo opos in the Greek version.
2
3
## p. 523 (#561) ############################################
XXIII)
GONDOPHARNES
523
angels to heaven is shown the heavenly palace which St Thomas had built
by his good works. Gad is restored to life ; and in the sequel both
Gondopharnes and Gad are converted.
There can be no question that Gūdnaphar, who is definitely called
'the king of India' (op. cit. , p. 159) is to be identified with Gondopharnes ;
and Gad, 'the brother of the king' (op. cit. , p. 162) may possibly be the
Guda or Gudana, who is associated with him on coins (Pl. VIII, 51).
The legend of St Thomas has thus been furnished with an historical
setting which is chronologically possible. The fact of St Thomas's visit
to the court of Gondopharnes may be doubted ; but the story remains
to show that the fame of this king had spread to the West. A still more
distant echo of his name, transmitted through its Armenian form Gathaspar,
has been recognised by von Gutschmidt in Gaspar, the traditional name
of the first of the three wise men who, according to the Gospel story, came
from the East to worship Christ at His nativity.
Another apocryphal work, the Evangelium Ioannis de obitu Mariae
gives the name Labdanies to the sister's son of a king to whom St Thomas
went. So far as the form is concerned, Labdanes may well be a corruption
of Abdagases in the manuscripts; but the identification of the two names is
far from certain. The name of the king is not mentioned : he may have
been either Gondopharnes or Mazdai, whom St Thomas also visited,
and under whom he suffered martyrdom ; and moreover the Abdagases
of the coin-legends is the brother's son, not the sister's son, of Gondo.
pharnes.
As none of the coin-legends of Abdagases bear the imperial title,
there is no evidence that he reigned independently at any time. The types
suggest that he ruled as the viceroy of Gondopharnes in Irān (Seistān and
Kandahār) (PII. VIII, 54 ; VII, 34).
There can be no doubt that, soon after the reign of Gondopharnes,
the Pahlava power in India came to an end. Some stages in the disinteg-
ration of the empire are clearly reflected in the coinage.
The successor of Gondopharnes was Pacores.
His coins show that
he was undoubtedly suzerain in Irān; for they bear the imperial title toge-
ther with the type 'Victory' which was first issued by Orthagnes (Pl. VIII,
55 ; cf. Pl. VIII, 51); and his portrait, combined on coins found at
Takshaçilā with the symbol of Gondopharnes and the legend of the com-
mander-in-chief, Sasas, proves that he exercised at least a nominal sway
in India (v. inf. ). The types of another king, Sanabares, with their purely
Greek legend, must be attributed to Seistān. There is no evidence of his
rule either in Kandahār or India (Pl. VIII, 56).
The passing of Pahlava rule in eastern Gandhāra (Takshaçilā) is
Rhein. Museum, 1864, p. 169.
2 Philipps, Ind. , Ant. , 1903, p. 153.
1
## p. 524 (#562) ############################################
524
[ch.
SCYTHIAV AVD PARTHLAV INI ADERS
was
illustrated by the remarkable hoard of 21 small silver coins, which was
found by Sir John Marshall in an earthern jar on the ancient site of Sirkap.
The coins belong to four distinct classes, all hitherto known-two belonging
to the reign of Gondopharnes, and one each to the reigns of Pacores and
V’ima Kadphises.
The first two classes bear the portrait and the symbol of Gondo-
pharnes, with the names respectively of Sapedana and Satavastra and the
style 'Great King, King of Kings,' which is only one degree inferior to the
most lofty title assumed by Gondopharnes, viz. Great King, Supreme
King of Kings. ' Such a style can only mean that, even in the reign of
Gondopharnes, the allegiance of the governors to the suzerain was becom-
ing merely nominal.
The third class has the portrait of Pacores and the symbol of Gondo-
pharnes combined with the legend of Sasas, who uses the subordinate title,
'Great King,' and is described as “the brother's son of Aspa' There can
be no doubt that this Aspa must be the strategos Aspavarman, who
held office in the reigns of Azes II and Gondopharnes. During the reign
of Gondopharnes he was succeeded by his nephew, Sasas, who
governor of Takshaçilā in the reign of Pacores. The line of strategoi was
no doubt continued under the suzerainty of the Kushāņas. It is
apparently represented by the coins which bear the title, 2012 Mērzs,
'The Great Saviour' and which were formerly attributed to 'the unknown
king. '
The fourth class marks the transition from Pahlava to Kushāna
rule in Gandhāra. The ccins show the portrait of the Kushāņa conqueror,
Vima Kadphises, wearing the conical headdress which distinguishes him,
while the legend describes him as 'Great King, Supreme King of Kings, the
Kushāna Chief'i.
The chronological limits of the period covered by these coins are
clear. Gondopharnes was reigning in the year 45 A. D. ; and Vima
Kadphises was reigning in the year 78 A. D. Within these thirty-three years
must be included (1) the latter part of the reign of Gondopharnes, (2) the
reign of Pacores, and (3) some portion of the reign of V'ima Kadpbises.
