Paratarajas

Dating

There exists no conclusive evidence to date the establishment of Paratarajas in Balochistan. Tandon has proposed an establishment c. 125 CE on the basis of several lines of circumstantial evidence:

• The regnal title Shahi, attested in the potsherds and on some coins of Yolamira, is known to have been revived by Kanishka (c. 127–150).
• The earliest known use of patronymic legends on coins in the Indian subcontinent outside the Parataraja series occurs on the coinage of Chastana (c. 78–130 CE) of the Western Satraps.
• The obverse bust depicted on the coins of the early Paratarajas closely resembles that of a rare copper type issued by Rudradaman (c. 130–150 CE; successor to Chastana).
• Paleographic analyses of the Brahmi legends place the Parataraja coinage in the second century.

The end of Paratarajas can be dated with greater confidence—two overstrikes by Datayol, the last known Parataraja ruler, on coins of the Kushano-Sasanian ruler Hormizd I provide a terminus post quem of c. 275 CE. Tandon argues that this chronology (c. 125 CE - c. 275 CE) is supported by two considerations. First, it implies an average reign length of about fifteen years per ruler, which is consistent with the norms for ancient dynasties. Second, it places Koziya's reign around c. 230 CE, a date that accords with numismatic evidence connecting the curved hem on the obverse bust of his coinage with that on coins of the contemporary Kanishka II.

History

Rulers

A rough lineage of Paratarajas rulers can be reconstructed from numismatic evidence as follows:

Overview

The frequent invocation of Mithra, a Zoroastrian deity, in the names of the rulers lends support to the view that the Paratarājas originated in the Iranian world. Tandon suggests that they may initially have been Parthian vassals who later asserted their independence amid the weakening of imperial authority and the expansion of Indo-Roman trade.. Little is known about the political history of the dynasty; the available evidence, primarily in the form of extensive coinage, indicates that, for roughly two centuries, the Paratarājas flourished as an intermediary polity between three major powers: the Kushanas to the north, the Western Satraps to the east, and the Sasanians to the west.

Tandon believes their decline may have been linked to the contraction of Indo-Roman trade from the mid-3rd century onward and, subsequently, to the expansion of Sassanian power in the region. He nevertheless rejects the view that they were conquered by the Sasanians as early as 262, as might be inferred from Shapur I's inscription. Parataraja coins continued to be abundant without exhibiting any abrupt Sassanian influence as observed in the case of Bactrian mints, and the region was not claimed as a Sassanian possession in later inscriptions, including Kartir's at Naqsh-e Rajab.

Legacy

Coins carrying an inscription of "śrī rājño sāhi vijayapotasya" ("Of the noble Lord, King Vijayapota") on the reverse have been discovered from Loralai; the crescent adorning the brow of the bust on the obverse provides a terminus post quem of c. 400 CE, corresponding to the reign of the Sassanian Emperor, Yazdegerd I. Despite the marked differences in legend and chronology, Tandon notes the continued use of the swastika motif and similar metrological standards, leading him to identify Vijayapota as either a late Paratarāja ruler or the ruler of a successor dynasty that retained nominal independence under Sasanian suzerainty.