The Pāratarājas (Brahmi: Pāratarāja, Kharosthi: 𐨤𐨪𐨟𐨪𐨗 , , "Kings of Pārata") or Pāradarājas were a dynasty that ruled parts of present-day West Pakistan including Balochistan from c. 125 to c. 300 CE. The polity appears to have been of Western Iranian origin and is known primarily from its coinage.
Sources The ancient history of Balochistan is poorly documented. Knowledge of the Paratarajas derives primarily from its coinage, most of which has been discovered in and around Loralai.
Coinage
The coinage was first studied by E. J. Rapson in 1905 and later subjected to a comprehensive evaluation by B. N. Mukherjee in 1972. Both studies have since been superseded by the analyses of Pankaj Tandon and Harry Falk.
Coinage was issued in five denominations—didrachms, drachms, hemidrachms, quarter drachms, and obols—though not every rulers issued all denominations. The first six rulers struck stable denominations in silver which were subsequently debased before being replaced by billon and then copper mints. Tandon notes several similarities between Parataraja coinage and that of the Indo-Parthians, particularly in metrological standards and shape, as well as with that of the Western Satraps, especially in materials.
The coins typically exhibit a bust on the obverse and a swastika—either right-facing or left-facing—on the reverse, circumscribed by a Prakrit legend in Brahmi script (usually on silver issues) or Kharoshthi script (usually on copper issues). Thie legend records the name of the issuer followed by a patronymic, and the title, "King of Paratas". A distinctive feature of Paratarāja coinage is how legends were frequently left truncated when insufficient space remained on the die.
Inscriptions Four contemporaneous inscriptions refer to the polity. Two are Sassanian edicts that make brief references to the Paratarajas; another comprises a collection of inscribed potsherds recording Yola Mira's patronage of Buddhist monks; the fourth is a stone-slab commemorating Datayola founding a new city.
Sasanian Edicts The Paikuli inscription, erected by Narseh (r. 293-302) following his victory over Bahram III, records an anonymous "Pāradānshah" (King of Pardan) to have been among the many who congratulated him upon the occasion.
Shapur I's inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht in Naqsh-i-Rustam, dated to 262, lists "P'rtu"/"Pardan" among the provinces of the Sasanian Empire:
Potsherds During excavations conducted in 1926 and 1927 at the Buddhist site of Tor Dherai in Loralai, under Aurel Stein, a number of potsherds bearing Prakrit inscriptions in the Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts were discovered. When publishing the finds about three years later, Sten Konow was unable to decipher the Brahmi legends but translated the Kharosthi text as follows, recording Yola Mira endowing a water-hall for Buddhist monks:
Yola Mira, whose existence was unknown at the time of the excavation, has since been identified through coinage as the earliest Parataraja ruler. For many years, the potsherds constituted the only non-numismatic evidence for any member of the dynasty.
Stone-slab A bilingual stone-slab inscription in Brahmi and Kharosthi commemorates the establishment of an eponymous city by Datayola in the sixteenth year of his reign. A right-facing Swastika is engraved on the inscription.
Classical literature No mention of the dynasty is found in extant literature; however, classical literature in Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit make mention of tribal polities named "Parētakēnoí" (Πᾰρητᾰκηνοί), "Pareitakai/Pareitacae" (Παρειτάκαις), "Parsidai" (Παρ?óδòν > Παρσιδὦν (?)), "Paraetaceni", "Paradene" (Παραδηνή) and "Parada". Tandon accepts Mukherjee's theory all of these names refer to the same entity, who gave rise to the dynasty; he cites Datayola's coin-inscriptions in support.
Around 440 BCE, Herodotus described of the Parētakēnoí as one of the Median tribes that were collectively ruled by Deiokes. Arrian records Alexander to have encountered the Pareitakai in Sogdian province — in his account, that parallels those by Quintus Curtius Rufus, Strabo, and Plutarch, a siege was mounted but eventually their ruler offered submission and was rewarded with governorship of other provinces. Isidore of Charax (fl. 0 C.E - ?) noted Paraitakene was the geographical area beyond Sakastene. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (1st century CE) describes the territory of the Parsidai beyond the Ommanitic region on the coast of Balochistan. The contemporaneous text Natural History by Pliny records the Paraetaceni to be between Aria and Parthia. Ptolemy notes Paradene was a toponym for an interior region of Gedrosia.
Geography Classical sources portray the Paratarājas as a migrant tribal polity that originated in what is now northwestern Iran, or regions further to the west, before gradually moving to the eastern fringes of the Parthian world. It was there, according to this reconstruction, that they emerged as an independent polity. However, neither the available inscriptions nor the coinage permits the geographical extent of their realm to be determined with any precision.
