Shaka (

Gupta script The Gupta script (sometimes referred to as Gupta Brahmi script or Late Brahmi script)Sharma, Ram. '' 'Brahmi Script' ''. Delhi: BR Publishing Corp, 2002 was used for writing Sanskrit and is associated with the Gupta Empire of the Indian subcon ...

''Sha-kā'') may have been one of the last rulers of the

Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi ...

around 325-345. He may have succeeded Vasudeva II. There is a group of Kushan gold coins that all carry the Brahmi legend ''Shaka'' in the right field, in the same place where Vasudeva II's coins read ''Vasu'', so it is natural to suppose that perhaps Shaka was the name of the king who issued these coins. A further support for this idea is that there is a mention of one "Devaputra Shahi Shahanshahi Shaka Murunda" in

Samudragupta Samudragupta ( Gupta script: ''Sa-mu-dra-gu-pta'', (c. 335–375 CE) was the second emperor of the Gupta Empire of ancient India, and is regarded among the greatest rulers of the dynasty. As a son of the Gupta emperor Chandragupta I and the ...

's famous Allahabad inscription, as one of the rulers who paid him homage. In this context, Shaka could be a title, it could refer to a tribe, or it could be a personal name. In any case, it seems to be related to the Shaka coins. Unfortunately, we don't know the date of the Allahabad inscription, so the best guess on dating Shaka is c. mid-4th century. Robert Göbl, for instance, did not think Shaka was the name of a ruler; rather, he thought the coins were tribal issues, but Michael Mitchiner and many other authors do think Shaka was a personal name. The Shaha coins all have the goddess

Ardoxsho Ardoksho ( Bactrian script Αρδοχϸο), also Romanised as Ardochsho, Ardokhsho and Ardoxsho, the Iranic goddess of wealth was a female deity of the Kushan Empire, in Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center o ...

on the reverse, whether many other Kushan rulers are known to have used Oesho (probably

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 Hin ...

with his bull) on the reverse of their coins. There are also sources who use the term Shaka-Kushan as a label for a historic period that began sometime between 78 A.D. and 128 A.D. This included the reign of rulers bearing the name of Vasudeva. It was associated with several excavated remains in northern India, which revealed building activities as well as artifacts like red polished pottery, ceramics, and terracotta figures. The discovered remains showed sophisticated construction practices like the use of burnt bricks for flooring and tiles for flooring and roofing. The wares, including some coins, found in the Shaka-Kushana sites were also found in several locations in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders wi ...

, Jhatikra Nahar near

Najafgarh Najafgarh is a town in the South West Delhi district of National Capital Territory of Delhi, India. It is one of the three subdivisions of the Southwest Delhi district. Najafgarh is located in south western part of Delhi sharing its territory w ...

, and Gordon Highlanders near Badli ki Sarai. Archaeologists believe that this indicates contact among these contemporary settlements or that these sites were under the sphere of influence of the Shaka-Kushana empire.

Footnotes

External links

Online catalogue of coins of Shaka
Kushan emperors 3rd-century Indian monarchs {{Asia-royal-stub