View source for Indo-Scythians

{{Short description|Nomadic Iranian peoples of Saka and Scythian origin}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox former country
|conventional_long_name = Indo-Scythian kingdom
|common_name = Indo-Scythian kingdom
|era       = [[ancient history|Antiquity]]
|government_type = Monarchy
|year_start  = {{circa}} 150 BCE
|year_end    = 400 CE
|p1          = Greco-Bactrian kingdom
|p2          = Indo-Greek kingdom
|p3          = Maurya Empire
|s1          = Kushan Empire
|s2          = Sassanid Empire
|s3          = Apracharajas
|s4          = Indo-Parthians
|s5          = Paratarajas
|s6          = Gupta Empire
|image_map    = Map of the Indo-Scythians.png
|image_map_caption  = Territories and expansion of the Indo-Scythians at their greatest extent, including territories of the [[Northern Satraps]] and [[Western Satraps]].
|capital          = {{ublist|[[Ujjain|Ujjain/Ozene]]|[[Mathura, Uttar Pradesh|Mathura]]|[[Taxila]]}}
|common_languages = [[Saka language|Saka]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Diringer |first=David |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.57042/page/n351/mode/2up |title=The Alphabet: A Key to the History of Mankind |date=1953 |publisher=Hutchinson's Scientific and Technical Publications |edition=Second and revised |location=London |page=350 |language=en |orig-date=1948}}</ref><br>[[Koine Greek|Greek]],<br>[[Pali]] ([[Kharoshthi]] script),<br>[[Sanskrit]],<br>[[Prakrit]] ([[Brāhmī script|Brahmi]] script)
|religion         = [[Hinduism]] {{ublist|[[Scythian religion]]|[[Ancient Greek religion]]|[[Buddhism]]{{Sfnp|Seldeslachts|2007|p=142}}{{sfnp|Neelis|2010|p=110}}{{sfnp|Hirakawa|1993|p=230}}|[[Zoroastrianism]]<ref name=io>Encyclopedia Iranica, [https://iranicaonline.org/articles/indo-scythian-dynasty-1 Indo-Scythian Dynasty]</ref>|
}}
|title_leader=[[King]]
|leader1 = [[Maues]]
|year_leader1 = 85–60 BCE
|leader2 = Hajatria 
|year_leader2 = 10 CE
|stat_year1   = 20 est.<ref name="Taagepera">{{cite journal|last1=Taagepera|first1=Rein|title=Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D|journal=Social Science History|date=1979|volume=3|issue=3/4|pages=115–138|doi=10.2307/1170959|jstor=1170959}}</ref>
|stat_area1   = 2600000
}}
The '''Indo-Scythians''', also known as '''Indo-Sakas''', were a group of [[nomad]]ic people of [[Iranian peoples|Iranic]] [[Scythians|Scythian]] origin who migrated from [[Central Asia]] southward into the present-day regions of [[Afghanistan]], Eastern [[Iran]] and the northwestern [[Indian subcontinent]]: present-day [[Pakistan]] and [[northern India]]. The migrations persisted from the middle of the second century BCE to the fourth century CE.

The first [[Saka]] king in [[Greater India|India]] was [[Maues|Maues/Moga]] (first century BCE) who established Saka power in [[Gandhara]], the [[Indus Valley]], and other regions. The Indo-Scythians extended their supremacy over the north-western subcontinent, conquering the [[Indo-Greeks]] and other local peoples. They were apparently subjugated by the [[Kushan Empire]]'s [[Kujula Kadphises]] or [[Kanishka]].{{efn|Kharapallana and Vanaspara are known from an inscription discovered in Sarnath and dated to the third year of Kanishka, in which they pledged allegiance to the Kushanas.<ref>''A Catalogue of the Indian Coins in the British Museum. Andhras etc.'' Rapson, p. ciii</ref>}} The Saka continued to govern as [[satrapies]],{{efn|"The titles "Kshatrap" and "Mahakshatrapa" certainly show that the Western Kshatrapas were originally feudatories"<ref>Rapson, ''Coins of the British Museum'', p. cv</ref>}} forming the [[Northern Satraps]] and [[Western Satraps]]. The power of the Saka rulers began to decline during the 2nd century CE after the Indo-Scythians were defeated by the [[Satavahana]] emperor [[Gautamiputra Satakarni]].<ref>''World history from Early Times to AD 2000'' by B. V. Rao, p. 97</ref><ref>A Brief History of India, by Alain Daniélou p. 136</ref> Indo-Scythian rule in the northwestern subcontinent ended when the last Western Satrap, [[Rudrasimha III]], was defeated by the [[Gupta Empire|Gupta]] emperor [[Chandragupta II]] in 395 CE.<ref>''India in a Globalised World'' by Sagarika Dutt, p. 24</ref><ref>''Ancient India'' by Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, p. 234</ref>

The invasion of the northern Indian subcontinent by Scythian tribes from Central Asia, often referred to as the Indo-Scythian invasion, played a significant role in the [[history of India|history of the subcontinent]] and nearby regions. The Indo-Scythian war was triggered by the nomadic flight of Central Asians from conflict with tribes such as the [[Xiongnu]] in the second century CE, which had lasting effects on [[Bactria]], [[Kabul]] and the Indian subcontinent and Rome and [[Parthia]] in the west. Ancient Roman historians, including [[Arrian]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/ancient/arrian-bookVIII-India.asp|title=Arrian: Anabasis Alexandri: Book VIII (Indica); Section V|website=Ancient History Sourcebooks|publisher=[[Fordham University]]|access-date=2019-01-21}}</ref> and [[Ptolemy|Claudius Ptolemy]], have mentioned that the ancient Sakas ("Sakai") were [[nomadic people]].<ref>[[Ptolemy]] vi, xiii (1932), p. 143.</ref> The first rulers of the Indo-Scythian kingdom were [[Maues]] (c. 85–60 BCE) and [[Vonones of Indo-Scythia|Vonones]] (c. 75–65 BCE).<ref>{{cite book|access-date=2023-01-28|author=Suchandra Ghosh|title=The Encyclopedia of Empire |date=2016-01-11|doi=10.1002/9781118455074.wbeoe067|editor=Nigel Dalziel, John M MacKenzie|isbn=978-1-118-45507-4|language=en|location=Oxford, UK|pages=1–2|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd|chapter=Indo-Scythian (Saka) Kingdom|chapter-url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118455074.wbeoe067}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