The period of V’ima Kadphises is determined by the evidence of a
Kharoshthi inscription discovered by Sir John Marshall in the Chir Tope at
Takshaçilā. The inscription is dated on the 5th day of the Indian month
Āshādha in the year 136. If, as seems almost certain, the era is that which
begins in 58 B. C. , this date would be equivalent to the year 77-8 A. D. , that
For the coins here described see Marshall, Arch. Sur. of Ind. , Annual Report,
1912-13 (1) Saped ina, Pl. XL, 35, nos. 35. 39, pp. 50, 51 ; (2) Satavastra, Pl. XL,
41, nos, 40-44, p. 51 ; (3) Sasas, Pl. XL, 27, 29, 30, nos. 27-34, pp. 49, 50 ; (4) l'ima
Kadphises, Pl. XL, 45, 46, nos. 45-47, p. 51.
1
:
## p. 525 (#563) ############################################
XXIII]
VIMA KADPHISES
525
is to say, the last year in the reign of Vima Kadphises, according to those
scholars who hold that his successor, Kanishka, began to reign in 78 A. D.
According to the interpretation of Sir John Marshall this inscription
is actually dated in the era of Azes ; for after the year comes the word
ayısa which, on the coins, is the ordinary Kharoshțhi equivalent of the
Greek AZOY, ‘of Azes’l. He therefore translates : 'In the year 136 of
Azes. ' This view is probably correct ; and, if so, discovery is of great
importance, as it determines the origin of the so-called Vikrama Era and
fixes the beginning of the reign of Azes I in 53 B. C. The bald designation
of an era by a king's name without the accompaniment of any royal title
has, however, appeared so strange to some scholars that they have display-
ed no slight ingenuity in their endeavours to find some alternative
explanation of the word ayasa. But it is doubtful if any real difficulty
exists. It must be remembered that the inscription belongs to a people that
knew not Azes. His family had been deposed and deprived of all royal
attributes. The throne of Takshaçilā had passed from the Çakas and
Pahlavas to the Kushānas, Azes could scarcely have been furnished with
his wonted title, 'Great King of Kings,' in this inscription, without prejudice
to the house then actually reigning.
The monarch then ruling at Takshaçila is described in the inscription
as 'Great King, Supreme King of Kings, Son of the Gods, the Kushāņa
(Khushana)'; and, although his personal name is not given, there is
sufficient evidence to show that he is almost certainly to be identified
with V’ima Kadphises, the second king of the Kushāņa dynasty. His
titles -except for the substitution of the ordinary royal designation of the
Kushāņas, 'Son of the Gods,’ in place of 'Chief'- are identical with those
which occur in the legend of the small silver coins bearing the portrait of
V’ima Kadphises (v. sup. p. 521) ; and the first two of these titles, inherited
from the Pahlava kings, are included in the style usually assumed by this
monarch on other coins. Moreover at the end of the inscription is affixed
the symbol (the triçūla or mandipada) which is likewise characteristic of
the coins of V'ima Kadphises.
1 In the inscr. probably=the adjective āyasa, (of the era) of Azes. '
2 For the inscription, which was discovered in the Chir stūpa, see Marshall,
J. R. A. S. , 1914, pp. 973 ff. ; Konow, Ep. Ind. , XIV, pp. 284 ff. , for the coins of V'ima
(Ooemo) Kadphisez, Gardner, B. M. Cat. , Gk. and Scyth. Kings, pp. 124-8, PI, XXV.
Sir John Marshall (loc. cit. ) prefers to identify the king of inscription with the
first Kushāna, Kujūla Kadphises, on the assumption that both the titles and the
symbol occur also on his coins. But the coins to which he refers bear the name not of
Kujūla Kadphises, but of Kujūla Kara Kadphises, who was probably another member
of the dynasty ; see Rapson, Indian Coins,ş 68. Kujūla Kara Kadphises seems to,
have succeeded the satrap Zeionises in the kingdom of Pushkalāvati (Summary, p. 521)
and he may have contemporary with V'ima Kadphises,
[P. T. O.
## p. 526 (#564) ############################################
526
[CH.
SCYTHIAV AND PARTHIAN INVADERS
We may conclude, therefore, that the Kushāņa V'ima Kadaphises was
ruling over Takshaçilā as the successor of the Pahlava Pacores in 78 a. D. ;
and this year would appear to have been the last of his reign, since it is
also most probably the first in the reign of his successor, Kanishka, and
the starting point of the era used in the inscriptions of the later Kushāņa
kings.
The chronology of this period has been one of the most perplexing
problems in the whole of Indian history; and the problem can scarcely be
said to be solved positively even now ; that is to say, it has not yet been
placed beyond all possibility of doubt. But the evidence obtained by Sir
John Marshall from his excavations of the ancient sites of Takshaçilā
proves conclusively that the period of Kanishka's reign must have been
somewhere about the end of the first century A. D. ; and a comparison of
this evidence with the statements of Chinese historians and with the
date supplied by inscriptions makes it seem almost certain that Kanishka
was the founder of the well-known era which began in 78 A. D.
Some outlines of the early history of the Kushāņa empire have
been preserved by Chinese writers? . From these it appears that the
Yueh-chi, who drove the Çakas out of Bactria, consisted of five tribes, each
governed by a prince bearing the Turkish title which is usually translated
as 'Chief' – the yavuja of the coins. More than a hundred years after their
settlement in Bactria, at a date which, according to Dr. Franke, must lie
between 25 and 81 A. D. and probably nearer to the first of these limits than
to the second, the Chief of one of these tribes, the Kushāņas, gained the
supremacy over the Yueh-chi, and founded a united kingdom which
became known by the name of his own tribe. Thus once more Bactria
became the nursery of a great power which was destined to dominate N. W.
