A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c11.15

c11.15

Despite the vast extent of the Sātavāhana empire its polity was simple and local administration was left largely to feudatories subject to the general control of royal officials. Kingship was hereditary in the male line though matronymics were freely prefixed to the names of kings and nobles. The king was the guardian of the established social order and was expected to raise taxes justly and to further the prosperity of the poor equally with the rich. Feudatories were of three grades: Rājas who struck coins in their own names; Mahābhojas and Mahārathis who were confined to a few families in the western Deccan—the latter being connected with the Sātavāhanas by marriage; and relatively late in the history of the empire was created the office of mahāsenāpati which continued under later dynasties. Some mahāsenāpatis were in charge of outlying provinces while others controlled departments at the centre. The state was divided into āharas (administrative divisions) each under a minister (amātya). Below these came the villages, each with its own headman (grāmika). Other officials named in the inscriptions are treasurers and stewards, goldsmiths and coiners, administrators (mahāmātras), record keepers, ushers, and ambassadors.