Western Kshatrapas - Rare brokage of a silver drachm (3rd century AD)

Description

Bust right with close-fitting headdress; blundered Greek legend / same in incuse. Probably Satrap Visvasena, though it is impossible to tell without the reverse. Very rare Kshatrapas error! 16mm, 2.0 Western Kshatrapas, or Western Satraps, (35-405 CE) were Saka rulers of the western and central part of India (Saurashtra and Malwa: modern Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh states). They were contemporaneous with the Kushans who ruled the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, and the Satavahana (Andhra) who ruled in Central ether, there were 27 independent Kshatrapa rulers during a period of about 350 years. The word Kshatrapa stands for satrap, and its equivalent n Ksatrapavan, which means viceroy or governor of a province. The first Kshatrapas ruled parts of northwestern India as far as Mathura and may have been viceroys of the Kushans. Eventually they became independent as they vanquished the Satavahana empire, but retained the name of Kshatrapas. The Kshatrapa dynasty became very powerful with the accession of Nahapana to the throne. Nahapana occupied vast portion of the Satavahana empire in western and central India, although he was ultimately defeated by the powerful Satavahana king Gautamiputra Satakarni in 125 CE. Nahapana managed however to build a strong power base in the west, from which his successors would benefit. He also established the Kshatrapa Kshatrapa dynasty seems to have reached a high level of prosperity under the rule of Rudrasen II (256-278 CE), 19th ruler of Kshatrapa The last Kshatrapa ruler was Vishwasen, brother and successor to Bhratadaman and son of Rudrasen II. A new family took control under Rudrasimha, but was eventually conquered by the Gupta emperor Kshatrapas established their own calendar, which starts in 78 CE and defines the beginning of the Saka era, and which today the starting year for the official calendar of the Indian Republic.