India. History repeated itself ; and the Kushāņas, like their predecessors,
the Yavanas, speedily became masters of the adjacent territories lying
to the south of the Hindu Kush, that is to say, the modern Southern
Afghanistān, or the ancient provinces of the Paropanisadae (Kabul and
Arachosia (Kandahār). These first conquests were made, as the Chinese
authorities state definitely, by the first Kushāņa monarch, who has been
identified with Kujūla Kadphises - Kujūla being no doubt a title like the
The royal title, Son of the Gods' (devaputru), was no doubt brought by the
Yuch. chi from their home on the borders of China. It is the usual designation of a
king in the Kharoshthi inscriptions discovered by Sir A. J. Stein in Chinese Turkestan
see Boyer, Rapson, and Senart, Kharoshthi Inscriptions, Part I (Oxford, 1920), p. 76,
no. 195. These inscriptions, which belong to the third century A. D. , preserve other
traces of Kusbāna rule, e. g. in the proper name Kusa nasena ibid. (p. 2. no. 5).
10. Franke, Beiträge aus chinesischen Quellen (1904) in Abhandlungen d. konig
preuss. Akad.
## p. 527 (#565) ############################################
XXIII]
PAHLAVAS
527
>
Kusūlaka of the Çaka satrap, Liaka (p. 519), and Kadphises the proper
name ; and, as they took place after 25 A. D. , they were made at the
expense of the Pahlava suzerain, who was either Gondopharnes or Pacores.
As other evidence will show, their date cannot be much later than the
middle of the first century A. D. at the latest.
Most of the coins of Kujūla Kadphises show clearly both by their
types and by their fabric that they were struck in the Kābul valley. They
are imitated from the barbarous issues of that region which still continued
to reproduce mechanically the legends with the name of the last Yavana
king, Hermaeus, long after his death. They are found in enormous
numbers beyond the limits of the Kābul valley in Takshaçilā, where
the stratification of the objects discovered in the excavations proves un-
questionably that, in that district, they are rather later than the coins of
Gondopharnes. At first sight the evidence of the finds would thus seem
to show that Kujūla Kadphises himself was later in date than Gondopharnes
and that he was the actual conqueror of Takshaçilā ; but, since the coins in
question manifestly come from the Kābul valley, we must suppose rather
that they represent the ordinary currency of the Kushāņas at the time when
the invasion took place, and that they were introduced into Takshaçilā as
large numbers of Sassanian coins were brought into the country of the
lower Indus from Irān by the Hunas in the fifth century A. D. It is, therefore,
by no means impossible that Kujūla Kadphises may have been not later
than, but contemporary with, Gondopharnes; and there is no reason to :
doubt the statement of the Chinese writers that it was not Kujūla Kad.
phises, but his son and successor, V’ima Kadphises, who extended the
dominions of the Kushāņas from the Kābul valley to N. W. India.
That this extension had been completed before 64 A. D, appears certain
from the evidence of an inscription which was discovered near Panjtār in
the Yūsufzai sub-division of the Peshāwar District:. It is dated on the
first day of the month Crāvaņa in the year 122 ; and there can be no doubt
that the era is the same as that which occurs in the Takht-i-Bahi inscription
of Gondopharnes, that is to say, the era of Azes which began in 58 B. c. The
inscription was set up in the reign of a Kushāņa (Gushana) who is
styled 'Great King'; but, as the personal name of this monarch is not given,
he cannot be identified. If he was not V’ima Kadphises himself, he
was, as the subordinate title may perhaps indicate, most probably one of
his viceroys and possibly the Kara Kadphises whose coins seem to belong
to the region in which the inscription was found (p. 525, note).
The precise date at which the Pahlava suzerainty in India came
to an end is unknown, but is undoubtedly lies within the comparatively
narrow limits marked by the years 45 and 64 a. d. - the last recorded year of
1 Fleet, J. R. A. S. , 1914, p. 372.
## p. 528 (#566) ############################################
528
[CB.
SCYTHIAN AND PARTHIAN INVADERS
Gondopharnes and the earliest mention of a Kushāņa king on an Indian
monument. But the Çakas and Pahlavas, although they had lost the proud
predominance which they once held, had by no means ceased to play a part
in Indian history. Like the Yavanas, they continue for some centuries to
be mentioned in Indian inscriptions in a manner which shows that they
still formed organised communities ; and there is evidence to show that
they still governed their own states, no doubt as feudatories more or less
nominal of the Kushānas. In the last part of the first century A. D. their
original Indian settlements in the country of the Indus delta continued to
be ruled by princes of their own race whom the author of the Periplus
calls Parthian (Pahlava) and describes as turbulent chiefs perpetually
engaged in turing one another out. But that these princes of foreign
origin who governed the country of the lower Indus had at this period been
forced to acknowledge the suzerainty of the Kushāņas, is proved by the
Sué Vibāra inscription in the Bahāwalpur State which is dated in a regnal
year of Kanishka (year 11 = 89 A. D. )".
