Hagamasha (Ha-gā-ma-sa, Hagāmaṣa[1]) was an Indo-Scythian Northern Satrap (ruled in Mathura in the 1st century BCE, probably after 60 BCE).
Name
editHagamasha's name is attested on his coins in the Brahmi form Hagāmaṣa,[1] which is derived from the Saka name *Frakāmaxša, meaning "whose chariot proceeds in front".[2]
Reign
editIn central India, the Indo-Scythians are thought to have conquered the area of Mathura over Indian kings around 60 BCE, thus founding the Northern Satraps. Some of their first satraps were Hagamasha and Hagana, who were in turn followed by Rajuvula, but according to some authors, Rajuvula may have been first.[3]
In the archaeological excavations of Sonkh, near Mathura, the earliest coins of the Kshatrapa levels were those of Hagamasha.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b Allan, John (1936). Catalogue of the Coins of Ancient India. London: British Museum. pp. 183-184. ISBN 978-8-170-69057-3.
- ^ Harmatta, János (1999). "Languages and scripts in Graeco-Bactria and the Saka Kingdoms". In Harmatta, János; Puri, B. N.; Etemadi, G. F. (eds.). History of civilizations of Central Asia. Vol. 2. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House. p. 412. ISBN 978-8-120-81408-0.
- ^ Indian Numismatic Studies, K. D. Bajpai Abhinav Publications, 2004, p.103- [1]
- ^ Hartel, Herbert (2007). On The Cusp Of An Era: Art In The Pre Kuṣāṇa World. BRILL. p. 324.