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The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c36: Chronology

The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c36

Language
English

Chronology

v1.c36.1

The following dates are accepted in this volume. Many of them can only be regarded as approximate, while others are conjectural.

v1.c36.2

| B.C. | |
| 2500 | Probable date of the beginning of Āryan invasions (p. 70). |
| 1400 | Boghaz-köi inscriptions of kings of the Mitāni (pp. 72–3, 110–1). |
| 1200—1000 | Chhandas period of Indian literature: the earliest hymns of the Rigveda (p. 112). |
| 1000—800 | Mantra period, sometimes called the earlier Brāhmaṇa period: later hymns of the Rigveda and the Vedic collections—Rigveda, Yajurveda, Sāmaveda, Atharvaveda (p. 112). |
| | The tradition of the Purāṇas places the war between the Kurus and the Pāṇḍus in the earlier Brāhmaṇa period, c. 1000 B.C. (p. 307). The Mahābhārata which celebrates this war belongs in its present form to a much later date (pp. 252 ff.). |
| 800—600 | (Later) Brāhmaṇa period: the extant Brāhmaṇas (p. 112). |
| | The earliest Upanishads are probably not later than 550 or 600 B.C. (pp. 112, 147). |
| | It is possible that the story of the Rāmāyaṇa may have its origin in the later Brāhmaṇa period (p. 317). |
| 600—200 | Sūtra period (pp. 112, 227). |
| 563—483 | Siddhārtha Gautama, the Buddha (pp. 171–2, 312). |
| | According to Charpentier, 478 (477) B.C. appears to be a more probable date for the *nirvāṇa* of the Buddha (p. 156, n. 1). |
| | Among the contemporaries of the Buddha were Prasenajit (Pasenadi), king of Kosala (pp. 180, 309), Bimbisāra (Çreṇika) and Ajātaçatru (Ajātasattu, Kūṇika), kings of Magadha (pp. 183–4, 311), Pradyota (Pajjota), king of Avanti (pp. 185, 310–1), and Udayana (Udena), king of Vatsa (Vaṁsa) (pp. 187, 308, 310). |
| 558—530 | Cyrus, king of Persia. |
| | Conquered Bactria and certain countries in the Kābul valley and N.W. India including Kāpiça and Gandhāra (pp. 329–33). |
| 543—491 | Bimbisāra (Çreṇika), king of Magadha (pp. 157, 183, 311–2). |
| | Conquered Aṅga c. 500 B.C. (pp. 311, 315). |
| 540—468 | Vardhamāna Nātaputra, Mahāvīra (pp. 156, 163). |
| | Traditional date 600–528 B.C. (p. 155). |
| | Pārçva, the predecessor of Mahāvīra as *tīrthakara*, is said to have died 250 years before him (p. 153). |
| | For the contemporaries of Mahāvīra and Buddha *v. sup.* |
| 522—486 | Darius I, king of Persia. |
| | The Greek geographer Hecataeus lived in his reign (pp. 336, n. 2, 394). |
| | Naval expedition of Scylax c. 517 B.C.; conquest of 'India' = the country of the Indus c. 518 B.C. (pp. 335–6). |
| 491—459 | Ajātaçatru (Kūṇika), king of Magadha (pp. 157, 311–2). |
| | Probably added Kāçi, Kosala, and Videha to the dominions of Magadha (p. 315). |
| 486—465 | Xerxes, king of Persia. |
| | The continuance of Persian domination in Northern India during his reign proved by statements of Herodotus (p. 340). |