== Legacy and Rajputization ==
Some Indo-Scythian tribes, such as the Sakas and Kambojas, were later absorbed into Indian society through processes like Rajputization. According to historians like Dirk H.A. Kolff and James Tod, warrior tribes of Central Asian origin were gradually integrated into the Rajput caste order during the early medieval period.<ref>Dirk H.A. Kolff, ''Naukar, Rajput, Sepoy'', Cambridge University Press, 1990.</ref><ref>James Tod, ''Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan'', Volume I, Oxford University Press, 1920.</ref>

== Origins ==

[[File:Saka warrior Termez Achaeological Museum.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|alt=Painted sculpture of a young, bearded man|Sculpted head of a Saka warrior, enemy of the [[Yuezhi]], from [[Khalchayan]] in northern [[Bactria]] ([[Afghanistan]]), first century BCE.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Abdullaev |first1=Kazim |title=Nomad Migration in Central Asia (in After Alexander: Central Asia before Islam) |journal=Proceedings of the British Academy |date=2007 |volume=133 |pages=87–98 |url=https://www.academia.edu/6864202 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Greek Art in Central Asia, Afghan – Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/greece-viii#prettyPhoto[content]/7/}}</ref><ref>[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/bf/c2/42/bfc242271c38d714044837d179faab53.jpg Also a Saka according to this source]</ref>]]

The ancestors of the Indo-Scythians are thought to have been [[Saka]] ([[Scythian]]) tribes. 
<blockquote>One group of Indo-European speakers that makes an early appearance on the [[Xinjiang]] stage is the Saka (Ch. Sai). Saka is more a generic term than a name for a specific state or ethnic group; Saka tribes were part of a cultural continuum of early nomads across Siberia and the Central Eurasian steppe lands from Xinjiang to the Black Sea. Like the Scythians whom [[Herodotus]] describes in book four of his ''History'' (''Saka'' is an Iranian word equivalent to the Greek ''Scythes'', and many scholars refer to them together as Saka-Scythian), Sakas were Iranian-speaking horse nomads who deployed chariots in battle, sacrificed horses, and buried their dead in barrows or mound tombs called [[kurgan]]s.<ref>Millward (2007), p. 13.</ref></blockquote>
[[File:MenWithDragons.jpg|thumb|alt=The treasure of the royal burial at [[Tillya Tepe]] is attributed to first-century BCE Saka in Bactria.]]
The Saka of western India spoke the [[Saka language]] (also known as Khotanese), first documented in the [[Tarim Basin]].<ref name="DD350">{{cite book |last1=Diringer |first1=David |title=Alphabet A Key To The History Of Mankind |date=1948 |page=350 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.57042/page/n351/mode/2up}}</ref>

===Achaemenid period (6th-4th century BCE)===
During the [[Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley]] {{circa|515|lk=yes}} BCE, the Achaemenid army was not Persian and the Saka probably participated in the invasion of northwest India. The Achaemenid army was composed of a number of ethnic groups who were part of the [[Achaemenid Empire]]. The army included Bactrians, Saka, [[Parthia]]ns, and [[Sogdia]]ns.<ref name="Beckwith p.5">{{cite book |last1=Beckwith |first1=Christopher I. |title=Greek Buddha: Pyrrho's Encounter with Early Buddhism in Central Asia |date=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=9781400866328 |page=5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RlCUBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 |language=en}}</ref> Herodotus listed the ethnicities of the Achaemenid army, which included [[Yona|Ionians]] (Greeks) and [[Aethiopia|Ethiopians]].<ref>Herodotus [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Herodotus/7B*.html VII 65]</ref><ref name="Beckwith p.5"/> These groups were probably included in the Achaemenid army which invaded India.<ref name="Beckwith p.5"/>

Some scholars (including [[Michael Witzel]])<ref>{{cite book |last1=Attwood |first1=Jayarava |title=Possible Iranian Origins for the Śākyas and Aspects of Buddhism |url=https://www.academia.edu/25950011 |language=en|pages=47–69}}</ref> and [[Christopher I. Beckwith]]<ref name="CIB">{{cite book |last1=Beckwith |first1=Christopher I. |title=Greek Buddha: Pyrrho's Encounter with Early Buddhism in Central Asia |date=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=9781400866328 |pages=1–21 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RlCUBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 |language=en}}</ref> suggested that the [[Shakya]]{{snd}}the clan of [[Gautama Buddha]]{{snd}}were originally Scythians from Central Asia, and the Indian ethnonym ''Śākya'' has the same origin as "Scythian".<ref name="Beckwith p.5"/> This would explain the strong Saka support of Buddhism in India.<ref name="CIB"/>

