Indo-Scythian Kingdom

The Indo-Scythians, also known as Indo-Sakas, were a group of nomadic people of Iranic Scythian origin. They moved from Central Asia southward into areas that are now Afghanistan, eastern Iran, and the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, which includes present-day Pakistan and northern India. These migrations happened from the middle of the second century BCE to the fourth century CE.

The first known Saka king in this area was Maues, who ruled in the first century BCE. He set up Saka control in places like Gandhara and the Indus Valley. The Indo-Scythians grew powerful, taking over areas once ruled by the Indo-Greeks and other local groups. Later, they were taken over by the Kushan Empire under leaders like Kujula Kadphises and Kanishka. Even after that, some Saka leaders continued to rule smaller areas as satraps, forming groups known as the Northern Satraps and Western Satraps.

Their movement into the northern Indian subcontinent had a big impact on the history of the subcontinent and nearby lands. The Indo-Scythian invasion happened partly because Central Asian tribes were moving away from conflicts with other groups like the Xiongnu. This change affected places such as Bactria, Kabul, and even reached as far as Rome and Parthia to the west. Famous ancient Roman writers such as Arrian and Claudius Ptolemy wrote about the Sakas, describing them as nomadic people. The first rulers of the Indo-Scythian kingdom were Maues (around 85–60 BCE) and Vonones (around 75–65 BCE).

Origins

The Indo-Scythians came from groups known as the Saka, who were part of the Scythian tribes. These people were skilled horse riders and lived as nomads across large areas from Xinjiang to the Black Sea. They spoke a language called Saka and were known for using chariots in battles.

During ancient times, the Saka were part of armies that moved into regions like northwest India. Later, big movements of tribes changed where many groups lived, pushing the Saka to move south into areas that are now part of Afghanistan and Pakistan. These changes helped shape the history of many lands in Asia.

Settlement in Sakastan

The Saka people settled in areas that are now part of south-western Afghanistan, south-eastern Iran, and western Pakistan. These areas were later called Sakastan or Sistan. Their movement into these regions helped create the Indo-Scythian Kingdom and influenced many areas in northern and western India.

A leader named Mithridates II, who ruled the Parthian Empire around 123 to 88/87 BCE, took control of some land from the Indo-Scythians. Later, because of pressure from another group called the Yuezhi, some Indo-Scythians moved to areas near Lake Helmond and settled in Drangiana, which became known as Sakistana. Writers from that time, like Isidore of Charax, wrote about the Saka living in this area, close to Greek cities and Parthian lands.

Kingdoms

Pamirs to Taxila

Petroglyphs left by Saka soldiers in Chilas and on the Sacred Rock of Hunza in Pakistan show the route used by Maues, the first Indo-Scythian king, to capture Taxila from the Indo-Greek King Apollodotus II.

The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea describes Scythian lands beyond Gedrosia. The Indo-Scythians set up a kingdom near Taxila, with rulers in Mathura to the east and Surastrene (Gujarat) to the southwest.

Gandhara and Punjab

Scythians lived in modern Pakistan and north-western India around the same time as the Indo-Greek kingdoms. Maues conquered Gandhara and Taxila around 80 BCE, but his kingdom broke up after he died. Later, under Azes I, the Indo-Scythians took control of northwestern India after defeating Hippostratos.

Sculpture

Excavations found stone sculptures from the time of Azes I, including simple copies of earlier Greek designs.

Bimaran casket

Main article: Bimaran casket

Further information: Mathura lion capital

Azes is linked to the Bimaran casket, an early Buddha image. This small box held Buddha’s relics and was placed in a stupa near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, with coins from Azes inside. The Indo-Scythians had ties to Buddhism.

Mathura region

Main article: Northern Satraps

The Indo-Scythians took over Mathura around 60 BCE. Leaders there included Hagamasha, Hagana, and later Rajuvula.

The Mathura lion capital, a stone piece from the first century CE, tells of a gift to a stupa made by Rajuvula’s queen, Nadasi Kasa. It also lists the family of Indo-Scythian rulers in Mathura. Rajuvula defeated the last Indo-Greek king, Strato II, around 10 CE and captured his capital, Sagala.

Coins from this time were often crude, with less silver and more bronze, showing limited wealth.

Inscriptions from the Mathura lion capital show that Mathura was under Saka control. They mention Kharahostes and Queen Ayasia, and describe the family of the Indo-Scythian rulers. After Rajuvula, leaders like Kharapallana and Vanaspara ruled under the Kushans.

Pataliputra

The Yuga Purana describes Scythians invading Pataliputra in the first century BCE after seven kings ruled Saketa. It says the Saka king killed many people before being defeated by the Kalinga king Shata and others.

Kushan and Indo-Parthian conquests

After Azes died, Indo-Scythian rule in northwestern India ended with the rise of the Indo-Parthian ruler Gondophares in the late first century BCE. Some Scythian leaders kept small areas for a while, often under the Indo-Parthians.

The Kushans, from the Yuezhi tribes, took over northwestern India around 75 CE and Mathura around 100 CE, ruling there for centuries.

Western Satraps

Main article: Western Satraps

Indo-Scythians kept parts of Sistan until around 293 CE and held areas in India until the fifth century. Rudradaman I defeated several groups, as told in the Junagadh rock inscription. The Western Satraps were later conquered by the Gupta emperor Chandragupta II.

Coinage

The Indo-Scythian coins were usually well-made, though the quality dropped when their rule ended around 20 CE. Later rulers called the Western Satraps kept making coins of good quality until the fourth century.