v1.c36.3

483 B.C.—38 A.D. Kings of Ceylon.

v1.c36.4

Vijaya, the conqueror of the island, 483–445 B.C. (p. 606); Paṇḍu Vāsudeva 444–414 B.C.; Abhaya 414–394 B.C.; Paṇḍukābhaya 377–307 B.C. (p. 607); Muṭasiva 307–247 B.C.; Devānaṃpiya Tissa 247–207 B.C.; Uttiya 207–197 B.C.; Mahāsiva 197–187 B.C.; Sūra Tissa 187–177 B.C.; Sena and Guttaka 177–155 B.C.; Asela 155–145 B.C.; Eḷāra 145–101 B.C. (p. 608); Duṭṭha-Gāmaṇī 101–77 B.C.; Saddhā-Tissa 77–59 B.C. (p. 609); Thūlathana 59 B.C.; Lañja Tissa 59–50 B.C.; Khallātanāga 50–44 B.C.; Vaṭṭa-Gāmaṇī Abhaya 44, 29–17 B.C.; Mahāchūli Mahātissa 17–3 B.C.; Choranāga 3 B.C.—9 A.D.; Kuḍa Tissa 9–12 A.D. (p. 610); Kuṭakaṇṇa Tissa 16–38 A.D. (p. 611).

v1.c36.5

415–397 Ctesias, the Greek physician, at the court of Artaxerxes Mnēmōn, king of Persia (p. 397).

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336–323 Alexander the Great, king of Macedon.

v1.c36.7

Conquest of Persia 330 B.C.: a statement of Arrian shows that Persian dominion in India continued until the end of the Achaemenian dynasty (p. 341).
Invasion of India at the end of 327 or the beginning of 326 B.C. (p. 354).
Retreat from the Beās, July 326 B.C. (p. 373).
Leaves India 325 B.C. (p. 380).
Death 323 B.C. (p. 386).

v1.c36.8

321–184 The Maurya Dynasty (pp. 471, 512).

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Chandragupta 321–297 B.C. (pp. 471–2).
The Jain authorities give the year of his accession as 313 (312) B.C., a date at which the canon of the Jain scriptures was fixed (p. 482).
Megasthenes at the court of Chandragupta c. 300 B.C. (pp. 433, 472).
Bindusāra or Amitrochates, successor of Chandragupta: his reign variously stated as of 25, 27, or 28 years (pp. 433, 495).
Açoka 274–237 B.C. Accession 274 B.C. at latest; coronation 270 B.C. at latest; conquest of Kaliṅga 262 B.C. at latest; Buddhist council at Pāṭaliputra 253 B.C. ?; death 237 or 236 B.C. ? (p. 503).
Contemporary Hellenic kings—Antiochus II Theos of Syria 261–246 B.C.; Ptolemy Philadelphus of Egypt 285–247 B.C.; Antigonus Gonatas of Macedon 278–239 B.C.; Magas of Cyrene d. 258 B.C.; Alexander of Epirus 272–258 B.C. ? (p. 502).
Contemporary king of Ceylon—Devānaṃpiya Tissa 247–207 B.C. (p. 608).
Successors of Açoka (pp. 511–3).

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312–280 Seleucus Nicator, king of Syria (p. 429).

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Indian expedition c. 305 B.C. (p. 430).
Treaty of peace with Chandragupta (pp. 431, 472).

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250 Approximate date of the establishment of the kingdom of Bactria by Diodotus (p. 435) and of the kingdom of Parthia by Arsaces (p. 439).

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246 Conversion of Ceylon by the Buddhist apostle Mahendra (Mahinda), the son (or brother, p. 500, n. 4) of Açoka, in the year of the coronation of king Devānaṃpiya Tissa (p. 608).

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220 Approximate date of the establishment of the Andhra power (Çātavāhana dynasty, pp. 317–8, 529, 530, n. 1, 599) and of the kingdom of Kaliṅga (Cheta dynasty, pp. 534–5).

v1.c36.15

Early Andhra kings—Simuka (pp. 318, 529, 599); Kṛishṇa (pp. 529, 535, 600); Çātakarṇi, contemporary with Pushyamitra, probably conquered Avanti from the Çuṅgas (pp. 530–2), also contemporary with Khāravela, *v. inf.*

v1.c36.16

King of Kaliṅga—Khāravela (acc. c. 169 B.C. if the Hāthigumphā inscr. is dated in the Maurya era) (pp. 314–5, 534 f., 602); invaded the dominions of Çātakarṇi (pp. 535–6, 600); defeated kings of Rājagṛiha and Magadha (pp. 536–7, 600).

