Mehama ( Bactrian: ''Meyam'',

Brahmi Brahmi (; ; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such ...

''Me-ha-ma''), ruled c.461-493, was a king of

Alchon Huns The Alchon Huns, ( Bactrian: αλχον(ν)ο ''Alchon(n)o'') also known as the Alchono, Alxon, Alkhon, Alkhan, Alakhana and Walxon, were a nomadic people who established states in Central Asia and South Asia during the 4th and 6th centuries CE. ...

dynasty. He is little known, but the

Talagan copper scroll The Talagan copper scroll, also known as Schøyen Copper Scroll (58 x 26 cm), was discovered and published in 2006 by Gudrun Melzer and Lore Sander. The scroll, dated to 492/3, mentions the four Alchon Huns kings Khingila, Toramana, Javukha, and ...

mentions him as an active ruler making a donation to a Buddhist

stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...

in 492/93.For an image of the copper scroll: Coin Cabinet of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienn
Showcase 8
/ref> At that time, it is considered that the Alchon Huns were firmly in charge of the Buddhist region around

Taxila Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and ...

, but had not yet started to conquer the Indian mainland. Mehama is named ''Maha Shahi Mehama'' (Great Lord Mehama) in the

. Mehama appears in a letter in the Bactrian language he wrote in 461-462 CE. The letter comes from the archives of the

Kingdom of Rob The Kingdom of Rob ( Bactrian: , ) was a small kingdom in Central Asia, in southern Bactria. It corresponds to the modern Rui in the Province of Samangan, modern Afghanistan. Numerous documents in the Bactrian language in the Bactrian script ( ...

, located in southern Bactria. In this letter he presents himself as: Kadag is Kadagstan, an area in southern Bactria, in the region of

Baghlan Baghlan (Dari: بغلان ''Baġlān'') is a city in northern Afghanistan, in the eponymous province, Baghlan Province. It is located three miles east of the Kunduz River, 35 miles south of Khanabad, and about 500 metres above sea level in the ...

. Significantly, he presents himself as a vassal of the

Sasanian Empire The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...

king

Peroz I Peroz I ( pal, 𐭯𐭩𐭫𐭥𐭰, Pērōz) was the Sasanian King of Kings () of Iran from 459 to 484. A son of Yazdegerd II (), he disputed the rule of his elder brother and incumbent king Hormizd III (), eventually seizing the throne after a ...

. Mehama (r.461-493) allied with Sasanian king

(459-484) in his victory over the

Kidarites The Kidarites, or Kidara Huns, were a dynasty that ruled Bactria and adjoining parts of Central Asia and South Asia in the 4th and 5th centuries. The Kidarites belonged to a complex of peoples known collectively in India as the Huna, and in Euro ...

in 466 CE, and may also have helped him take the throne against his brother

Hormizd III Hormizd III ( pal, 𐭠𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭬𐭦𐭣; New Persian: ), was the seventeenth king (shah) of the Sasanian Empire, ruling briefly from 457 to 459. He was the son and successor of Yazdegerd II (). His reign was marked by the rebellion of his ...

. It is thought that Mehama, after being elevated to the position of Governor for Peroz, was later able to wrestle autonomy or even independence. File:Mehama_coin.jpg, Coin of Mehama, with portrait and fire altar with attendants on the reverse, in the style of

Sasanian coinage Sasanian coinage was produced within the domains of the Iranian Sasanian Empire (224–651). Together with the Roman Empire, the Sasanian Empire was the most important money-issuing polity in Late Antiquity. Sasanian coinage had a significant influ ...

. File:Mehama. Circa 461-493 Bactria mint.jpg, Coin of Mehama, circa 461-493, in the style of the

Kushans The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, wikt:貴霜, 貴霜 ) was a Sync ...

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

on the reverse. Bactria mint File:Bactrian language letter from Meyam, King of the people of Kadag, 461-462 CE.jpg, Bactrian language letter from "Meyam, King of the people of Kadag", dated to 461-462 CE.

References

Central Asia Hephthalites 493 deaths {{CAsia-hist-stub

See also

References