The Persians, the Saka and the Greeks may have participated in the later campaigns of [[Chandragupta Maurya]] to gain the throne of [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]] {{circa|320}} BCE. The ''[[Mudrarakshasa]]'' says that after [[Alexander the Great]]'s death, [[Chandragupta Maurya]] used a [[Scythians|Shaka]]-[[Greeks|Yavana]]-[[Kambojas|Kamboja]]-[[Persians|Parasika]]-[[Bahlikas|Bahlika]] alliance in his campaign to take the throne in [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]] and found the [[Maurya Empire]].<ref name="RM">
{{cite book |last1=Mookerji |first1=Radhakumud |title=Chandragupta Maurya and His Times |date=1966 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=9788120804050 |page=27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i-y6ZUheQH8C&pg=PA27 |language=en}}; {{cite book |last=Mookerji |first=Radha Kumud |chapter=The Foundation of the Mauryan Empire |editor=K. A. Nilakanta Sastri |title=A Comprehensive History of India, Volume 2: Mauryas and Satavahanas |date=1957 |publisher=Orient Longmans |page=4 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.532644/page/n5}}: "The Mudrarakshasa further informs us that his Himalayan alliance gave Chandragupta a composite army ... Among these are mentioned the following : Sakas, Yavanas (probably Greeks), Kiratas, Kambojas, Parasikas and Bahlikas."</ref><ref name="EI134"/><ref name="DS">{{cite journal |author=D.&nbsp;B. Spooner |year=1915 |title=The Zoroastrian Period of Indian History |journal=[[Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland]] |volume=47 |issue=3 |pages=416–417 |doi=10.1017/S0035869X00048437 |jstor=25189338 |s2cid=162867863 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/2403053 }}: "After Alexander's death, when Chandragupta marched on [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magada]], it was with largely the Persian army that he won the throne of India. The testimony of the [[Mudrarakshasa]] is explicit on this point, and we have no reason to doubt its accuracy in matter[s] of this kind."
</ref> The Saka were the Scythians; the Yavanas were the [[Greeks]], and the Parasikas were the [[Persians]].<ref name="EI134">
{{cite book |last1=Shashi |first1=Shyam Singh |title=Encyclopaedia Indica: Mauryas |date=1999 |publisher=Anmol Publications |isbn=9788170418597 |page=134 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HfwvAQAAIAAJ |language=en}}: "Among those who helped Chandragupta in his struggle against the Nandas, were the Sakas (Scythians), Yavanas (Greeks), and Parasikas (Persians)"</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Mookerji |first1=Radhakumud |title=Chandragupta Maurya and His Times |date=1966 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=9788120804050 |page=210 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i-y6ZUheQH8C&pg=PA210 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Yuezhi expansion (2nd century BCE)===
During the second century BCE, a [[nomad]]ic movement began among the Central Asian tribes. Recorded in the annals of the [[Han dynasty]] and other Chinese records, the movement began after the [[Yuezhi]] tribe was defeated by the [[Xiongnu]] and fled west; this created a [[domino effect]], displacing other central Asian tribes in their path.<ref name=Rene>{{Cite book |last=Grousset |first=Rene |title=The Empire of the Steppes |publisher=Rutgers University Press |year=1970 |isbn=978-0-8135-1304-1 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/empireofsteppesh00prof/page/32 32] |url=https://archive.org/details/empireofsteppesh00prof/page/32 }}</ref>

[[File:Orlat plaque detail.jpg|thumb|alt=A decorated bone plaque|Detail of one of the [[Orlat plaques]], apparently representing Scythian soldiers]]
According to these ancient sources, [[Modu Shanyu]] of the [[Xiongnu]] tribe of [[Mongolia]] attacked the [[Yuezhi]] (possibly related to the [[Tocharians]], who lived in the eastern [[Tarim Basin]]) and evicted them from their homeland between the [[Qilian Shan]] and [[Dunhuang]] {{circa|175}} BCE.<ref>''Shiji'', chap. 123 translated in: Burton Watson (1993), p. 234.</ref> Leaving a few people behind, most of the population moved west to the [[Ili River]] region. They displaced the Saka, who migrated south into [[Ferghana]] and [[Sogdiana]]. According to the Chinese historical chronicles (who call the Saka "Sai" 塞): "[The Yuezhi] attacked the king of the Sai, who moved a considerable distance to the south and the Yuezhi then occupied his lands."<ref>''[[Book of Han|Han Shu]]'' 61 4B Original tex: 西擊塞王。塞王南走遠徙，月氏居其地。</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.transoxiana.org/Eran/Articles/benjamin.html |title=The Yuezhi Migration and Sogdia |author=Craig Benjamin|journal=Transoxiana Webfestschrift Series I: Eran Ud Aneran |date =October 2003}}</ref>

Sometime after 155 BCE, the Yuezhi were again defeated by an alliance of the [[Wusun]] and the [[Xiongnu]]. They were forced to move south, again displacing the Scythians (who migrated south towards [[Bactria]] and present-day [[Afghanistan]] and south-west towards [[Parthia]]. A tribe known to ancient Greek scholars as the [[Sacaraucae]] (probably from the Old Persian ''Sakaravaka'', "nomadic Saka") and an allied people, the [[Massagetae]], came into conflict with the [[Parthian Empire]] in Parthia between 138 and 124 BCE. The Sacaraucae-Massagetae alliance won several battles and killed the Parthian kings [[Phraates II]] and [[Artabanus I of Parthia|Artabanus&nbsp;I]]. The Yuezhi tribes migrated east into Bactria after their defeat, from which they conquered northern India to establish the [[Kushan Empire]].<ref name="Jonson2006">{{cite book|author=Lena Jonson|title=Tajikistan in the New Central Asia: Geopolitics, Great Power Rivalry and Radical Islam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hLi9oJMT5B8C&pg=PA25|date=3 October 2006|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-1-84511-293-6|page=25}}</ref>

== Settlement in Sakastan ==
[[File:SakastanMap.jpg|thumb|alt=See caption|Map of Sakastan around 100 BCE]]
The Saka settled in regions mostly corresponding to the region of [[Drangiana]], which was later called Sakastan or [[Sistan]], a region of south-western Afghanistan, south-eastern Iran and extending across the borders of western Pakistan.<ref name="bailey 1996 pp1230-1231">{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y7IHmyKcPtYC&pg=PA1231 |author= Bailey, H.W. |date=1996|chapter=Chapter 34: Khotanese Saka Literature |editor= Ehsan Yarshater |title =The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol III: The Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian Periods, Part 2 |edition=reprint  |publisher=Cambridge University Press|orig-year=14 April 1983|isbn=978-0521246934|pages= 1230–1231}}</ref> The mixed Scythian [[Orda (organization)|horde]]s who migrated to Drangiana and the areas of Sakastan later gave rise to the Indo-Scythian Kingdom and vassel states in north and south-west India via the lower Indus valley. Beginning from [[Sauvira kingdom|Sovira]], Gujarat, Rajasthan and north India, and expanding into kingdoms on the Indian mainland as well as increasing influence on other kingdoms. 