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Indian expedition of Antiochus III the Great, king of Syria, during the reign of Euthydemus, king of Bactria (pp. 441–2).

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Yavana princes of the house of Euthydemus.

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Their Indian conquests began in the reign of Euthydemus early in the 2nd century B.C., and were carried out by Demetrius, son of Euthydemus, and other princes of his family (Apollodotus I and Menander) (pp. 444 ff., 541, 543).

v1.c36.20

Their conquests in the upper Kābul valley and in N.W. India were wrested from them by Yavana princes of the house of Eucratides from c. 162 B.C. onwards (p. 554). Restruck coins show the transference of certain kingdoms in these regions from one house to the other (pp. 547, 551–2).

v1.c36.21

Subsequently the rule of the successors of Euthydemus—the families of Apollodotus I and Menander—was confined to kingdoms which lay to the east of the Jhelum (p. 548). These appear to have been conquered finally and incorporated into the Çaka empire during the reign of Azes I (acc. 58 B.C.) (pp. 554, 572).

v1.c36.22

To the house of Euthydemus belonged Demetrius (supposed limits of reign c. 190–160 B.C., pp. 444, 447), Apollodotus I, and Menander—all contemporary with Eucratides (pp. 548, 551).

v1.c36.23

Apollodotus I was deprived of the kingdom of Kāpiça by Eucratides, and was succeeded in the lower Kābul valley by Heliocles (pp. 547–8). The later princes of his family—Apollodotus II, Dionysius, Zoilus, and Apollophanes—ruled over kingdoms in the eastern Punjab (pp. 552–3).

v1.c36.24

Menander ruled over many kingdoms (p. 551). He was probably the leader of the Yavana incursion into the Midland Country (pp. 544, 551). Menander and Eucratides may perhaps have ruled at different times over Nicaea in the former realm of Alexander’s Paurava king between the Jhelum and the Chenāb (pp. 551, 588). In Buddhist literature Menander (Milinda) is known as king of Çākala (Siālkot) in the former realm of Alexander’s second Paurava king between the Chenāb and the Rāvi (pp. 549–50). The family of Menander seems to be represented by Agathocleia who may have been his queen, his son Strato I, and his great-grandson Strato II. Numismatic evidence apparently shows that this family was dispossessed finally of the kingdom of Nicaea by Heliocles in the reign of Strato I. Its rule in the eastern Punjab continued until the Çaka conquest in the reign of Azes I (pp. 553–4).

v1.c36.25

Hippostratus probably belonged to the house of Euthydemus, but his family is uncertain. He was contemporary with Azes I (pp. 554, 572).

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The Çuṅga Dynasty.

v1.c36.27

The dates depend on the statements of the Purāṇas (p. 518).

