Indo-Parthian Kingdom
Indo-Parthian Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||
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19 CE–226 CE | |||||||||||||||||||
Brahmi script), Parthian | |||||||||||||||||||
Religion | Buddhism Hinduism Zoroastrianism | ||||||||||||||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||||||||||
King | |||||||||||||||||||
• 19–46 | Gondophares I (first) | ||||||||||||||||||
• ?–226 | Farn-Sasan (last) | ||||||||||||||||||
Historical era | Antiquity | ||||||||||||||||||
19 CE | |||||||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 226 CE | ||||||||||||||||||
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The Indo-Parthian Kingdom was a Parthian kingdom founded by Gondophares, and active from 19 CE to c. 226 CE. At their zenith, they ruled an area covering parts of eastern Iran, various parts of Afghanistan and the northwest regions of the Indian subcontinent (most of modern Pakistan and parts of northwestern India). The rulers may have been members of the House of Suren, and the kingdom has even been called the "Suren Kingdom" by some authors.[2]
The kingdom was founded in 19/20 when the governor of
The Indo-Parthians are noted for the construction of the
Gondophares I and his successors
Around 20–10 BC,
After the death of Gondophares I, the empire started to fragment. The name or title
There were other minor kings: Sanabares was an ephemeral usurper in Seistan, who called himself Great King of Kings, and there was also a second Abdagases Coin, a ruler named Agata in Sind, another ruler called Satavastres Coin, and an anonymous prince who claimed to be brother of the king Arsaces, in that case an actual member of the ruling dynasty in Parthia.
But the Indo-Parthians never regained the position of Gondophares I, and from the middle of the 1st century AD the
Rulers of Turan and Sakastan (160-230 AD)
The Indo-Parthians managed to retain control of
“Then he [Ardashir] marched back from the Sawad to Istakhr, from there irst to Sagistan, then to Gurgan, then to Abrasahr, Merv, Balkh, and Khwarizm to the farthest boundaries of the provinces of Kohrasan, whereupon he returned to Merv. Ater he had killed many people and sent their heads to the Fire temple of Anahedh he returned from Merv to Pars and settled in Gor. Then envoys of the king of the Kushan, of the kings of Turan and Mokran came to him with declarations of their submission."
Archaeology and sources
The city of Taxila is thought to have been a capital of the Indo-Parthians. Large strata were excavated by Sir John Marshall with a quantity of Parthian-style artifacts. The nearby temple of Jandial is usually interpreted as a Zoroastrian fire temple from the period of the Indo-Parthians.
Some ancient writings describe the presence of the Indo-Parthians in the area, such as the story of Saint Thomas the Apostle, who was recruited as a carpenter to serve at the court of king "Gudnaphar" (thought to be Gondophares) in India. The Acts of Thomas describes in chapter 17 Thomas' visit to king Gudnaphar in northern India; chapters 2 and 3 depict him as embarking on a sea voyage to India, thus connecting Thomas to the west coast of India.
As Senior points out,[17] this Gudnaphar has usually been identified with the first Gondophares, who has thus been dated after the advent of Christianity, but there is no evidence for this assumption, and Senior's research shows that Gondophares I could be dated even before 1 AD. If the account is even historical, Saint Thomas may have encountered one of the later kings who bore the same title.
The Greek philosopher
"Tell me, O King, how you acquired such a command of the Greek tongue, and whence you derived all your philosophical attainments in this place?"[19]
[...]-"My father, after a Greek education, brought me to the sages at an age somewhat too early perhaps, for I was only twelve at the time, but they brought me up like their own son; for any that they admit knowing the Greek tongue they are especially fond of, because they consider that in virtue of the similarity of his disposition he already belongs to themselves."[20]
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea is a surviving 1st century guide to the routes commonly being used for navigating the Arabian Sea. It describes the presence of Parthian kings fighting with each other in the area of Sindh, a region traditionally known at that time as "Scythia" due to the previous rule of the Indo-Scythians there:
- "This river (Indus) has seven mouths, very shallow and marshy, so that they are not navigable, except the one in the middle; at which by the shore, is the market-town, Barbaricum. Before it there lies a small island, and inland behind it is the metropolis of Scythia, Minnagara; it is subject to Parthian princes who are constantly driving each other out." Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, Chap 38[21]
An inscription from Takht-i-Bahi bears two dates, one in the regnal year 26 of the Maharaja Guduvhara (again thought to be a Gondophares), and the year 103 of an unknown era.[22]
Religion of the Indo-Parthians
We do not know the religion of the House of Suren although we know they were in religious conflict with the Zoroastrian
Coins of the
Representation of Indo-Parthian devotees
On their coins and in the art of Gandhara, Indo-Parthians are depicted with short crossover jackets and large baggy trousers, possibly supplemented by chap-like over-trousers.[29] Their jackets are adorned with rows of decorative rings or medals. Their hair is usually bushy and contained with a headband, a practise largely adopted by the Parthians from the 1st century AD.[30]
Individuals in Indo-Parthian attire are sometimes shown as actors in Buddhist devotional scenes. It is usually considered that most of the excavations that were done at
Buddhist sculptures
The statues found at Sirkap in the late Scythian to Parthian level (level 2, 1–60 AD) suggest an already developed state of Gandharan art at the time or even before Parthian rule. A multiplicity of statues, ranging from Hellenistic gods, to various Gandharan lay devotees, are combined with what are thought as some of the early representations of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. Today, it is still unclear when the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara exactly emerged, but the findings in Sirkap do indicate that this art was already highly developed before the advent of the Kushans.
Stone palettes
Numerous
Very often these palettes represent people in Greek dress in mythological scenes, but a few of them represent people in Parthian dress (head-bands over bushy hair, crossed-over jacket on a bare chest, jewelry, belt, baggy trousers). A palette from the
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Indo-Parthian man hunting.
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Indo-Parthian revelers.
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Indo-Parthian couple.
Silk Road transmission of Buddhism
Some pockets of Parthian rule remained in the East, even after the takeover by the
- Buddhist texts into Chinese (148–170).
- An Hsuan, was a Parthian merchant who became a monk in China 181 AD.
- Tan-ti (c. 254), a Parthian monk.
- An Fajin (281–306), a monk of Parthian origins.
Main Indo-Parthian rulers
History of South Asia | |
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(330–323 BC) | |
Maurya Empire | (321–184 BC) |
Seleucid India | (312–303 BC) |
Sangam period | (c. 600 BC – c. 300 AD) |
Pandya Empire | (c. 300 BC – AD 1345) |
Chera Kingdom | (c. 300 BC – AD 1102) |
Chola Empire | (c. 300 BC – AD 1279) |
Pallava Empire | (c. 250 AD – AD 800) |
Maha-Megha-Vahana Empire | (c. 250 BC – c. AD 500) |
Parthian Empire | (247 BC – AD 224) |