The [[Arsacid Empire|Arsacid]] emperor [[Mithridates II of Parthia|Mithridates II]] (c. 123–88/87 BCE) pursued an aggressive military policy in Central Asia and added a number of provinces to the [[Parthian Empire]].<ref>Justin XL.II.2</ref> This included western Bactria, which he seized from the Indo-Scythians.<ref>Olbrycht, Marek Jan (2010). "The early reign of Mithradates II the Great in Parthia". 1. Anabasis: 144–158</ref>

Following military pressure from the Yuezhi (predecessors of the Kushana), some Indo-Scythians moved from [[Bactria]] to [[Lake Helmond]] (or Hāmūn) and settled in or near [[Drangiana]] ([[Sigal, Sakastan|Sigal]]). The region came to be known as "Sakistana of the Skythian&nbsp;Sakai&nbsp;{{sic}}"<ref>''Isodor of Charax, Sathmoi Parthikoi, 18''.</ref> towards the end of the first century BCE.<ref>''Political History of Ancient India'', 1996, p 693.</ref>

The presence of the Saka in Sakastan in the first century BCE is mentioned by [[Isidore of Charax]] in "The Parthian Stations". According to Isidore, they were bordered by Greek cities on the east ([[Alexandria of the Caucasus]] and [[Alexandria of the Arachosians]]) and the Parthian-controlled territory of [[Arachosia]] on the south:

<blockquote>Beyond is Sacastana of the Scythian Sacae, which is also Paraetacena, 63 [[schoeni]]. There are the city of Barda and the city of Min and the city of [[Palacenti]] and the city of [[Sigal, Sakastan|Sigal]]; in that place is the royal residence of the Sacae; and nearby is the city of Alexandria ([[Alexandria Arachosia]]), and six villages.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parthia.com/parthian_stations.htm |title=The Parthian Stations |publisher=Parthia.com |access-date=2012-03-14|at=18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230520182018/https://www.parthia.com/doc/parthian_stations.htm|archive-date=20 May 2023|url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote>

== <span class="anchor" id="Indo-Scythian kingdoms"></span>Kingdoms ==

=== Pamirs to Taxila ===
[[File:East-Hem_100bc.jpg|alt=A map|thumb|Asia in 100 BCE, showing the Saka and their neighbors]]
From [[petroglyph]]s left by Saka soldiers at river crossings in [[Chilas]] and on the [[Sacred Rock of Hunza]] in Pakistan, [[Ahmad Hasan Dani|Ahmad Hassan Dani]] and {{Interlanguage link|Karl Jettmar|de}} have established the route across the [[Karakoram]] mountains used by [[Maues]] (the first Indo-Scythian king) to capture [[Taxila]] from [[Indo-Greek kingdom|Indo-Greek]] King [[Apollodotus II]].<ref>{{cite book|title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume 2|pages=191–207|author=Ahmad Hasan Dani|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ.}}</ref>

The first-century CE [[Periplus of the Erythraean Sea]] describes the Scythian territories:
<blockquote>Beyond this region ([[Gedrosia]]), the continent making a wide curve from the east across the depths of the bays, there follows the coast district of Scythia, which lies above toward the north; the whole marshy; from which flows down the river [[Indus|Sinthus]], the greatest of all the rivers that flow into the Erythraean Sea, bringing down an enormous volume of water (...) This river has seven mouths, very shallow and marshy, so that they are not navigable, except the one in the middle; at which by the shore, is the market-town, [[Barbarikon|Barbaricum]]. Before it there lies a small island, and inland behind it is the metropolis of Scythia, [[Minnagara]]; it is subject to [[Indo-Parthian kingdom|Parthian]] princes who are constantly driving each other out&nbsp;...<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/periplus.html |title=Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, 38 |publisher=Fordham.edu |access-date=2012-03-14}}</ref></blockquote>

The Indo-Scythians established a kingdom in the northwest near [[Taxila (modern)|Taxila]], with two [[satrap]]s: one at [[Mathura, Uttar Pradesh|Mathura]] in the east, and the other at [[Saurashtra (region)|Surastrene]] ([[Gujarat]]) in the southwest.<ref>''The dynastic art of the Kushans'', John Rosenfield, p 130</ref>

=== Gandhara and Punjab ===
[[File:AzesIIFineCoin.jpg|thumb|alt=See caption|A coin of the Indo-Scythian king [[Azes]]]]
The presence of the Scythians in modern Pakistan and north-western India during the first century BCE was contemporaneous with the [[Indo-Greek kingdom]]s there, and they apparently initially recognized the power of the local Greek rulers. [[Maues]] first conquered [[Gandhara]] and [[Taxila (ancient)|Taxila]] in present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan {{circa|80}} BCE, but his kingdom disintegrated after his death. In the east, the Indian king [[Vikrama]] retook Ujjain from the Indo-Scythians and celebrated his victory by establishing the [[Vikrama era]] in 58 BCE. Indo-Greek kings again ruled and prospered after Maues, as indicated by the profusion of coins from Kings [[Apollodotus II]] and [[Hippostratos]]. In 55 BCE, under [[Azes I]], the Indo-Scythians took control of northwestern India with their victory over Hippostratos.

==== Sculpture ====
Excavations organized by [[John Marshall (archaeologist)|John Marshall]] found several stone sculptures in the early Saka layer (layer number four, corresponding to the period of [[Azes I]], in which a number of his coins were found). Several of them are [[stone palette|toilet trays]] roughly imitative of finer Hellenistic examples found in earlier layers.

