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Concept
Abhira dynasty
Summary
The Abhira dynasty was a dynasty that ruled over the western Deccan, where they perhaps succeeded the Buddhist Satavahana dynasty. From 203 CE to roughly 270, or possibly 370, they formed a vast kingdom. They belonged to the ancient Abhira tribe.
The Purana texts associate the Abhira tribe with Saurashtra and Avanti regions. According to Balkrishna Gokhale, they "have been well-known since epic times as a martial tribe". The Mahabharata describes them as living near the seashore and on the bank of the Sarasvati River, near Somnath in Gujarat.
The origin of the Abhira tribe is steeped in obscurity. Although references to them exist in Ancient Indian literature, hardly any throw light on their origin. The Mahabhashya of Patanjali simply mentions them as something akin to a jati, naming them separately from the Shudras. Some sources state that Abhiras were Kshatriyas, and specifically Yaduvanshi, whilst others have said they were indeed Shudras.
Some Abhiras entered the military service of the Western Satraps (Sakas), and helped them in conquest of new territories. Ashvini Agrawal says that "By 181 CE, the Abhiras had obtained much influence at the Kshatrapa court. Some of them were serving as generals." The Gunda inscription of 181 CE refers to Abhira Rudrabhuti as the senapati (commander-in-chief) of the Saka ruler Rudrasimha I. It refers to Rudrasimha as simply a ksatrapa, ignoring the existence of any mahaksatrapa. According to Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya, this indicates that the Abhira general was the de facto ruler of the state, though not assuming any higher title. The inscription saya Abhira Rudrabhuti was the son of the general Bapaka.
Although Ishwarsena is often considered to be the first known Abhira king, H. S. Thosar agrees with K. Goplachari that the first was probably Sakasena, who ruled over much of the former Satavahana dynasty's territories, probably for about two decades around 209-228. He was likely the older brother of Ishwarsena, who succeeded him on his death. Both were sons of Mathari, the wife of Abhira Sivadatta.
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