Indo-Parthian kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 CE–226 CE | |||||||||||||||||||
Indo-Parthian kingdom at its maximum extent, circa 40 CE, and neighbouring South Asian polities.[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Capital | Taxila Kabul | ||||||||||||||||||
| Common languages | Aramaic Greek Pali (Kharoshthi script) Sanskrit,Prakrit (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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TheIndo-Parthian kingdom was aParthian kingdom founded byGondophares, and active from 19 CE to c. 226 CE. At their zenith, they ruled an area covering parts of easternIran, various parts ofAfghanistan and the northwest regions of theIndian subcontinent (most of modernPakistan and parts of northwesternIndia). The rulers may have been members of theHouse 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 ofDrangiana (Sakastan)Gondophares[3] declared independence from theParthian Empire. He would later make expeditions to the east, conquering territory from theIndo-Scythians andIndo-Greeks, thus transforming his kingdom into an empire.[a][5] The domains of the Indo-Parthians were greatly reduced following the invasions of theKushans in the second half of the 1st. century. They managed to retain control ofSakastan, until its conquest by theSasanian Empire in c. 224/5.[6] InBaluchistan, theParatarajas, a local Indo-Parthian dynasty, fell into the orbit of theSasanian Empire circa 262 CE.[7]
The Indo-Parthians are noted for the construction of theBuddhistmonasteryTakht-i-Bahi (UNESCO World Heritage Site) in Mardan, Pakistan.
Gondophares I originally seems to have been a ruler ofSeistan in what is today eastern Iran, probably a vassal or relative of theApracarajas. He may have replaced previous Parthian governors of Seistan, such asCheiroukes orTanlismaidates.[8] These Parthian satraps had been ruling the region ofSakastan since the time whenMithridates II (124–88 BC) had vanquished the Sakas of the region.[9]
Around 20–10 BC,[10] he made conquests in the formerIndo-Scythian kingdom, perhaps after the death of the important rulerAzes. Gondophares became the ruler of areas comprisingArachosia,Seistan,Sindh,Punjab, and theKabul valley, but it does not seem as though he held territory beyond easternPunjab.[11] Gondophares called himself "King of Kings", aParthian title that in his case correctly reflects that the Indo-Parthian empire was only a loose framework: a number of smaller dynasts certainly maintained their positions during the Indo-Parthian period, likely in exchange for their recognition of Gondophares and his successors. These smaller dynasts included theApracarajas themselves, and Indo-Scythiansatraps such asZeionises andRajuvula, as well as anonymous Scythians who struck imitations ofAzes coins. TheKsaharatas also held sway inGujarat, perhaps just outside Gondophares' dominions.
After the death of Gondophares I, the empire started to fragment. The name or titleGondophares was adapted bySarpedones, who becomeGondophares II and was possibly son of the first Gondophares. Even though he claimed to be the main ruler, Sarpedones’ rule was shaky and he issued a fragmented coinage in Sind, eastern Punjab and Arachosia in southern Afghanistan. The most important successor wasAbdagases, Gondophares’ nephew, who ruled in Punjab and possibly in the homeland of Seistan. After a short reign, Sarpedones seems to have been succeeded byOrthagnes, who becameGondophares III Gadana. Orthagnes ruled mostly in Seistan and Arachosia, with Abdagases further east, during the first decades AD, and was briefly succeeded by his son UbouzanesCoin. After 20 AD, a king namedSases, a nephew of the Apracaraja ruler Aspavarma, took over Abdagases’ territories and becameGondophares IV Sases[citation needed]. According to Senior, this is the Gondophares referred to in theTakht-i-Bahi inscription.[12]
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 AbdagasesCoin, a ruler named Agata in Sind, another ruler called SatavastresCoin, and an anonymous prince who claimed to be brother of the king Arsaces, in that case an actual member of the ruling dynasty inParthia.
But the Indo-Parthians never regained the position of Gondophares I, and from the middle of the 1st century AD theKushans underKujula Kadphises began absorbing the northern Indian part of the kingdom.[13]
The Indo-Parthians managed to retain control ofTuran andSakastan, which they ruled until the fall of theParthian Empire at the hands of theSasanian Empire circa 230 CE.[13]Pahares I (160-230 AD) was a ruler ofTuran following the partition of the remains of the Indo-Parthian kingdom.[14] The kingdom of Sakastan was ruled by a second king with the nameSanabares II (160-175 AD).[15] The Kingdoms of Turan and Sakastan ended when they submitted to the Sasanian rulerArdeshir I circa 230 CE.[15] These events were recorded byAl-Tabari, describing the arrival of envoys to Ardeshir atGor:[15]
“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 andMokran came to him with declarations of their submission."