It was from this country, too, and under the leadership of Çaka and
Pahlava satraps that the Kushāņa power was extended to Western India ;
and in this manner were laid the foundations of the kingdom of the
Kshatrapas of Surāshtra and Mālwā, the ‘Western Satraps,' who are known
in the later Indian literature and inscriptions as 'Çakas. ' This kingdom
lasted from about the beginning of the second century to the end of
the fourth, when it was conquered by the Guptas. The dates which appear
on the coins and inscriptions of its princes are all in the era which
starts from the beginning of Kanishka's reign in 78 A. D. They range from
the
year 41 to the year 310 (119-388 a. d. ) and form the most continuous
and complete chronological series found on the monuments of ancient
India. It was in consequence of its long use by the Çaka princes of
Western India that the era became generally known in India as the
Çaka era- a name which effectually disguises its origin, and one which has
in no small degree perplexed modern scholars in their endeavours to unravel
'the secret of Kanishka. '
1 Periplus inaris Erythroci, 38.
2 Hoernle Ind. Ant. 1881, p. 324.
## p. 529 (#567) ############################################
[Ch.
Liko
(Liaka]
[Patika]
Rañjubula
C. 30 B, C. Pātika
Ranjubula
Çdāosa
16 . B. C
Çodāsa
In that portion of Pahlava history which comes after the Christian
era, the period of the reign of Gondopharnes may be regared as almost
definitely fixed. The date of its beginning appears to be certain ; and it is
certain also that it lasted for at least 26 years. The evidence for this
is supplied by a monument of this king's rule in the Peshawar District com-
monly known as the Takht-i-Bahi inscription. It is dated in the 26th year
of the king's reign, and on the 5th day of the month Vaicākha in the year
103². There can be little doubt that the era is the Vikrama samvat which
began in 58 B. C. , and that, therefore, Gondopharnes began to reign in
19 A. D. and was still reigning in 45 A. D.
The king's name is unquestionably Pahlava (Parthian), for the various
forms in which it appears on the coins are merely attempts to render local
pronunciations of the Persian Vindapharna, 'the winner of glory,' in Greek
letters. Many of his types are continued from the money of bis predeces-
sors, and, like them, may be traced back to Yavana originals (PII. VII, 32;
VIII, 47, 52, 53). They seem to indicate that he succeeded to the dominions
of the Pahlavas and Çakas both in eastern Irān and in N. W. India. That
he ruled also in the Kābul valley, which was probably annexed before his
reign (p. 518), appears to be shown by the large numbers of his coins which
were found on its ancient sites by Masson and other erplorers at the time
when such exploration was still possible.
Coins show also that his immediate predecessor on the throne was
Azes II ; for the two monarchs are associated with the same strategos or
'commander-in-chief’ Aspavarman, son of Indravarman (Pl. VIII, 46 and
1 Takshaçilā copper-plate, Bühler, Ep. Ind. IV, p. 54; Mathurā Lion Capital, Eo.
Ind. , IX, p. 139 ; Coins of Rañjubula and Çodāsa Rapson, J. R. A. S. , 1891, p. 517;
Āmohini votive tablet, Bühler, Ep. Ind, II,, p. 199. No. 2 and Plate Bühler originally
read the date as 40 (? ) 2. He subsequently corrected this to 702 (Ep. Ind. , IV. p. 55,
note 2) ; but his original reading seems undoubtedly to be justified hy the accompanying .
Plate, and by his own table of numerals in Indische Palaeographic, Plate IX, On grounds
of style, Sir John Marshall holds that this votive tablet 'dates from about the beginning
of the Christian era' r. Inf. Chapter XXVI, p. 547.
For the satrap Zeionises, t. Inf. p. 525, n For Hagāmasha and Hagāna r. sup.
p. 474. For other satraps commemorated on the Lion Capital see Thomas, op. cit. ; Fleet,
J. R. A. S. 1913, p 1909 ; Marshall, ib, 1914, p. 985.
2 For the reading of the date see Thomas, J. R. A. S. 1903, p. 636.
## p. 521 (#559) ############################################
XXIII]
THE STRATEGOI
521
Summary, p. 532).
The Greek title strategos, which is the equivalent of the Indian
senā pati, 'lord of the army,' was inherited by the Çakas and Pahlavas from
the Yavanas'. Aspavarman is a representative of the Çaka military chiefs
who are repeatedly mentioned in the inscriptions of Western India in the
second century A. D. , when this region was governed by Çaka satraps. The
names ending in -varman and-datta show that they had become Hinduised,
and claimed to be Kshatriyas. To this class belongs the Çaka Ushavadāta
(Rishabhadatta), the brother-in-law of Nahapāna. On the coins of
Gond opharnes and on those of his successor, Pacores, we find the name of
another of these military governors, Sasas, who no doubt succeeded
Aspavarman as commander-in-chief (Pl. VII, 33). The sequence of the
strategoi thus affords valuable evidence for the order of succession of their
sovereigns and for the chronology of the period. Two generations of these
military chiefs – Aspavarman and his nephew, Sasas (pp. 524-5) – held
office during the reigns of Azes II, Gondopharnes, and Pacoras, and for a
period which began before 19 A. D. and ended after 45 A. D.
But before he succeeded Azes II as Great King of Kings in India,
Gondopharnes had also succeeded him as viceroy of Arachosia. In this
subordinate rule he was at one time associated, under the suzerainty of
Orthagnes, with Guda or Gudana (Gudāna) who may perhaps have been
his brother (p. 522. PI, VIII, 51). The coins, on which Orthagnes still
appears as chief ruler but with Gudana alone as his subordinate', must no
doubt be assigned to the period after Gondopharnes had succeeded Azes II
in the sovereignty of N. W. India.
