Echoes from a forgotten past - Satavahanas

One day, I saw this interesting video. It showed a map of India with a timeline. As the timeline changed, the dynasties in India came and went. I looked on as the Vedic period came, the Aryans, the Mauryas and many more. At that time I saw an empire called the Satavahanas. My curiosity grew. Who were they? I had never heard of them. My father suggested that I read up and find out more. Soon I discovered that this was a glorious empire. That's when I decided to write an article. And here it is....!
Warning: Not for those who find history boring!!


The age of the Satavahanas

In the 1st century BCE, a local chieftain Simuka comes to the throne of a small area in present day Maharashtra, to lay the foundations of an empire that would last for centuries and leave its indelible mark in the fields of art and architecture. They were the Satavahanas.

The Satavahanas were feudatories of the Mauryan Empire and slowly as the Mauryan Empire started declining; the Satavahanas rebelled, broke free and got their freedom.

The Satavahanas ruled from 1st century BCE to the 2nd century CE from their capital city of Paithan also called Pratishtan (their capital was later changed to Amravathi). They ruled over parts of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and parts of Karnataka and Gujarat. Their 1st capital Paithan was famous for its honey, silk and cotton.

Post-Mauryan political landscape

Around this time, in South India the Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas were ruling. As the Mauryan Empire began to disintegrate the Indo-Greek empire in the north-west and the Shungas in the east also grabbed power. During their rule, many great empires came and went - the Indo-Greek empire, the Indo-Scythian empire, the Kushans and the Shungas. Around the 2nd century CE, the Satavahanas faded out of existence and were replaced by the Vakataka dynasty. 

Trade and Commerce

The Satavahana Empire was situated around the river Godavari. They had their capital at Paithan, also known as Pratishtan. This was geographically a very important place because the Dakshinapath (the route that connects north India to south India) passed through Paithan. Whoever controlled the Dakshinapath, controlled all the trade between north and south India. All this trading made the Satavahanas very rich.

The Satavahanas had trading ports on the Arabian Sea and trade with Rome from these ports also made them rich. At that time, Rome was the most powerful place in Europe. Trading across seas took place between India and Rome. Various ports like Kalyan and Sopara became hubs for trade.

Kingdom – Early period


The Satavahanas had around 12 kings over 3 decades. The statues of 8 of the most famous kings are found in the caves of Naneghat along with one queen – Naganika. Naganika wife of the 3rd king, Satakarni I was a very famous queen. She was the first queen in India, and probably even the whole world, to mint coins in her name. Her husband, Satakarni I, patronised Hinduism and conducted yajnas and made handsome donations to Brahmins.

Fight for Malwa & access to Sanchi

Satakarni II, who succeeded Satakarni I defeated the Shungas and occupied Eastern Malwa. This gave him access to Sanchi and the stupa there. Satakarni II contributed immensely to the restoration of the Sanchi Stupa. The architects of his court have inscribed information about the king on the southern gate of the Stupa.
Inscription on Southern Gate of Sanchi Stupa (By Photo Dharma from Sadao, Thailand - Detail of, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61815443)


Golden era


Under Gautamiputra Satakarni, the greatest king of the empire, and his successor Vashishtaputra Satakarni, the Satavahana kingdom expanded to its maximum point. Gautimaputra Satakarni ruled for around 21 years. According to various inscriptions, it is said that he defeated the Shakas and Yavanas.


After defeating the Shaka king Nahapana, he saw that Nahapana had coins minted on his name. So, Gautamiputra Satakarni minted coins in his name, a trait that the Shakas had learnt from the Greeks.
                                                        Gautamiputra Satakarni's coins



Extent of the Satavahana Empire

Decline


The Satavahana Empire fell shortly after the Roman Empire fell. It became poorer too, since its revenue was mainly trading. After Yajna Satakarni, the empire faced lots of threats and this resulted in them finally collapsing.

Contributions to Art & Architecture

The Satavahanas were the first kings to get coins struck in their name. They were patrons of Buddhism, who helped in building the Sanchi Stupa, in present day Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh. This stupa was constantly repaired by Satakarni II. Their famous paintings on the Ajanta caves can still be seen today.

The Buddhist Chaitya in the Karla caves in present day Maharashtra were also made by these kings. It was used as a prayer hall. These are few of the masterworks of this kingdom.


                                     Buddhist Chaitya in Karla caves in Maharashtra (By Kevin Standage                INDIAN  TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY)

Art and literature

The kings were also a patron of art and literature. They encouraged spreading of the language Prakrit.
Many of the inscriptions in Naneghat are written in Prakrit. 
   King Hala's poems

King Hala, one of the kings of the empire, was famous for his poems. The 9th and 10th cave of Ajanta and Ellora also have painting patronized by the Satavahanas.
                                               

Main locations (archaeological sites)

As mentioned earlier, the Satavahana kings supervised and gave funds for the construction of the Sanchi stupa. Being propagators of mainly Buddhism, they have built numerous stupas. Others include the famous Amaravathi stupa, the stupa at Goli, Nagarjunakonda, Gantsala and many more.

                                   
                                                 Southern gateway of Sanchi Stupa

The 9th and 10th cave of Ajanta and Ellora also have painting patronized by the Satavahanas. Naneghat is also an amazing site to get to know more about the Satavahanas. 
                                                             Naneghat Caves
It used to be a trade route and it has caves with Hindu and Sanskrit inscriptions written in Prakrit. There are many museums all around the world that have many paintings and sculptures of this time and are a must see:
- National museum, Delhi
- Amaravati museum, Amaravati
- British museum, London
- Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vaastu Sangrahalay, Mumbai
- Ashmolean museum, Oxford

Enemies

The main enemies of the Satavahanas were the Shakas, the Western Satrapas and the Yahavanes.

An empire, however strong it is, will eventually fall. The Satavahanas fell to the Vakataka dynasty. The Satavahana Empire was a great one. It is a pity we know so less about it. The glorious history of the Satavahanas is known to very few. This empire influenced art, architecture and literature in many ways. It is definitely one that everybody must know about.

References

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Comments

  1. Unknown24 January 2020 at 18:49

    Excellent piece of work.... articulate writing and interesting presentation

    ReplyDelete

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