Que – Write an essay on Saka-Satavahana Struggle.
Ans-
Long struggle Between the Sakas and the Satavahanas The two dynasties, i.e. the Sakas and the Satavahanas remained constantly at war for about 350 years in the first two centuries B.C. and there after. The net result was in favour of the Sakas.
First phase of struggle-
The struggle between the two started during the rule of Satakarni 1 (194-184 B.C) of the Satavahanas. He made extensive conquests. He proved himself a more capable and poweful ruler than the Saka rulers.
Second phase of struggle- After the death of Satakarni 1, the Satavahana Kingdom received some set back. The widow of Satakarni 1. queen Nayanika ruled for sometime as guardian of her two sons but could not match the power of the Sakas. The Sakas conquered Malwa and Kathiwar and snatched from the Satavahanas the North-western part of the South including Nasik in the later part of the first century. Thus the Satavahanas lost their greatness.
Third phase of the struggle- The Sakas would have controlled the whole of Maharashtra and the northern Deccan but for the timely rise of a powerful Satavahana King, Gautamiputra Satakarni (106 A.D. to 130 A.D.). He was perhaps the greatest and the most powerful King of the Satavahana dynasty. The foreign invasions of the Sakas. Pallavas and the Yavanas were the order of the day. From the Nasik inscription, we come to know that he infliced a crushing defeat on the Saka chiefs of Malwa and Kathiawar and recovered many of the lost territories of the Deccan. His most important success was when he defeated Saka ruler Nahapana. This is indicated by the discovery of more than 8000 silver coins of Nahapana near Nasik and which bear mark of being restructed by the Satavahana ruler.
Fourth phase of struggle- After the death of Sri Gautamiputra Satakarni, his son Sri Pulumai (130 to 154 A.D.) became the king. During his period also, warfare between the Satavahanas and the Sakas continued. The Satavahana King faced several defeats at the hands of the Saka ruler, Rudradaman. As a result, the Satavahana ruler had to part with some territory.
The situation improved when the Saka niler Rudradaman married his daughter to the Satavahana ruler Pulumai.
Fifth phase of the struggle- After the death of Sri Pulumai in 154 A.D. there was some sort of disorder in the Satavahana Kingdom.
Yajna Sri Satkarni (160 A.D. to 189 A.D.) ruled the Satavahana dynasty. He too continued warfare with the Sakas and recovered some areas from the Sakas that had been lost during the period of Pulumai.
Sixth phase of the struggle- The successors of Yajna were very weak. They lost what he had gained from the Sakas. Not only this, the Sakas gained some territories from the Satavahanas. The treasury of the Satavahanas was drained and the empire collapsed and was divided into a number of small kingdoms in the middle of the 3rd century A.D.
Conclusion- The net result of the long struggle between the two dynasties was that the Sakas gained.