The name of Orthagnes is Pahlava. It is of Persian origin, and the
Greek equivalent of Verethragna, 'the Victorious'. The type 'Victory' on
his coins may be an allusion either to an actual victory or to the king's
It is used also by Venones I of Parthia (8-11 A. D. ) (Pl. VIII, 50)
whose name has a similar meaning - Vanāna, 'the Conqueror' ; but in
this case it would seem undoubtedly to refer to the victory over
Artabanus,5
Most of the coins which Gondophạrnes struck either alone (Pl. VII,
32) or together with his nephew, Abdagases (VII, 34), and all of those
which he struck in association with his commanders-in-chiefs, Aspavarman
and Sasas (Summary, p. 532, and PI. VII, 33), bear the symbol º which is
1 For the detailed proof see Whitehead, Lahore Mus. Cat,, vol, I, Indo-Greek
Coins, p, 150, note.
2 For another Greek title which was used in India-
a-μεριδαρχης,
governor
of a province,' see Thomas, Festgrūss, Windisch, and J. R. A. S. , 1916, pp. 279 ff.
'the
3 For these Çaka families see Lūders, Sitz; K. P. A. , 1913, p. 412.
4 Whitehead, Lah. Mus. Cat. vol. I, Indo-Greek Coins, p. 156, no. 75.
B. M. Cat. , Parthia, 144, Pl. XXIV, 7.
name.
5
## p. 522 (#560) ############################################
522
[CH.
SCYTHIAN AND PARTHIAV INVADERS
so characteristic of his rule that it is usually called by his name ; and, as
this symbol is found counter-marked on coins of the Parthian kings Orodes
I (57-38 B. C. and Artabanus III (10-40 A. D. ), it is not improbable that
Gondopharnes may have conquered some of the Parthian dominions! There
can be little doubt that under his sway the Pahlava power attained its
height ; and it appears probable that this power was now controlled by a
single suzerain who reigned supreme over both eastern Irān and N. W.
India ; for the coins of Gondopharnes bear the types both of Orthagnes
(Pl. VIII, 52) and of Azes II (PI. VIII, 47), and seem to show therefore
that he had succeeded to the dominions of both of these suzerains.
The name of Gondopharnes, and possibly those of two princes of his
family, Guda and Abdagases, have been preserved in connexion with the
legends of St Thomas in the literature of the early Christian church. The
apocryphal Act of Judas Thomas the Apostle, which contains an account of
the ministry of St Thomas in India, exists in Syriac, Greek, and Latin
versions ; and of these the earliest, the Syriac, is supposed to date from
before the middle of the third century A. D. The story, as told in this
version, begins :
And when all the Apostles had been for a time in Jerusalem . . . . . . they divided
the countries among them, in order that each one of them might preach in the region
which fell to him and in the place to which his Lord sent him. And India fell by lot
and division to Judas Thomas (or the Twin) the Apostle. And he was not willing to
go, saying: 'I have not strength enough for this, because I am weak. And I am a
Hebrew; how can I teach the Indians? ' And whilst Judas was reasoning thus, our
Lord appeared to him in a vision of the night, and said to him : 'Fear not, Thomas,
because My grace is with thee. ' But he would not be persuaded at all, saying : Whic
thersoever Thou wilt, our Lord, send me ; only to India I will not go. ' And as Judas
was reasoning thus, a certain merchant, an Indian, happened (to come) into the south
country from—? , whose name was Habbān; and he was sent by the king Gūdnaphars,
that he might bring to him a skilful carpenter. (Trans. Wright, Apocryphal Acts of
the Apostles, II, pp. 146-7. )
Because of the unwillingness of St Thomas, our Lord appears,
and, claiming him as His servant, sells him to the merchant Habbān
for twenty pieces of silver ; and St Thomas journeys with Habbān to
the Court of King Gondopharnes, who orders him to build a palace.
St Thomas spends the money of the king in acts of charity- to build
a palace not made with hands, immortal in the heavens ; and the dis-
appointed king casts St Thomas and the merchant into prison. While
they are lying there, Gad, the king's brother, dies, and being carried by the
1 Rapson, J. R. A. S. , 1904, p. 677, referring to Cunningham, tum. Chron. .
1890, p. 119.
The name is illegible in the MS. , and it is not found in any other version,
Touðáo opos in the Greek version.
2
3
## p. 523 (#561) ############################################
XXIII)
GONDOPHARNES
523
angels to heaven is shown the heavenly palace which St Thomas had built
by his good works. Gad is restored to life ; and in the sequel both
Gondopharnes and Gad are converted.
There can be no question that Gūdnaphar, who is definitely called
'the king of India' (op. cit. , p. 159) is to be identified with Gondopharnes ;
and Gad, 'the brother of the king' (op. cit. , p. 162) may possibly be the
Guda or Gudana, who is associated with him on coins (Pl. VIII, 51).
The legend of St Thomas has thus been furnished with an historical
setting which is chronologically possible. The fact of St Thomas's visit
to the court of Gondopharnes may be doubted ; but the story remains
to show that the fame of this king had spread to the West. A still more
distant echo of his name, transmitted through its Armenian form Gathaspar,
has been recognised by von Gutschmidt in Gaspar, the traditional name
of the first of the three wise men who, according to the Gospel story, came
from the East to worship Christ at His nativity.