==== Bimaran casket ====
{{Main|Bimaran casket}}{{further|Mathura lion capital}}
[[File:BimaranCasket2.JPG|thumb|alt=A small, ornate gold container|The [[Bimaran casket]], representing the Buddha surrounded by [[Brahmā (Buddhism)|Brahma]] ''(left)'' and [[Śakra (Buddhism)|Śakra]], was found in a [[stupa]] with coins of Azes I inside. (British Museum)]]
[[Azes]] is connected to the [[Bimaran casket]], one of the earliest representations of the Buddha. The [[reliquary]] was used for the dedication of a [[stupa]] in Bamiran, near [[Jalalabad]] in [[Afghanistan]], and placed inside the stupa with several coins of Azes. This may have happened during the reign of Azes (60–20 BCE), or slightly later. The Indo-Scythians were connected with Buddhism.

=== <span class="anchor" id="Mathura area ("Northern Satraps")"></span>Mathura region ===
{{main|Northern Satraps}}
In northern India, the Indo-Scythians conquered the Mathura region {{circa|60}} BCE. Some of their [[satrap]]s were [[Hagamasha]] and Hagana, who were followed by [[Rajuvula]].

The [[Mathura lion capital]], an Indo-Scythian sandstone [[Capital (architecture)|capital]] which dates to the first century CE, describes in [[Kharoshthi]] script the gift of a [[stupa]] with a relic of the Buddha by [[Nadasi Kasa]] (Rajuvula's queen). The capital also mentions the genealogy of several Indo-Scythian Mathura satraps. Rajuvula apparently eliminated [[Strato II]] (the last Indo-Greek king) {{circa|10}} CE and took [[Sagala]], his capital city.

Coinage of the period, such as that of Rajuvula, tends to be crude. It is also debased; the silver content becomes lower and bronze content higher, an [[Billon (alloy)|alloying technique]] suggesting a lack of wealth.

[[File:MathuraLionCapital.JPG|thumb|alt=Top of a pillar, with two stone lions|The Mathura lion capital]]
The Mathura lion capital inscriptions attest that Mathura came under Saka control. The inscriptions refer to [[Kharahostes]] and Queen [[Ayasia]], the "chief queen of the Indo-Scythian ruler of Mathura, satrap Rajuvula." Kharahostes was the son of [[Arta (Kamuia)|Arta]], as attested by his own coins.<ref>''Kshatrapasa pra Kharaostasa Artasa putrasa''. See: ''Political History of Ancient India'', 1996, p 398, H. C. Raychaudhury, B. N. Mukerjee; ''Ancient India'', 1956, pp 220–221, R. K. Mukerjee</ref> Arta was the brother of King [[Maues]].<ref>''Ancient India'', pp 220–221, R. k. Mukerjee; ''Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum'', Vol II, Part 1, p 36, D S Konow</ref>

The Indo-Scythian satraps of Mathura are sometimes called the Northern Satraps to distinguish them from the [[Western Satraps]] ruling in [[Gujarat]] and [[Malwa]]. After Rajuvula, several successors are known to have ruled as vassals of the [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]]s. They include the "Great Satrap" [[Kharapallana]] and the satrap [[Vanaspara]], who are known from an inscription discovered in [[Sarnath]] and dated to the third year of [[Kanishka]] (c. 130 CE), when they pledged allegiance to the Kushans.<ref>Source: "A Catalogue of the Indian Coins in the British Museum. Andhras etc&nbsp;..." Rapson, p ciii</ref>

=== Pataliputra ===
The ''[[Yuga Purana]]'' describes an invasion of [[Pataliputra]] by the Scythians during the first century BCE, after seven kings ruled in succession in [[Saketa]] following the retreat of the Yavanas. According to the ''Yuga Purana'', the Saka king killed one-fourth of the population before he was slain by the [[Kalinga (historical kingdom)|Kalinga]] king Shata and a group of Sabalas.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.boloji.com/history/027.htm |title=A gap in Puranic history |publisher=Boloji.com |date=2004-03-14 |access-date=2012-03-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114183336/http://boloji.com/history/027.htm |archive-date=14 January 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Kushan and Indo-Parthian conquests ===
After Azes' death, Indo-Scythian rule in northwestern India ended with the rise of the [[Indo-Parthian]] ruler [[Gondophares]] late in the first century BCE. For the following decades, A number of minor Scythian leaders maintained themselves in local strongholds on the fringes of the loose Indo-Parthian empire over the next few decades, some paying allegiance to Gondophares I and his successors.

Indo-Parthian rule was gradually replaced with that of the [[Kushans]], one of the five Yuezhi tribes who lived in Bactria for over a century and expanded into India during the late first century CE. The Kushans regained northwestern India {{circa|75}} CE and the Mathura region {{circa|100}}, where they prospered for several centuries.<ref name="Jonson2006" />

=== <span class="anchor" id="Western Kshatrapas"></span>Western Satraps ===
{{Main|Western Satraps}}
[[File:Western Satrap Coin of Rudrasimha I .jpg|thumb|alt=Both sides of a coin|Coin of the western satrap [[Rudrasimha I]] (c. 175–197 CE), a descendant of the Indo-Scythians]]

Indo-Scythians continued to hold the Sistan region until the reign of [[Bahram II]] (276–293 CE), and held several areas of India well into the first millennium; [[Kathiawar]] and [[Gujarat]] were under Western Satrap rule until the fifth century. [[Rudradaman I]]'s exploits are inscribed in the [[Junagadh rock inscription of Rudradaman|Junagadh rock inscription]]. During his campaigns, Rudradaman conqured the [[Yaudheya]]s and defeated the [[Satavahana dynasty|Satavahana Empire]]. The Western Satraps were conquered by the [[Gupta Empire|Gupta]] emperor [[Chandragupta II]] (also known as Vikramaditya).

== <span class="anchor" id="Indo-Scythian coinage"></span>Coinage ==
{{unsourced section|date=March 2024}}
[[File:Coin of Maues.jpg|thumb|alt=Both sides of an ornate coin|Silver [[tetradrachm]] of the Indo-Scythian king [[Maues]] (85–60 BCE)]]

Indo-Scythian coinage is generally of high quality, although the coins of [[Rajuvula]] deteriorate near the disintegration of Indo-Scythian rule {{circa|20}} CE. A fairly high-quality, stereotypical coinage was continued by the Western Satraps until the fourth century.