Nonetheless, most scholars have placed the polity in western Balochistan, between Turan and Sistan. Tandon disputes this "implicit consensus", finding it to be unsupported by firm evidence. He argues that Shapur I's inscription lists provinces in a west-to-east geographical sequence, placing Pardan between Makran and Hind, which would accord well with the abundant finds of coins and potsherds in Loralai. Accordingly, he proposes the Paratarajas to have ruled the district and its environs, probably extending westwards to modern-day Quetta (or as far as Kandahar) and northeastwards to modern-day Zhob. 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:
Ruler Coin Filiation Approx. dates Discussion Yolamira Son of Bagareva c. 125–150 CE The name translates to "Warrior Mithra" in Bactrian. Coinage was issued in all five denominations. Three distinct phases of minting have been identified: a bearded bust on the obverse paired with a right-facing swastika on the reverse; a clean-shaven bust paired with a left-facing swastika; and a clean-shaven bust paired with a right-facing swastika. Didrachms were struck only during the second phase. The coin legend ran in the Brahmi script: Bagamira Eldest son of Yolamira c. 150 CE The name translates to "Lord Mithra". Only two drachms are known, both struck using a die from the third phase of Yolamira's coinage. The coin legend, Bagamirasa Yolamiraputrasa Pāratarājasa, runs in the Brahmi script. Arjuna Second son of Yolamira c. 150–160 CE The name was probably adopted from the eponymous hero of the Mahabharata, a Hindu epic; Tandon hypothesizes that he might have been the son of an Indian wife. During the first phase of his coinage, Arjuna struck drachms and hemidrachms using Bagamira's obverse die paired with a right-facing swastika on the reverse. In a subsequent phase, a new obverse die was coupled with a left-facing swastika to issue the same denominations. A third, probably later, phase employed the same obverse die with a right-facing swastika to strike drachms. The coin legend, Arjunasa Yolamiraputrasa Pāratarājasa, runs in the Brahmi script. Hvaramira a third son of Yolamira c. 160–175 CE The name translates to "Glorious Mithra"; hvara > khwarrah. Three phases of coinage have been identified. In the first, Hvaramira struck drachms using Arjuna's final obverse die from the third phase paired with a right-facing swastika on the reverse. The second phase introduced a new obverse die and included both drachms and didrachms. In the final phase, the same obverse die was paired with a left-facing swastika to issue only drachms. The coin legend, Hvaramirasa Yolamiraputrasa Pāratarājasa, runs in the Brahmi script; some coins use a variant spelling of Yodamiraputrasa. Mirahvara son of Hvaramira c. 175–185 CE The name translates to "Glorious Mithra". Three phases of coinage are attested. During the first, Mirahvara employed Hvaramira's final die for drachms, Arjuna's second-phase hemidrachm die for quarter drachms, and Yolamira's third-phase die for hemidrachms; all were struck with a right-facing swastika on the reverse. The second phase paired Hvaramira's second- and third-phase dies with a left-facing swastika to produce didrachms and drachms, respectively. In the third phase, a new die and Yolamira's third-phase die were paired with a right-facing swastika to issue drachms and hemidrachms, respectively. The coin legend, Mirahvarasa Hvaramiraputrasa Pāratarājasa, runs in the Brahmi script. Miratakhma another son of Hvaramira c. 185–200 CE The name translates to "Heroic Mithra." Only drachm and hemidrachm issues are known; however, Tandon considers didrachms likely given the abundance of Miratakhma's coinage. The coinage cannot be assigned to clearly defined phases. Drachms were struck from both Mirahvara's third-phase die and a new die, with examples bearing both right-facing and left-facing swastikas on the reverse. The hemidrachms employed Arjuna's second-phase die paired with a right-facing swastika. The coin legend, Mirahvarasa Hvaramiraputrasa Pāratarājasa, runs in the Brahmi script. Is the only king to have some drachms feature a Sanskrit legend, Miratakhmasya Hvaramiraputrasya Pāratarāja(sya). Kozana son of Bagavharna (and perhaps grandson of Bagamira?) c. 200–220 CE The meaning of the name cannot be conclusively deciphered; Harry Falk speculates a connection with the homonymous founder of the Kushana empire. Kozana was the first Paratarāja ruler to issue coins bearing Kharosthi legends, a practice that was adopted by subsequent rulers. His coinage also exhibits the earliest significant debasement in the series. All known issues were struck from dies inherited from Miratakhma and were paired with a right-facing swastika on the reverse. In the first phase, Kozana issued hemidrachms—and probably drachms—with Brahmi legends. In the second phase, drachms were issued with Kharosthi legends. In the third phase, he struck drachms, didrachms, and hemidrachms on a reduced weight standard.