Rudrasena I (Saka king)

Rudrasena I
Western Satrap king
Rudrasena I, Saka year 136 (214 CE).[1]
Reign200–222 CE
PredecessorJivadaman, Satyadaman
SuccessorPrthivisena, Samghadaman
FatherRudrasimha I

Rudrasena I (r. 200–222) was a Saka ruler of the Western Satrap dynasty in the area of Malwa in ancient India. During his reign, the Saka ksatrapas remained strong after a period of instability during the reign of Rudrasimha I.[2]

Biography

He is mainly known from his coins. Several have a date in Brahmi numerals on the reverse (such as 142 Saka Era = 220 CE). The reverse shows a three-arched hill or Chaitya, with a river, a crescent moon and the sun, within a legend in Brahmi "Rajno Mahaksatrapasa Rudrasihaputrasa Rajno Mahaksatrapasa Rudrasenasa", "The great satrap Rudrasena, son of the great satrap Rudrasiha".

Reign

Rudrasena succeeded his cousin Jivadaman, who had no sons, as a ruler of the Western Satraps.[3]

His sister Prabhudama was perhaps married to a ruler of Vaishali.[2] After his death, the Malavas under their king Soma re-asserted their independence from the Saka satraps.[2]

References

  1. ^ Rapson, E. J. (Edward James) (1908). Catalogue of the coins of the Andhra dynasty, the Western Ksatrapas, the Traikutaka dynasty, and the "Bodhi" dynasty. London : Printed by order of the Trustees. pp. 96–105.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  2. ^ a b c Ashvini Agrawal (1989). Rise and Fall of the Imperial Guptas (Hardcover). Motilal Banarsidass. p. 58. ISBN 9788120805927.
  3. ^ Sailendra Nath Sen (1999). Ancient Indian History and Civilization. New Age International. p. 190. ISBN 978-81-224-1198-0.
  4. ^ Rapson, E. J. (Edward James) (1908). Catalogue of the coins of the Andhra dynasty, the Western Ksatrapas, the Traikutaka dynasty, and the "Bodhi" dynasty. London : Printed by order of the Trustees. p. 96.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)