Rudradaman I

.
Obv: Bust of Rudradaman, with corrupted Greek legend "OVONIΛOOCVΛCHΛNO".
Rev: Three-arched hill or Chaitya with river, crescent and sun. Brahmi
Jayadaman"
16mm, 2.0 grams.] Rudradaman I (r. 130-150) was the Saka ruler of Malwa, a member of the Western Kshatrapas dynasty. He was the grandson of the celebrated Shakya king Chastana. Rudradaman I was instrumental in the expansion of the Ror kingdom and the decline of the Satavahana Empire. Saka or Shakya as in people of the Goddess Shakumbari and originally hailing from Northern and North-western parts of the Indian subcontinent.

Mahakshatrapa

Rudradaman I took up the title of "Mahakshatrapa" ("Great Satrap"), after he became the king and then strengthened his kingdom, partly because of the declining Kushan Empire.

Victory over the Satavahana

Although Rudradaman I took the title of "Mahakshatrapa", he still had to defend his kingdom from the Satavahanas. The conflict between Rudradaman and Satavahanas became so gruelling, that in order to contain the conflict, a matrimonial relationship was concluded by giving Rudradaman's daughter to the Satavahana king Vashishtiputra Satakarni. But that did not stop Rudradaman I from waging a war against Satavahanas and in fact Satavahanas were defeated twice in these conflicts, and Vashishtiputra Satakarni was only spared his life because of his family links with Rudradaman:

As a result of his victories Rudradaman regained all the former territories previously held by Nahapana, except for the extreme south territories of Poona and Nasik. [Rapson] Satavahana dominions were limited to their original base in the Deccan and eastern central India around Amaravati:

Other facts

The Sanskrit Junagadh inscription dated 150 CE [ [http://www-groups.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/Printonly/Yavanesvara.html Source] ] credits Rudradaman I with supporting the cultural arts and Sanskrit literature and repairing the dam built by the Mauryans. He in fact repaired the embankments of the lake Sudarshana, which was constructed by the Mauryas for checking floods.

Rudradaman fought many a battle against the Satavahanas(or the Andhras)and Satkarni, the son of the Andhra king Pulmayi, in an effort to end the hostilities, married the daughter of Rudradaman. Rudradaman also conquered the Yaudheya tribes in Haryana, as described in the Girnar inscription: [Rosenfield, "The dynastic art of the Kushans", p132]

However, in the next century the warlike Yaudheyas became more powerful. The indigenous Nagas also were aggressive toward Saka kshatrapas in the 3rd century.

Rudradaman is also known as the king who ruled when the Greek writer Yavanesvara translated the Yavanajataka from Greek to Indian, which influenced astrology in India. [ [http://www-groups.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/Printonly/Yavanesvara.html Source] ]

Notes

References

* Todd, James - "The Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan", Rajputana Publications, 1942
* Michell, George - "PRINCELY RAJASTHAN - Rajput Palaces and Mansions", Oriental Books, 1992
* Rosenfield, "The dynastic art of the Kushans"

External links

* [http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/0100_0199/rudradamancoins/rudradamancoins.html Coins of the Western Satraps]