Indo-Scythian coinage is generally realistic, artistically between Indo-Greek and Kushan coinage. It has been suggested that its coinage benefited from the help of Greek coin-makers.
Indo-Scythian coins continue Indo-Greek tradition by using the Greek alphabet on the obverse and Kharoshthi script on the reverse. A portrait of the king is absent, with depictions of the king on a horse (sometimes on a camel) or sitting cross-legged on a cushion instead. The reverse of their coins typically show Greek gods.

Buddhist symbolism is present in Indo-Scythian coinage. The Indo-Scythians adopted the Indo-Greek practice (since [[Menander I]]) of depicting gods forming the [[Mudra#Vitarka Mudrā|vitarka mudra]] with their right hand (like [[Zeus]] on the coins of [[Maues]] or [[Azes II]]), the Buddhist lion on the coins of those two kings, or the [[triratana]] symbol on the coins of [[Zeionises]].

== <span class="anchor" id="Indo-Scythian art"></span>Art ==
{{main|Indo-Scythian art}}
[[File:Scythian_devotee_Butkara_I.jpg|upright=.7|thumb|alt=Full-figure sculpture on a wall of a man|Scythian devotee, [[Butkara Stupa]]]]
Other than coins, few works of art are known to indisputably represent Indo-Scythians. Several [[Gandhara]]n sculptures show foreigners in soft tunics, sometimes wearing the [[pointed hat]] typical of the [[Scythians]]. Kushan men seem to wear thick, rigid tunics, and are generally represented more simplistically.<ref>Francine Tissot, ''Gandhara'', p. 74</ref>

=== Buner reliefs ===
{{main|Buner reliefs}}
Indo-Scythian soldiers in military attire are sometimes represented in Buddhist friezes in Gandharan art, particularly in the [[Buner reliefs]]. They are depicted in loose tunics with trousers, with heavy, straight swords. They wear pointed hoods or the Scythian cap; this distinguishes them from the Indo-Parthians, who wore a simple [[Fillet (clothing)|fillet]] over their bushy hair,<ref>Wilcox and McBride (1986), p. 12.</ref> and which is worn by Indo-Scythian rulers on their coins. With their right hand, some form the ''[[Mudra#Karana Mudrā|karana mudra]]'' to ward off evil spirits. In Gandhara, such friezes were used to decorate the pedestals of Buddhist [[stupas]]. They are contemporary with other friezes representing people in Greek attire, hinting at an intermixing of Indo-Scythians and Indo-Greeks. In another relief, the same type of soldiers are playing musical instruments and dancing; in Gandharan art, Indo-Scythians are typically depicted as reveling devotees.
[[File:Buner reliefs Scythian bacchanalian cropped.jpg|thumb|center|upright=2|A Buner relief of Scythian soldiers dancing ''([[Cleveland Museum of Art]])''|alt=See caption]]

=== Stone palettes ===
[[File:MET 1987 142 111.jpeg|thumb|upright|Gandhara stone palette of Scythians playing music|alt=See caption]]

A number of [[stone palette]]s in Gandhara are considered representative of Indo-Scythian art. The palettes, which combine Greek and Iranian influences, often have a simple, archaic style. Stone palettes have only been found in archaeological layers corresponding to Indo-Greek, Indo-Scythian and Indo-Parthian rule, and are unknown in the preceding [[Mauryan Empire|Mauryan]] layers or the succeeding [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] layers.<ref>"Let us remind that in [[Sirkap]], stone palettes were found at all excavated levels. On the contrary, neither Bhir-Mound, the [[Maurya]] city preceding Sirkap on the [[Taxila (modern)|Taxila]] site, nor Sirsukh, the [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] city succeeding her, did deliver any stone palettes during their excavations", in "Les palettes du Gandhara", p89. "The terminal point after which such palettes are not manufactured anymore is probably located during the Kushan period. In effect, neither [[Mathura, Uttar Pradesh|Mathura]] nor Taxila (although the Sirsukh had only been little excavated), nor [[Begram]], nor [[Surkh Kotal]], neither the great Kushan archaeological sites of Soviet [[Central Asia]] or [[Afghanistan]] have yielded such objects. Only four palettes have been found in Kushan-period archaeological sites. They come from secondary sites, such as Garav Kala and Ajvadz in Soviet Tajikistan and Jhukar, in the Indus Valley, and Dalverzin Tepe. They are rather roughly made." In "Les Palettes du Gandhara", Henri-Paul Francfort, p 91. (in French in the original)</ref>

The palettes often depict people in Greek dress in mythological scenes; a few have Parthian dress (headbands over bushy hair, crossed-over jacket on a bare chest, jewelry, belt, baggy trousers), and fewer have Indo-Scythian dress (Phrygian hat, tunic and straight trousers). A palette found in [[Sirkap]], now in the [[New Delhi Museum]], shows a winged Indo-Scythian horseman riding a winged [[deer]] and being attacked by a lion.

== <span class="anchor" id="The Indo-Scythians and Buddhism"></span>Buddhism ==
The Indo-Scythians seem to have supported Buddhism, with many of their practices continuing those of the Indo-Greeks.{{sfnp|Seldeslachts|2007|p=142}}{{sfnp|Neelis|2010|p=110}}{{sfnp|Hirakawa|1993|p=230}}They had an active role in the dissemination of Buddhism beyond India.{{sfnp|Neelis|2010|p=110}}

===Royal dedications===
[[Image:BajaurCasket.jpg|thumb|alt=Round, inscribed reliquary|The [[Bajaur casket]], dedicated by [[Indravarman]] ''([[Metropolitan Museum of Art]])''<ref>Metropolitan Museum of Art notice [http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/38111]</ref>]]

