The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c31.36

v1.c31.36

The precise date of Maues cannot at present be determined. He is undoubtedly to be identified with the Great King Moga, who is mentioned in the Takshaçilā copper-plate inscription of the satrap Pātika. The inscription is dated in the reign of Maues and in the year 78 of some unspecified era. None of the known Indian eras seems to be possible in this case; and it may not unreasonably be suggested that the Çakas, like other foreign invaders at all periods, may have brought with them into India their own system of reckoning, and that this may be the era used in Seistān. The month in the inscription is Parthian; and from this fact it may be inferred that the era itself is probably of Parthian origin. It may possibly mark the establishment of the new kingdom in Seistān after its incorporation into the Parthian empire by Mithradates I, c. 150 B.C. If so, the date of the inscription would be c. 72 B.C., a year which may well have fallen in the reign of Maues.