v1.c36.28

| B.C. | |
| | Pushyamitra (184–148 B.C.), originally king of Vidiçā and commander-in-chief of the last Maurya emperor, seized the Maurya dominions and reigned at Pāṭaliputra (pp. 517–8). |
| | Deprived of the kingdom of Çākala by the Yavanas (probably by Menander) (p. 519). |
| | War between Vidiçā, now governed by his son Agnimitra as viceroy, and Vidarbha (assumed date c. 170 B.C.) (pp. 519, 600). |
| | Defeat of the Yavanas on the banks of the Sindhu by his grandson Vasumitra (p. 520). |
| | Invasion of his capital, Pāṭaliputra, by the Yavanas (probably under Menander) (pp. 544, 551). |
| | Deprived of the kingdom of Avanti (Ujjayinī) by the Andhra king Çātakarṇi (pp. 531–2). |
| | Later Çuṅga kings:—Agnimitra (p. 520); Vasumitra or Sumitra (p. 521); Odraka, probably contemporary with Bahasatimitra, king of Kauçāmbī (pp. 521, 525); Bhāga or Bhāgavata, contemporary with Antialcidas, the Yavana king of Takshaçilā, c. 90 B.C. according to the Purāṇas (pp. 521–2, 558); Devabhūti (p. 522). |
| | Feudatories of the Çuṅgas at Bhārhut, Mathurā, Kauçāmbī, and Ahicchatra (pp. 523–6). |
| 171–138 | Mithradates I, king of Parthia. |
| 165 | The Yueh-chi defeated by the Huns began their migration westwards (p. 565). |
| 162–25 | Yavana princes of the house of Eucratides. |
| | Eucratides deposed Euthydemus from the throne of Bactria c. 175 B.C. (p. 446). |
| | Conquered the Kābul valley, Ariāna (Arachosia and Aria), and N.W. India before 162 B.C. (pp. 447, 554). |
| | Evidence of his rule in Kāpiça as successor of Apollodotus I (p. 555), in Takshaçilā (p. 556), and possibly in Nicaea (ibid.). |
| | Deprived of his conquests in Ariāna by Mithradates I between 162 and 155 B.C., the assumed date of his death (pp. 457, 554). |
| | Heliocles, probably the son of Eucratides and his successor in both Bactria and India, ended his rule in Bactria c. 135 B.C. (pp. 460–1, 556). |
| | Evidence of his rule in the upper Kābul valley and in Pushkalāvatī (p. 557). |
| | Extended the conquests of Eucratides—probably to the east of the Jhelum—in the reign of Strato I (p. 553). |
| | Antialcidas, a member of the house of Eucratides and one of his successors in the Kābul valley (p. 558). |
| | He may have been the son and immediate successor of Heliocles (pp. 461, 559); on this assumption his accession may be conjecturally dated 120 B.C. (p. 522). |
| | Evidence of his rule in Takshaçilā (p. 558); in this kingdom he was at one time associated with Lysias, whose family is uncertain (p. 559). |
| | As king of Takshaçilā he was contemporary with the Çuṅga king of Vidiçā, Bhāga or Bhāgavata (Bhāgabhadra), whose 14th year may be estimated from the Purāṇas as c. 90 B.C. (pp. 521–2, 558). |

v1.c36.29

Later princes of this house:—(1) In Pushkalāvatī after the reign of Heliocles—Diomedes, Epander, Philoxenus, Artemidorus, and Peucolaus (p. 557); (2) in Takshaçilā after the reign of Antialcidas—Archebius (p. 559); and (3) in the upper Kābul valley after the reign of Antialcidas—Amyntas and Hermaeus (at one time associated with Calliope) (p. 560). The date c. 25 B.C. for the end of the reign of Hermaeus is conjectural: it seems consonant with the view that the upper Kābul valley was conquered in or before the reign of the Pahlava suzerain Spalirises, the brother of Vonones (pp. 561-2, 573-4).

v1.c36.30

138—128 Phraates II, king of Parthia. His conflicts with the Scythians (Çakas) in eastern Irān (p. 567).

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135 Bactria overwhelmed by the Çaka invasion in the reign of the last Yavana king Heliocles (p. 461).

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128—123 Artabanus I, king of Parthia. The struggle with the Çakas was continued in his reign (p. 567).

v1.c36.33

126 The Chinese ambassador Chang-kien visited the Yueh-chi who were still to the north of the Oxus. The Yueh-chi expelled the Çakas from Bactria soon afterwards (pp. 459, 566).

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123—88 Mithradates II the Great, king of Parthia. His final triumph over the Çakas (p. 567).

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75 B.C.—50 A.D. Period of Çaka and Pahlava supremacy in the Punjab.

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Earliest Çaka settlements in the region of the Indus delta (Indo-Scythia or Çaka-dvīpa) (p. 564).

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Maues wrested from the Yavanas Pushkalāvatī after the reign of Artemidorus, and Takshaçilā after the reign of Archebius. The date, c. 75 B.C., ascribed to these conquests is conjectural: it depends on the view that the assumption by Maues of the title ‘King of Kings’ must necessarily be later than the reign of Mithradates II (123-88 B.C.) (pp. 558-9, 569-70).