Several Indo-Scythian kings after Azes made Buddhist dedications in their name on plaques or reliquaries: 
* [[Patika Kusulaka]] (25 BCE – 10 CE) related his donation of a relic of the [[Buddha Shakyamuni]] to a Buddhist monastery, in the [[Taxila copper plate]]. 
* [[Kharahostes]] (10 BCE – 10 CE) is mentioned on the Buddhist [[Mathura lion capital]] and on a reliquary.<ref>Ahmad Hasan Dani et al., ''History of Civilizations of Central Asia'', 1999, p 201, Unesco</ref><ref>Richard Salomon, "An Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary of the Time of King Kharaosta and Prince Indravarman", ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'', Vol. 116, No. 3 (July - September 1996), pp. 418-452</ref> His coins were also found in the [[Bimaran casket]], a gold reliquary with an early image of the Buddha now in the British Museum. Some of his coins have the Buddhist [[triratna]] symbol.
* [[Vijayamitra]] (ruled 12 BCE - 15 CE) dedicated a Buddhist reliquary.<ref>"Afghanistan, carrefour en l'Est et l'Ouest" p.373. Also Senior 2003</ref><ref>Des Indo-Grecs aux Sassanides, Rika Gyselen, Peeters Publishers, 2007, p.103 [https://books.google.com/books?id=_TIU_jp93xUC&pg=PA103]</ref> Some of his coins bear the Buddhist [[triratna]] symbol.
*[[Indravarman]], while a prince in 5-6 CE, dedicated the [[Bajaur casket]] now in the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]. 
*[[Zeionises]] and [[Aspavarma]] used the triratna on their coins. 
*[[Rajuvula]] erected the [[Mathura lion capital]], which incorporates Buddhist symbols and relates the donations by his wife of relics to a stupa.

=== Butkara Stupa ===
Excavations at the [[Butkara Stupa]] in [[Swat, Pakistan|Swat]] by an Italian archaeological team have yielded Buddhist sculptures thought to belong to the Indo-Scythian period. An [[Indo-Corinthian capital]] of a Buddhist devotee in foliage has been found which had a reliquary and coins of Azes buried at its base, dating the sculpture to {{circa|20}} BCE.<ref>The Turin City Museum of Ancient Art [http://www.palazzomadamatorino.it/nuovo3/mostre/index.php?lang=2 Text and photographic reference: Terre Lontane O2] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061212064946/http://www.palazzomadamatorino.it/nuovo3/mostre/index.php?lang=2 |date=12 December 2006 }}</ref> A contemporary [[:File:ButkaraPilaster.jpg|pilaster]] of a Buddhist devotee in Greek dress has been found at the same spot, again suggesting a mingling of the populations. Reliefs at the same location show [[:File:ButkaraDoorJamb.jpg|Indo-Scythians]], with characteristic tunics and pointed hoods, with reliefs of standing Buddhas.<ref>Facenna, "Sculptures from the sacred area of Butkara I", plate CCCLXXI.</ref>

== <span class="anchor" id="Indo-Scythians in Indian literature"></span>In Indian literature ==
[[File:The Saka king. Kalpasûtra and Kâlakâchârya Kathâ manuscript circa 1400.jpg|thumb|upright|A Saka king of the 1st century BCE, in the [[Kālakācārya Kathā]], circa 1400]]
The Indo-Scythians were named "Shaka" in India, a variation of the name "Saka" used by the Persians for Scythians. Shakas are mentioned in the [[Puranas|Purāṇas]], the ''[[Manusmriti|Manusmṛti]]'', the ''[[Ramayana|Rāmāyaṇa]]'', the ''[[Mahabharata|Mahābhārata]]'', the ''[[Mahabhashya|Mahābhāṣya]]'', the ''[[Bṛhat Saṃhitā]]'' by [[Varāhamihira]], the Kāvyamīmāṃsā, the Bṛhatkathāmañjarīi, and the ''[[Kathasaritsagara|Kathāsaritsāgara]]''. They are described as part of a group of other warlike tribes from the northwest.

There are references to the warring ''[[mleccha]]'' hordes of Sakas, Yavanas, Kambojas and [[Pahlava]]s in the ''[[Balakanda]]'' of the ''Ramayana''. [[Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri|H. C. Raychadhury]] saw in these verses the struggles between the Hindus and the invading hordes of ''mleccha'' [[barbarian]]s from the northwest beginning in the second century BCE, and fixed the date of the ''Ramayana'' around (or after) the 2nd century CE.<ref>''Political History of Ancient India'', 1996, pp 3–4.</ref>

The ''Mahabharata'' also alludes to the invasion of mixed hordes from the northwest, with prophetic verses that "...the Mlechha (barbaric) kings of the Shakas, Yavanas, [[Kambojas]], [[Bahlikas]]&nbsp;... shall rule the earth un-righteously in ''[[Kali Yuga]]''&nbsp;..."<ref>{{Poem quote|
text=Viparite tada loke purvarupa.n kshayasya tat 
bahavo mechchha rajanah prithivyam manujadhipa 
mithyanushasinah papa mrishavadaparayanah 
Andhrah Shakah Pulindashcha Yavanashcha naradhipah 
Kamboja Bahlikah Shudrastath [[Abhira people|Abhira]] narottama.
|source=MBH 3.186.28–30}}</ref>