Another apocryphal work, the Evangelium Ioannis de obitu Mariae
gives the name Labdanies to the sister's son of a king to whom St Thomas
went. So far as the form is concerned, Labdanes may well be a corruption
of Abdagases in the manuscripts; but the identification of the two names is
far from certain. The name of the king is not mentioned : he may have
been either Gondopharnes or Mazdai, whom St Thomas also visited,
and under whom he suffered martyrdom ; and moreover the Abdagases
of the coin-legends is the brother's son, not the sister's son, of Gondo.
pharnes.
As none of the coin-legends of Abdagases bear the imperial title,
there is no evidence that he reigned independently at any time. The types
suggest that he ruled as the viceroy of Gondopharnes in Irān (Seistān and
Kandahār) (PII. VIII, 54 ; VII, 34).
There can be no doubt that, soon after the reign of Gondopharnes,
the Pahlava power in India came to an end. Some stages in the disinteg-
ration of the empire are clearly reflected in the coinage.
The successor of Gondopharnes was Pacores.
His coins show that
he was undoubtedly suzerain in Irān; for they bear the imperial title toge-
ther with the type 'Victory' which was first issued by Orthagnes (Pl. VIII,
55 ; cf. Pl. VIII, 51); and his portrait, combined on coins found at
Takshaçilā with the symbol of Gondopharnes and the legend of the com-
mander-in-chief, Sasas, proves that he exercised at least a nominal sway
in India (v. inf. ). The types of another king, Sanabares, with their purely
Greek legend, must be attributed to Seistān. There is no evidence of his
rule either in Kandahār or India (Pl. VIII, 56).
The passing of Pahlava rule in eastern Gandhāra (Takshaçilā) is
Rhein. Museum, 1864, p. 169.
2 Philipps, Ind. , Ant. , 1903, p. 153.
1
## p. 524 (#562) ############################################
524
[ch.
SCYTHIAV AVD PARTHLAV INI ADERS
was
illustrated by the remarkable hoard of 21 small silver coins, which was
found by Sir John Marshall in an earthern jar on the ancient site of Sirkap.
The coins belong to four distinct classes, all hitherto known-two belonging
to the reign of Gondopharnes, and one each to the reigns of Pacores and
V’ima Kadphises.
The first two classes bear the portrait and the symbol of Gondo-
pharnes, with the names respectively of Sapedana and Satavastra and the
style 'Great King, King of Kings,' which is only one degree inferior to the
most lofty title assumed by Gondopharnes, viz. Great King, Supreme
King of Kings. ' Such a style can only mean that, even in the reign of
Gondopharnes, the allegiance of the governors to the suzerain was becom-
ing merely nominal.
The third class has the portrait of Pacores and the symbol of Gondo-
pharnes combined with the legend of Sasas, who uses the subordinate title,
'Great King,' and is described as “the brother's son of Aspa' There can
be no doubt that this Aspa must be the strategos Aspavarman, who
held office in the reigns of Azes II and Gondopharnes. During the reign
of Gondopharnes he was succeeded by his nephew, Sasas, who
governor of Takshaçilā in the reign of Pacores. The line of strategoi was
no doubt continued under the suzerainty of the Kushāņas. It is
apparently represented by the coins which bear the title, 2012 Mērzs,
'The Great Saviour' and which were formerly attributed to 'the unknown
king. '
The fourth class marks the transition from Pahlava to Kushāna
rule in Gandhāra. The ccins show the portrait of the Kushāņa conqueror,
Vima Kadphises, wearing the conical headdress which distinguishes him,
while the legend describes him as 'Great King, Supreme King of Kings, the
Kushāna Chief'i.
The chronological limits of the period covered by these coins are
clear. Gondopharnes was reigning in the year 45 A. D. ; and Vima
Kadphises was reigning in the year 78 A. D. Within these thirty-three years
must be included (1) the latter part of the reign of Gondopharnes, (2) the
reign of Pacores, and (3) some portion of the reign of V'ima Kadpbises.
The period of V’ima Kadphises is determined by the evidence of a
Kharoshthi inscription discovered by Sir John Marshall in the Chir Tope at
Takshaçilā. The inscription is dated on the 5th day of the Indian month
Āshādha in the year 136. If, as seems almost certain, the era is that which
begins in 58 B. C. , this date would be equivalent to the year 77-8 A. D. , that
For the coins here described see Marshall, Arch. Sur. of Ind. , Annual Report,
1912-13 (1) Saped ina, Pl. XL, 35, nos. 35. 39, pp. 50, 51 ; (2) Satavastra, Pl. XL,
41, nos, 40-44, p. 51 ; (3) Sasas, Pl. XL, 27, 29, 30, nos. 27-34, pp. 49, 50 ; (4) l'ima
Kadphises, Pl. XL, 45, 46, nos. 45-47, p. 51.
1
:
## p. 525 (#563) ############################################
XXIII]
VIMA KADPHISES
525
is to say, the last year in the reign of Vima Kadphises, according to those
scholars who hold that his successor, Kanishka, began to reign in 78 A. D.