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Azes I acc. 58 B.C.—so dated on the hypothesis that he was the actual founder of the Vikrama era (p. 571).

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He extended the conquests of Maues to the more easterly kingdoms of the Punjab (pp. 553-4).

v1.c36.40

Azilises appears to have reigned (1) in association with Azes I, (2) alone, and (3) in association with Azes II (p. 572).

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Azes II: his association with the *strategos* Aspavarman proves that he was the immediate predecessor of Gondopharnes (pp. 572, 577).

v1.c36.42

Gondopharnes, the successor of Azes II as viceroy of Arachosia under the suzerainty of Orthagnes; at one time associated in this office with his brother Guḍa; he appears to have succeeded Orthagnes as suzerain in eastern Irān, and Azes II as suzerain in India (pp. 577-8).

v1.c36.43

He is known to have reigned from 19 to at least 45 A.D. (p. 576).

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In different kingdoms he was associated with (1) his nephew Abdagases who was probably his viceroy in eastern Irān (pp. 578-80); (2) Sapedana and Satavastra who were probably governors of Takshaçilā (ibid.); and (3) the *strategoi* Aspavarman and Sasas (pp. 577, 580-1).

v1.c36.45

Pacores, the successor of Gondopharnes as suzerain in eastern Irān and, nominally at least, in India. In Takshaçilā he was associated with the *strategos* Sasas (pp. 577, 580–1).

v1.c36.46

His rule is supposed to have come to an end in the upper Kābul valley c. 50 A.D., and in N.W. India soon afterwards (both dates must lie between 45 and 64 A.D.) (pp. 583–4).

v1.c36.47

Satraps:—(1) at Pushkalāvatī—Zeionises (p. 582, n. 1); (2) in the region of Takshaçilā—Liaka Kusūlaka (contemporary with Maues) and his son Pātika who appears as great satrap c. 30 B.C. (the supposed date of the Lion Capital of Mathurā) (p. 575); (3) at Mathurā—Hagāmasha and Hagāna (p. 527), Rañjubula (supposed dates—satrap c. 50 B.C., great satrap c. 30 B.C.), Çoḍāsa (supposed date as satrap c. 30 B.C.) great satrap in 16 B.C. (pp. 575–6).

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*Strategoi*:—(1) Aspavarman, son of Indravarman (Azes II and Gondopharnes); (2) Sasas, nephew of Aspavarman (Gondopharnes and Pacores) (pp. 577, 580–1).

v1.c36.49

58 Initial year of the Vikrama era.

v1.c36.50

Traditionally ascribed to a king Vikramāditya of Ujjain who is said to have expelled the Çakas from India. The tradition may have some historical foundation; but in any case it seems probable that the supposed founder of the era has been confused with Chandragupta II Vikramāditya (380–414 A.D.) who finally crushed the Çaka power in Western India (the Western Satraps) (pp. 532–3).

v1.c36.51

It seems more likely that the era marks the establishment of the Çaka suzerainty by Azes I (p. 571), and that its use was transmitted to posterity by the Mālavas and other peoples who had once been feudatories of the Çakas (p. 491).

v1.c36.52

57—38 Orodes I, king of Parthia.

v1.c36.53

The squared letters which characterise the coin-legends of the later Çaka and Pahlava rulers in India first appear on Parthian coins during his reign (p. 571).

v1.c36.54

30 Conjectural date of Vonones, Pahlava suzerain of eastern Irān (p. 573).

v1.c36.55

With him were associated, as viceroys of Arachosia, (1) his brother Spalahores, (2) his nephew Spalagadames: these two (father and son) also held this office conjointly, and (3) his brother Spalirises, who at one time held this office conjointly with his son Azes II (pp. 573–4).

