Paratarajas

The Pāratarājas (Brahmi: Pāratarāja, Kharosthi: 𐨤𐨪𐨟𐨪𐨗 , , "Kings of Pārata") or Pāradarājas was a dynasty of Parthian kings in the territory of modern-day western Pakistan from circa 125 CE to circa 300 CE. It appears to have been a tribal polity of Western Iranic heritage. The ancient history of Balochistan, western Pakistan, is scarcely documented. The Paratarajas polity is known through coinage, which has been primarily found in and around Loralai. E. J. Rapson first studied the coinage in 1905; it was subjected to a comprehensive evaluation by B. N. Mukherjee in 1972; these studies have been since superseded by analyses by Pankoj Tandon and Harry Falk. Coinage was issued in five denominations: didrachms, drachms, hemidrachms, quarter drachms, and obols; all rulers did not issue every denomination. The first six rulers minted stable denominations in silver that were devalued and then replaced by billon than copper. Tandon notes multiple similarities with Indo-Parthian coinage, especially in the metrological standards and shape, and the coinage of the Western Satraps, especially in materials. The coins 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 silver coins) or Kharoshthi script (usually copper coins). This legend carried the name of the issuer followed by patronymic, and identification as the "King of Paratas". The die engraver often left the legend incomplete if he ran out of room, a quirk that is peculiar to the Paratarajas. Two contemporaneous inscriptions refer to the polity. The Paikuli inscription, which was erected by Narseh (293-302) after his victory over Bahram III, noted an anonymous "Pāradānshah" (King of Pardan) to have been among his many congratulators. Shapur I's inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht in Naqsh-i-Rustam, which is dated to 262, had "P'rtu"/"Pardan" as one of the many provinces of the Sasanian Empire:And I [Shapur I] possess the lands: Fars Persis, Pahlav [Parthia] ...