The city ofTaxila is thought to have been a capital of the Indo-Parthians. Large strata were excavated by SirJohn Marshall with a quantity of Parthian-style artifacts. The nearby temple ofJandial is usually interpreted as a Zoroastrianfire 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 SaintThomas the Apostle, who was recruited as a carpenter to serve at the court of king "Gudnaphar" (thought to be Gondophares) in India. TheActs 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 philosopherApollonius of Tyana is related byPhilostratus inLife of Apollonius Tyana to have visited India, and specifically the city ofTaxila around 46 AD. He describes constructions of the Greek type,[18]probably referring toSirkap, and explains that theIndo-Parthian king of Taxila, namedPhraotes, received a Greek education at the court of his father and spoke Greek fluently:
"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]
ThePeriplus 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:
An inscription fromTakht-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]
We do not know the religion of the House of Suren although we know they were in religious conflict with the ZoroastrianArsacid dynasty.[23] Unlike the Indo-Greeks or Indo-Scythians, there are no explicit records of Indo-Parthian rulers supporting Buddhism, such as religious dedications, inscriptions, or even legendary accounts. Also, although Indo-Parthian coins generally closely follow Greek numismatics, they never display the Buddhisttriratna symbol (apart from the laterSases), nor do they ever use depictions of the elephant or the bull, possible religious symbols which were profusely used by their predecessors. They are thought to have retainedZoroastrianism, being of Iranian extraction themselves. ThisIranian mythological system was inherited from them by the laterKushans who ruled from thePeshawar-Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region ofPakistan.
Coins of theHindu deityShiva have also been found issued in the reign of Gondophares I.[24][25][26]
On their coins and in the art of Gandhara, Indo-Parthians are depicted with short crossoverjackets and large baggy trousers, possibly supplemented bychap-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 atSirkap nearTaxila byJohn Marshall relate to Indo-Parthian layers, although more recent scholarship sometimes relates them to theIndo-Greeks instead.[31] These archaeological researches provided a quantity of Hellenistic artifacts combined with elements of Buddhist worship (stupas). Some other temples, such as nearbyJandial may have been used as a Zoroastrianfire temple.
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 theGreco-Buddhist art ofGandhara exactly emerged, but the findings in Sirkap do indicate that this art was already highly developed before the advent of theKushans.
Numerousstone palettes found in Gandhara are considered as good representatives of Indo-Parthian art. These palettes combine Greek and Persian influences, together with a frontality in representations which is considered as characteristic of Parthian art. Such palettes have only been found in archaeological layers corresponding to Indo-Greek, Indo-Scythian and Indo-Parthian rule, and are essentially unknown the precedingMauryan layers or the succeedingKushan layers.[32]
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 theNaprstek Museum inPrague shows an Indo-Parthian king seated crossed-legged on a large sofa, surrounded by two attendants also in Parthian dress. They are shown drinking and serving wine.
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Some pockets of Parthian rule remained in the East, even after the takeover by theSassanids in 226. From the 2nd century several Central-Asian Buddhist missionaries appeared in the Chinese capital cities ofLuoyang and sometimesNanjing, where they particularly distinguished themselves by their translation work. The first known translators of Buddhist texts into Chinese are actually Parthian missionaries, distinguished in Chinese by their Parthian surname "An", for "Anshi", "country of theArsacids".
Pakores was succeeded in the office of Great King by Sanabares (c. AD 135-160). The much reduced Indo-Parthian realm then split into its two geographical constituents. These now became the Kingdom of Turan whose king was named Pahares and the Kingdom of Sakastan ruled by a second king bearing the name Sanabares (c. AD 160-175). These two kingdoms, Turan and Sakastan, were to persist until the first Sasanian Emperor, Ardeshir I, about AD 230. Both then became vassal kingdoms within the Sasanian Empire. Tabari recorded the submission made by the King of Turan which transpired when Ardeshir was at Gor: then envoys of the king of the Kushan, of the kings of Turan and Mokran came to him with declarations of their submission.
The history of ancient iran.
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