v1.c36.56

Other suzerains of eastern Irān (in addition to those who ruled also in India, for whom *v. sup.*) were:

v1.c36.57

Spalirises, the successor of Vonones. The former kingdom of Hermaeus in the upper Kābul valley appears to have been annexed by the Pahlavas in or before his reign (p. 574); Orthagnes, contemporary with Gondopharnes (p. 578); and Sanabares, in Drangiāna (Seistān); there is no evidence of his rule in Arachosia (Kandahār) (p. 580).

v1.c36.58

8—11 Vonones I, king of Parthia (p. 573).

v1.c36.59

50 Approximate date of the extension of the Kushāṇa power from Bactria to the Paropanisadae (upper Kābul valley) and Arachosia (Kandahār) in the reign of Gondopharnes or Pacores. The Kushāṇa conqueror was Kujūla Kadphises (pp. 583–4).

v1.c36.60

The extension of the Kushāṇa power from the upper Kābul valley to N.W. India (Pushkalāvatī or W. Gandhāra) had taken place when the Panjtār inscription was set up (year 122 = 63—4 A.D.). The Kushāṇa king mentioned in the inscription may be either W'ima Kadphises or one of his viceroys—possibly Kara Kadphises whose coins are found in the same region (pp. 582, n. 1, 584).

v1.c36.61

Inscription of a Kushāṇa king (identified with W'ima Kadphises) reigning at Takshaçilā in the year 136 = 77—8 A.D. (pp. 581-2).

v1.c36.62

Initial year of the Çaka era.

v1.c36.63

The Çaka era appears to have been so called at a later date when it was best known as the era of the Çakas of Western India (the Western Satraps) who were originally feudatories of the Kushāṇas. It most probably marks the establishment of the Kushāṇa empire by Kanishka (pp. 583, 585).

v1.c36.64

The Suë Vihāra inscription of the 11th year of Kanishka proves that the suzerainty of the Kushāṇas extended to the country of the lower Indus at this date (p. 585).

v1.c36.65

58-57 Traditionally ascribed to a king Vikramāditya of Ujjain who is said to have expelled the Śakas from India. The tradition may have some historical foundation, but in any case it seems probable that the supposed founder of the era has been confused with Chandragupta II, Vikramāditya (380-414 A.D.), who finally crushed the Śaka power in Western India (the Western Satraps) (pp. 533-4). It seems more likely that the era marks the establishment of the Śaka supremacy by Azes I (p. 571), and that its use was transmitted to posterity by the Mālavas and other peoples who had once been the feudatories of the Śakas (p. 533).

v1.c36.66

c. 57-37 Vonones I, 'king of Parthia.' The square letters which characterise the coin legends of the later Śaka and Pahlava rulers in India first appear on Parthian coins during this reign (p. 562).

v1.c36.67

c. 50 Maues (Moa), king of Taxila (p. 559); Spalarises, viceroy (pp. 573-4). Azes (Aya) succeeds his brother Spalirises in Arachosia (?); his brother Azilises (Ayilisa) succeeds Azes in Gandhara (Taxila); Azes, father and son, on coins; Azes succeeds Azilises, and at an advanced age (c. 30 B.C.) associates with him his nephew, Zeionises (Jihunia), king's nephew and kshatrapa, who rules jointly with his son Azes II (pp. 570, 574). There were other leaders ('ruler of rulers') in the same line who ruled also in India, for whom v. chap. xxiii.

v1.c36.68

Pacores, the conqueror of Yueh-chi. The former kingdom of Hermaeus in the upper Kābul valley appears to have been annexed by the Parthians in or before his reign (p. 561); Parthian contemporary with Gondopharnes (p. 578), and Phraotes in Taxila (p. 580); there is no evidence of his rule in Arachosia (Kandahar) (p. 580).

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c. 37-2 Phraates IV, 'king of Parthia' (p. 562). A possible indication of the extension of the Parthian power from Seistan to the Paropanisadae (upper Kābul valley) and Arachosia (Kandahar) in the reign of the Philhellenic Parthian 'king Gondophares', was Kujūla Kadphises (pp. 560-1).

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