Rudrasena I
Western Satrap king
Rudrasena I, Saka year 136 (214 CE).[1]
Reign200–222 CE
PredecessorJivadaman, Satyadaman
SuccessorPrthivisena, Samghadaman
FatherRudrasimha I
Gadha (Jasdan) inscription of Rudrasena, Saka Year 127 (204-205 CE).

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]

Coin of Rudrasena I (200–222). Brahmi date: 131 Saka era. 16mm, 2.2 grams. Obverse: portrait of the ruler, with pseudo-Greek legend around (..ΥΙΟΙΙΥΛΙΗΟ..) and date (Hundred and thirty one, in Brahmi numerals of the Western Satraps, 131) to left in Brahmi. Reverse: Chaitya hill, with Brahmi legend around (starting at 1 o'clock):
Rudrasena I (Brahmi coin legend)
Rudrasena I (Brahmi coin legend)
"King and Satrap Rudrasena, son of King and Great Satrap Rudrasimha".[4]

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.
  2. 1 2 3 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.
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