Their coins were realistic and showed styles from both Indo-Greek and Kushan coins. It is thought that Greek coin-makers may have helped create these coins. The coins used the Greek alphabet on one side and the Kharoshthi script on the other. Instead of showing a king's face, the coins depicted the king on a horse, sometimes on a camel, or sitting on a cushion. The other side often showed Greek gods.

Some coins also included Buddhist symbols, such as gods making a special hand gesture, a Buddhist lion, or the triratana symbol.

Art

Main article: Indo-Scythian art

Not many artworks clearly show the Indo-Scythians, except for their coins. Some statues from Gandhara show foreign people wearing soft tunics and special pointed hats that the Scythians liked to wear. Men from a later group, the Kushans, are shown in simpler clothes, often wearing thick, stiff tunics.

Buner reliefs

Main article: Buner reliefs

Sometimes, soldiers from the Indo-Scythians appear in old Buddhist carvings from Gandhara, especially in the Buner reliefs. These soldiers are shown wearing loose tunics and trousers, with big straight swords. They have pointed hoods or special Scythian caps, which makes them look different from others called Indo-Parthians, who wear a simple band around their heads. Some of these soldiers are shown making a special hand sign to keep away bad spirits. In Gandhara, these carvings were used to decorate the bases of Buddhist temples called stupas. These carvings were made around the same time as others showing people dressed like Greeks, showing that Indo-Scythians and Indo-Greeks lived together. In one carving, the same soldiers are shown playing music and dancing; in Gandharan art, Indo-Scythians are often shown as happy followers of Buddha.

Stone palettes

Some stone pieces from Gandhara are thought to show Indo-Scythian art. These pieces mix Greek and Iranian styles and have a simple, old-looking design. They have only been found from times when Indo-Greeks, Indo-Scythians, and Indo-Parthians ruled, but not from earlier or later times.

These stone pieces often show people in Greek clothes in stories from myths. A few show people in Parthian style (headbands, jackets, jewelry, and loose trousers), and even fewer show Indo-Scythian style (special hats, tunics, and straight trousers). One piece found in Sirkap, now in the New Delhi Museum, shows a winged Indo-Scythian rider on a winged deer being attacked by a lion.

Buddhism

The Indo-Scythians supported Buddhism, continuing many practices from earlier times and helping spread the religion beyond India.

Several Indo-Scythian kings made gifts to Buddhist places of worship. For example, Patika Kusulaka gave a special item connected to the Buddha Shakyamuni, and Kharahostes placed symbols linked to Buddhism on items and coins. Other kings, such as Vijayamitra, Indravarman, Zeionises, Aspavarma, and Rajuvula, also showed their support through gifts and symbols.

Excavations at the Butkara Stupa in Swat uncovered sculptures from the Indo-Scythian time, showing a mix of different cultures in their design.

In Indian literature

The Indo-Scythians were called "Shaka" in India, a variation of the name "Saka" used by the Persians. They are mentioned in several important Indian texts such as the Purāṇas, the Manusmṛti, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata, and others. These texts describe the Shakas as part of a group of tribes from the northwest.

There are references in the Balakanda of the Ramayana to groups of people called mleccha including the Sakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, and Pahlavas. These mentions show the conflicts between local people and groups from the northwest starting around the second century BCE. The Mahabharata also speaks about these groups coming from the northwest.

Sai-Wang hordes

Some Central Asian Scythians, led by a leader named Sai-Wang, moved south across the Pamir Mountains and entered a place called Chipin. Chipin might be Kashmir or Kafirs. Sai-Wang set up his kingdom in Chipin. Some believe Sai-Wang was the Śaka Murunda, a name from Indian stories. Others think he was the king of the Scythians but not the same group as another Scythian group. The Sai Scythians might have come from a place called Kamboja and were part of the Parama Kamboja kingdom in Transoxiana. They returned after leaving their old home. Maues, a later leader, might have been from this group of Scythians who moved from Central Asia to Chipin.

Evidence of joint invasions

The Scythian groups who moved into India and set up kingdoms included the Saka and their allies like the Medii, Xanthii, and Massagetae. These groups became part of everyday life in India.

The Shakas came from areas beyond the Hemodos region, known as Shakadvipa in the Puranas or Scythia in old writings. Around the start of the first century CE, Isidore of Charax wrote about them in Sistan. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (around 70–80 CE) mentions a Scythian area in the lower Indus Valley, with Minnagra as its main city. Ptolemy (around 140 CE) also wrote about Indo-Scythia in southwest India, including the lands of Patalene and Surastrene (Saurashtra). The Scythian invasion of India in the second century BCE was likely done together by the Saka, Pahlavas, Kambojas, Paradas, Rishikas, and other tribes from the northwest.

Dynasties and rulers

Main article: List of Indo-Scythian dynasties and rulers

The Indo-Scythians, also called Indo-Sakas, were nomadic people from Iranic Scythian origins. They moved from Central Asia to areas now known as Afghanistan, eastern Iran, and parts of northern India and Pakistan. Their movements happened between the middle of the second century BCE and the fourth century CE.

The first known Saka king in this area was Maues, who lived in the first century BCE. He set up Saka control in places like Gandhara and the Indus Valley. The Indo-Scythians grew their power, taking over areas once ruled by the Indo-Greeks and other local groups.

Legacy

The Saka people moved into parts of northern India, bringing their own culture with them. Experts have noticed that some words and language features in northern India are similar to those from Central Asia, showing that the Saka had an influence on the area.