According to the interpretation of Sir John Marshall this inscription
is actually dated in the era of Azes ; for after the year comes the word
ayısa which, on the coins, is the ordinary Kharoshțhi equivalent of the
Greek AZOY, ‘of Azes’l. He therefore translates : 'In the year 136 of
Azes. ' This view is probably correct ; and, if so, discovery is of great
importance, as it determines the origin of the so-called Vikrama Era and
fixes the beginning of the reign of Azes I in 53 B. C. The bald designation
of an era by a king's name without the accompaniment of any royal title
has, however, appeared so strange to some scholars that they have display-
ed no slight ingenuity in their endeavours to find some alternative
explanation of the word ayasa. But it is doubtful if any real difficulty
exists. It must be remembered that the inscription belongs to a people that
knew not Azes. His family had been deposed and deprived of all royal
attributes. The throne of Takshaçilā had passed from the Çakas and
Pahlavas to the Kushānas, Azes could scarcely have been furnished with
his wonted title, 'Great King of Kings,' in this inscription, without prejudice
to the house then actually reigning.
The monarch then ruling at Takshaçila is described in the inscription
as 'Great King, Supreme King of Kings, Son of the Gods, the Kushāņa
(Khushana)'; and, although his personal name is not given, there is
sufficient evidence to show that he is almost certainly to be identified
with V’ima Kadphises, the second king of the Kushāņa dynasty. His
titles -except for the substitution of the ordinary royal designation of the
Kushāņas, 'Son of the Gods,’ in place of 'Chief'- are identical with those
which occur in the legend of the small silver coins bearing the portrait of
V’ima Kadphises (v. sup. p. 521) ; and the first two of these titles, inherited
from the Pahlava kings, are included in the style usually assumed by this
monarch on other coins. Moreover at the end of the inscription is affixed
the symbol (the triçūla or mandipada) which is likewise characteristic of
the coins of V'ima Kadphises.
1 In the inscr. probably=the adjective āyasa, (of the era) of Azes. '
2 For the inscription, which was discovered in the Chir stūpa, see Marshall,
J. R. A. S. , 1914, pp. 973 ff. ; Konow, Ep. Ind. , XIV, pp. 284 ff. , for the coins of V'ima
(Ooemo) Kadphisez, Gardner, B. M. Cat. , Gk. and Scyth. Kings, pp. 124-8, PI, XXV.
Sir John Marshall (loc. cit. ) prefers to identify the king of inscription with the
first Kushāna, Kujūla Kadphises, on the assumption that both the titles and the
symbol occur also on his coins. But the coins to which he refers bear the name not of
Kujūla Kadphises, but of Kujūla Kara Kadphises, who was probably another member
of the dynasty ; see Rapson, Indian Coins,ş 68. Kujūla Kara Kadphises seems to,
have succeeded the satrap Zeionises in the kingdom of Pushkalāvati (Summary, p. 521)
and he may have contemporary with V'ima Kadphises,
[P. T. O.
## p. 526 (#564) ############################################
526
[CH.
SCYTHIAV AND PARTHIAN INVADERS
We may conclude, therefore, that the Kushāņa V'ima Kadaphises was
ruling over Takshaçilā as the successor of the Pahlava Pacores in 78 a. D. ;
and this year would appear to have been the last of his reign, since it is
also most probably the first in the reign of his successor, Kanishka, and
the starting point of the era used in the inscriptions of the later Kushāņa
kings.
The chronology of this period has been one of the most perplexing
problems in the whole of Indian history; and the problem can scarcely be
said to be solved positively even now ; that is to say, it has not yet been
placed beyond all possibility of doubt. But the evidence obtained by Sir
John Marshall from his excavations of the ancient sites of Takshaçilā
proves conclusively that the period of Kanishka's reign must have been
somewhere about the end of the first century A. D. ; and a comparison of
this evidence with the statements of Chinese historians and with the
date supplied by inscriptions makes it seem almost certain that Kanishka
was the founder of the well-known era which began in 78 A. D.
Some outlines of the early history of the Kushāņa empire have
been preserved by Chinese writers? . From these it appears that the
Yueh-chi, who drove the Çakas out of Bactria, consisted of five tribes, each
governed by a prince bearing the Turkish title which is usually translated
as 'Chief' – the yavuja of the coins. More than a hundred years after their
settlement in Bactria, at a date which, according to Dr. Franke, must lie
between 25 and 81 A. D. and probably nearer to the first of these limits than
to the second, the Chief of one of these tribes, the Kushāņas, gained the
supremacy over the Yueh-chi, and founded a united kingdom which
became known by the name of his own tribe. Thus once more Bactria
became the nursery of a great power which was destined to dominate N. W.
India. History repeated itself ; and the Kushāņas, like their predecessors,
the Yavanas, speedily became masters of the adjacent territories lying
to the south of the Hindu Kush, that is to say, the modern Southern
Afghanistān, or the ancient provinces of the Paropanisadae (Kabul and
Arachosia (Kandahār). These first conquests were made, as the Chinese
authorities state definitely, by the first Kushāņa monarch, who has been
identified with Kujūla Kadphises - Kujūla being no doubt a title like the
The royal title, Son of the Gods' (devaputru), was no doubt brought by the
Yuch. chi from their home on the borders of China. It is the usual designation of a
king in the Kharoshthi inscriptions discovered by Sir A. J. Stein in Chinese Turkestan
see Boyer, Rapson, and Senart, Kharoshthi Inscriptions, Part I (Oxford, 1920), p. 76,
no. 195. These inscriptions, which belong to the third century A. D. , preserve other
traces of Kusbāna rule, e. g. in the proper name Kusa nasena ibid. (p. 2. no. 5).
