Paratarajas

The Pāratarājas or Pāradarājas was a dynasty of Parthian kings in the territory of modern-day Baluchistan province of Pakistan from circa 125 CE to circa 300 CE. It appears to have been a tribal polity of Western Iranian heritage.

Coinage

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in 1905; it was subjected to a comprehensive evaluation by B. N. Mukherjee in 1972; these studies have been since superseded by analyses by Pankaj Tandon and Harry Falk.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 or Kharoshthi script. 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.

Inscriptions

Four contemporaneous inscriptions refer to the polity — two of them are edicts by Sasanian Emperors that cursorily refer to the Paratarajas, one is a collection of potsherds that record Yola Mira's patronage of Buddhist monks, and the other is a stone inscription recording Datayola's commissioning of a new city.

Sasanian Edicts

The Paikuli inscription, which was erected by Narseh after his victory over Bahram III, notes an anonymous "Pāradānshah" 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:

Potsherds

In 1926 and 1927, Aurel Stein commanded an excavation at the ruins of a Buddhist site at Tor Dherai in Loralai and discovered potsherds carrying Prakrit inscriptions in Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts. Sten Konow, publishing the report about three years later, failed to understand the Brahmi legends but interpreted the Kharosthi legend as:
Yola Mira, a king whose existence was unknown at the time of the excavation, has since been determined form coin finds to be the earliest Parataraja king. For long, the potsherds remained the only non-numismatic evidence for any of the Parataraja rulers.

Stone-slab

A stone-slab inscription found in ??, inscribed in both 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", "Pareitakai/Pareitacae", "Parsidai", "Paraetaceni", "Paradene" 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 noted Paraitakene was the geographical area beyond Sakastene. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea 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

Extant literature portrays the Paratarajas as a migrant tribal polity that had originated in the territory of modern-day north-western Iran or further West, and migrated over centuries to the eastern fringes of Parthian territory. There, it may have reached its peak as an independent polity. Neither the extant inscriptions nor the coinage map the extents of the Paratarajas to any geographic precision.
Nonetheless, most scholars have placed the polity in western Balochistan, west of Turan and east of Siestan, largely catering to individual biases. Tandon challenges this "implicit consensus" and hypothesizes Shapur I's inscription to have listed regions in a geographical order from west to east — thus, Pardan falls between the inexact provinces Makran and Hind. Deriving support from the abundant finds of Parataraja coins and potsherds in Loralai, he proposes the Paratarajas to have ruled the district and its surrounds, probably extending in the west to modern-day Quetta and in the north-east to modern-day Zhob.

Dating

There exists no conclusive evidence to date the establishment of Paratarajas in Balochistan. Tandon proposed a date of c. 125 CE using circumstantial evidence:

The regnal title Shahi found in the potsherds and some of the coinage of Yolamira was revived by Kanishka.
The first-recorded use of patronymic legends in the subcontinent outside of the Paratarajas is in the coins of Chastana, at Western Kshatrapa.
The obverse bust depicted on the coin of early Paratarajas is nearly identical to a rare copper coin type of Rudradaman.
Paleographic analyses of Brahmi legends place the coins in the second century.