10. Franke, Beiträge aus chinesischen Quellen (1904) in Abhandlungen d. konig
preuss. Akad.
## p. 527 (#565) ############################################
XXIII]
PAHLAVAS
527
>
Kusūlaka of the Çaka satrap, Liaka (p. 519), and Kadphises the proper
name ; and, as they took place after 25 A. D. , they were made at the
expense of the Pahlava suzerain, who was either Gondopharnes or Pacores.
As other evidence will show, their date cannot be much later than the
middle of the first century A. D. at the latest.
Most of the coins of Kujūla Kadphises show clearly both by their
types and by their fabric that they were struck in the Kābul valley. They
are imitated from the barbarous issues of that region which still continued
to reproduce mechanically the legends with the name of the last Yavana
king, Hermaeus, long after his death. They are found in enormous
numbers beyond the limits of the Kābul valley in Takshaçilā, where
the stratification of the objects discovered in the excavations proves un-
questionably that, in that district, they are rather later than the coins of
Gondopharnes. At first sight the evidence of the finds would thus seem
to show that Kujūla Kadphises himself was later in date than Gondopharnes
and that he was the actual conqueror of Takshaçilā ; but, since the coins in
question manifestly come from the Kābul valley, we must suppose rather
that they represent the ordinary currency of the Kushāņas at the time when
the invasion took place, and that they were introduced into Takshaçilā as
large numbers of Sassanian coins were brought into the country of the
lower Indus from Irān by the Hunas in the fifth century A. D. It is, therefore,
by no means impossible that Kujūla Kadphises may have been not later
than, but contemporary with, Gondopharnes; and there is no reason to :
doubt the statement of the Chinese writers that it was not Kujūla Kad.
phises, but his son and successor, V’ima Kadphises, who extended the
dominions of the Kushāņas from the Kābul valley to N. W. India.
That this extension had been completed before 64 A. D, appears certain
from the evidence of an inscription which was discovered near Panjtār in
the Yūsufzai sub-division of the Peshāwar District:. It is dated on the
first day of the month Crāvaņa in the year 122 ; and there can be no doubt
that the era is the same as that which occurs in the Takht-i-Bahi inscription
of Gondopharnes, that is to say, the era of Azes which began in 58 B. c. The
inscription was set up in the reign of a Kushāņa (Gushana) who is
styled 'Great King'; but, as the personal name of this monarch is not given,
he cannot be identified. If he was not V’ima Kadphises himself, he
was, as the subordinate title may perhaps indicate, most probably one of
his viceroys and possibly the Kara Kadphises whose coins seem to belong
to the region in which the inscription was found (p. 525, note).
The precise date at which the Pahlava suzerainty in India came
to an end is unknown, but is undoubtedly lies within the comparatively
narrow limits marked by the years 45 and 64 a. d. - the last recorded year of
1 Fleet, J. R. A. S. , 1914, p. 372.
## p. 528 (#566) ############################################
528
[CB.
SCYTHIAN AND PARTHIAN INVADERS
Gondopharnes and the earliest mention of a Kushāņa king on an Indian
monument. But the Çakas and Pahlavas, although they had lost the proud
predominance which they once held, had by no means ceased to play a part
in Indian history. Like the Yavanas, they continue for some centuries to
be mentioned in Indian inscriptions in a manner which shows that they
still formed organised communities ; and there is evidence to show that
they still governed their own states, no doubt as feudatories more or less
nominal of the Kushānas. In the last part of the first century A. D. their
original Indian settlements in the country of the Indus delta continued to
be ruled by princes of their own race whom the author of the Periplus
calls Parthian (Pahlava) and describes as turbulent chiefs perpetually
engaged in turing one another out. But that these princes of foreign
origin who governed the country of the lower Indus had at this period been
forced to acknowledge the suzerainty of the Kushāņas, is proved by the
Sué Vibāra inscription in the Bahāwalpur State which is dated in a regnal
year of Kanishka (year 11 = 89 A. D. )".
It was from this country, too, and under the leadership of Çaka and
Pahlava satraps that the Kushāņa power was extended to Western India ;
and in this manner were laid the foundations of the kingdom of the
Kshatrapas of Surāshtra and Mālwā, the ‘Western Satraps,' who are known
in the later Indian literature and inscriptions as 'Çakas. ' This kingdom
lasted from about the beginning of the second century to the end of
the fourth, when it was conquered by the Guptas. The dates which appear
on the coins and inscriptions of its princes are all in the era which
starts from the beginning of Kanishka's reign in 78 A. D. They range from
the
year 41 to the year 310 (119-388 a. d. ) and form the most continuous
and complete chronological series found on the monuments of ancient
India. It was in consequence of its long use by the Çaka princes of
Western India that the era became generally known in India as the
Çaka era- a name which effectually disguises its origin, and one which has
in no small degree perplexed modern scholars in their endeavours to unravel
'the secret of Kanishka. '
1 Periplus inaris Erythroci, 38.
2 Hoernle Ind. Ant. 1881, p. 324.
## p. 529 (#567) ############################################
[Ch.