The disintegration of Paratarajas can be predicted with more confidence. Two overstrikes by Datayola— the last extant Parataraja ruler—on coins of the Kushano-Sasanian ruler Hormizd I provide a terminus post quem of c. 275 CE Accepting this schema allots about 15 years per ruler, which fits with the norms for ancient dynasties; additionally, Koziya can be assigned to about c. 230, whose incorporation of a bust adorning a curved hem on the coin obverse can be correlated to the contemporaneous 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 — didrachms, drachms, hemidrachms, quarter drachms, and obols. Three distinct phases of minting—bearded bust + right-facing swastika ; clean-shaven bust + left-facing swastika; clean-shaven bust + right-facing swastika—have been observed. The didrachm was minted exclusively in the second phase. The coin legend ran in the Brahmi script: Yolamirasa Bagarevaputrasa Pāratarājasa "Of the king of the Paratas, Yolamira, son of Bagareva"
Bagamira		Eldest son of Yolamira	c. 150 CE	The name translates to "Lord Mithra". Only two drachms, both of which used Yolamira's die from his third phase, are known. 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 character in Mahabharata, a Hindu epic; Tandon hypothesizes that he might have been the son of an Indian wife. In his first phase, Arjuna used Bagamira's die with a right-facing swastika on the reverse to issue drachms and hemidrachms. A new obverse die was then coupled with a left-facing swastika to mint the same denominations. In another phase, the same die was coupled with a right-facing swastika to mint 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. In his first phase, Hvaramira used Arjuna's die from the last phase with a right-facing swastika on the reverse to mint drachms. Then, a new die was used with a right-facing swastika to mint drachms and didrachms. Finally, this die was coupled with a left-facing swastika to mint 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". In his first phase, Mirahvara used Hvaramira's die from the last phase to mint drachms; Arjuna's hemidrachm die from the second phase to mint quarter drachms; and Yolamira's die from the third phase to mint hemidrachms. All had a right-facing Swastika on the reverse. In the next phase, Hvaramira's dies from the second and third phases were coupled with a left-facing swastika to respectively mint didrachms and drachms. In the third phase, a new die and Yolamira's die from the third phase were coupled with a right-facing swastika to respectively mint drachms and hemidrachms. 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." Drachm and hemidrachm issues have been found: Tandon suspects didrachms were likely, given the abundance of his coins. Phases are not very coherent. Used Mirahvara's die from the third phase and a new die to mint drachms; both right-facing and left-facing Swastika is found on the reverse. The hemidrachm used Arjuna's die from the second phase with a right-facing swastika. The coin legend—Mirahvarasa Hvaramiraputrasa Pāratarājasa—runs in the Brahmi script. Is the only king to feature a Sanskrit legend—Miratakhmasya Hvaramiraputrasya Pāratarāja—on some drachms.
Kozana		son of Bagavharna	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 Pāratarāja king to issue coins with the legends in Kharoshthi, which upcoming rulers adopted. Significant devaluation is observed for the first time. All of his mints used Miratakhma's dies. In the first phase, he minted hemidrachms with a Brahmi legend. In the second phase, drachms were minted but with a Kharoshthi legend. In the third phase, he minted drachms, didrachms, and hemidrachms on a reduced weight base. All coinage had a right-facing Swastika on the reverse. The Brahmi legend ran, Kozanasa putra Pāratarāja. The Kharoshthi legend ran, Kozanasa Bagavharnaputrasa Pāratarājasa.
Bhimarjuna		son of Yolatakhma	c. 220–235 CE	Apart from Arjuna, the only King to adopt an Indian name, which was formed out of a portmanteau of two characters in the Mahabharata. Last King to issue silver mints; only drachms have been found. Used a new die—that did not match any previous ruler's but was stylistically similar to Kozana's —with a right-facing Swastika on the reverse. There is a drastic devaluation from silver to billon to copper. The coin legend—Bhimarjunasa Yolatakhmaputrasa Pāratarājasa—runs in the Kharoshthi script.
Koziya		son of Kozana	c. 235–265 CE	The meaning of the name remains unknown. Had the most abundant and complex coinage among all Paratarajas with several innovations—from inscribing names of Kings on the obverse to replacing the bust image with that of a turbanned standing King with a spectre—which would become the mainstay of upcoming rulers. The coin legend—Koziyasa Kozanaputra Pāratarāja—runs in the Kharoshthi script.
Datarvharna		son of a Datayola	c. 265–280 CE	The meaning of the name cannot be conclusively deciphered; Harry Falk translates to "Glory of the Creator". Only a few didrachms have been found, which Tandon suspects reflects a short regime and extreme inflation reducing the need for lower denomination coins. The dies were stylistically similar to Koziya's, featuring a right-facing Swastika on the reverse. The coin legend—Datarvharnasa Datayolaputrasa Pāratarāja—runs in the Kharoshthi script. The nominative Datarvharna is inscribed on the obverse.
Datayola		son of Datarvharna	c. 280–300 CE	The meaning of the name cannot be conclusively deciphered; Harry Falk translates to "Fighter for the Law." Coins are cruder, and large denomination tetradrachms were introduced, pointing to a weak economy and inflation. Datayola used dies stylistically similar to Datarvharna's with both right-facing and left-facing Swastika on the reverse. A couple of overstrikes on coins of the Kushano-Sasanian ruler Hormizd I have been observed, providing a terminus post quem of circa 275 and potentially challenging Shapur I's inscription, in which Shapur claims to be ruling Paradan as of 262 CE. The coin legend—Datayolasa Datarvharnaputrasa Pāratarāja—runs in the Kharoshthi script; some issues make pioneering use of Pāradarāja in place of Pāratarāja, suggesting the identity of the two names Pārata and Pārada. The nominative Datayola is inscribed on the obverse.