== <span class="anchor" id="Sai-Wang Scythian hordes of Chipin or Kipin"></span>Sai-Wang hordes ==
A portion of [[Central Asia]]n Scythians under Sai-Wang reportedly moved south, crossed the [[Pamir Mountains]] and entered Chipin (or Kipin) after crossing the Xuandu (懸度, Hanging Pass) above the valley of Kanda in [[Swat (princely state)|Swat]].<ref>Serindia, Vol. I, 1980 edition, p. 8, M. A. Stein</ref> Chipin has been identified by Pelliot, Bagchi, Raychaudhury and others as [[Kashmir]],<ref>H. C. Raychaudhury, B. N. Mukerjee; Early History of North India, p 3, S. Chattopadhyava; India and Central Asia, p 126, [[P. C. Bagchi]]</ref> but other scholars identify it as [[Kafiristan]].<ref>''Epigraphia Indiaca'' XIV, p 291 S Konow; ''Greeks in Bactria and India'', p 473, fn, W. W. Tarn; Yuan Chwang I, pp 259–60, Watters; ''Comprehensive History of India'', Vol I, p 189, N. K. Sastri; ''History and Culture of Indian People, The Age of Imperial Unity'', 122; ''History and Culture of Indian People, Classical Age'', p 617, [[R. C. Majumdar]], A. D. Pusalkar.</ref><ref>Scholars like E. J. Rapson, L. Petech etc. also connect Kipin with Kapisha. Levi writes that before 600 CE, Kipin was Kashmir; after that, it was Kapisha. See discussion in ''The Classical Age'', p 671.</ref> Sai-Wang established his kingdom in Kipin. Konow interprets the Sai-Wang as the [[Samudragupta#Relations with other rulers|Śaka Murunda]] of Indian literature; ''murunda'' is synonymous with ''wang'' (king, master or lord).<ref>Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, II. 1. XX f; cf: ''Early History of North India'', pp 54, S Chattopadhyaya.</ref> Bagchi interprets ''Wang'' as the king of the Scythians, but distinguishes the Sai Sakas from the Murunda Sakas.<ref>''India and Central Asia'', 1955, p 124, P. C. Bagchi; ''Geographical Data in Early Puranas'', 1972, p 47, M. R. Singh.</ref> The Sai Scythians may have been Kamboja Scythians; the Sai-Wang were part of the [[Parama Kamboja kingdom]] of [[Transoxiana]], and returned after being evicted from their ancestral land. [[Maues]] might have belonged to this group of Scythians who migrated from the Sai country (Central Asia) to Chipin.<ref>''Political History of Ancient India'', 1996, fn 13, B. N. Mukerjee; Chilas, Islamabad, 1983, no 72, 78, 85, pp 98, 102, A. H. Dani</ref>

== <span class="anchor" id="Evidence about joint invasions"></span>Evidence of joint invasions ==
[[File:Nagarjunakonda Scythian soldier Palace site.jpg|thumb|upright=.6|alt=A relief|"Scythian" soldier, [[Nagarjunakonda]].<ref name=CS>"In Nagarjunakonda Scythian influence is noticed and the cap and coat of a soldier on a pillar may be cited as an example" in {{cite book |last1=Sivaramamurti |first1=C. |title=Indian Sculpture |date=1961 |publisher=Allied Publishers |page=51 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HL81AAAAMAAJ |language=en}}</ref><ref name=AR>"A Scythian dvarapala standing wearing his typical draperies, boots and head dress. Distinct ethnic and sartorial characteristics are noteworthy" in {{cite book |last1=Ray |first1=Amita |title=Life and Art of Early Andhradesa |date=1982 |publisher=Agam |page=249 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uQXqAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}</ref>]]

The Scythian groups who invaded India and established kingdoms included, in addition to the Saka, allied tribes such as the [[Medii]], [[Xanthii]], and [[Massagetae]]. These peoples were absorbed into mainstream Indian society.<ref>''History and Culture of Indian People, The Vedic Age'', pp 286–87, 313–14.</ref>

The Shakas were from the trans-Hemodos region—the ''Shakadvipa'' of the [[Purana]]s or the [[Scythia]] of classical writings. At the beginning of the first century CE, [[Isidore of Charax]] notes their presence in Sistan. The ''[[Periplus of the Erythraean Sea]]'' (c. 70–80 CE) documents a Scythian district in the lower Indus Valley, with Minnagra its capital. Ptolemy (c. 140 CE) also documents an Indo-Scythia in south-western India which consisted of the Patalene and Surastrene (Saurashtra) territories. The second-century BCE Scythian invasion of India was probably carried out jointly by the Saka, Pahlavas, Kambojas, [[Paradas]], [[Rishikas]] and other allied tribes from the northwest.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=UmMnh1XKJjQC Intercourse Between India and the Western World], pp 75–93, H. G. Rawlinson</ref>

== <span class="anchor" id="List of dynasties and rulers"></span>Dynasties and rulers ==
{{main|List of Indo-Scythian dynasties and rulers}}

== <span class="anchor" id="Descendants of the Indo-Scythians"></span>Descendants ==

[[Tadeusz Sulimirski]] notes that the Saka also invaded parts of northern India.<ref name="Sulimirski 1970 113–114">{{cite book |title=The Sarmatians |volume=73 of Ancient peoples and places |pages=113–114 |last=Sulimirski |first=Tadeusz |author-link=Tadeusz Sulimirski |publisher=Praeger |location=New York |year=1970 |isbn=9789080057272 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gdjhuAAACAAJ |quote=The evidence of both the ancient authors and the archaeological remains point to a massive migration of Sacian (Sakas)/Massagetan tribes from the Syr Daria Delta (Central Asia) by the middle of the second century B.C. Some of the Syr Darian tribes; they also invaded North India.}}</ref> Indian linguist [[Weer Rajendra Rishi]]<ref>[http://rishi.anantdutta.in/obituary.html Indian Institute of Romani Studies] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130108051317/http://rishi.anantdutta.in/obituary.html |date=8 January 2013 }}</ref> has identified linguistic affinities between Indian and Central Asian languages, which also suggests a Saka influence in northern India.<ref name="Sulimirski 1970 113–114"/><ref>{{cite book |title= India & Russia: linguistic & cultural affinity |page=95 | last=Rishi |first=Weer Rajendra |author-link=Weer Rajendra Rishi |publisher=Roma |year=1982 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vns_AAAAMAAJ&q=Getae}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{HistoryOfSouthAsia}}
*[[Central Asians in ancient Indian literature]]
*[[Han–Xiongnu War]]
{{Clear}}

== Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|32em}}

== Sources==
{{refbegin|25em}}
* [[Harold Walter Bailey|Bailey, H. W.]] 1958. "Languages of the Saka." ''Handbuch der Orientalistik'', I. Abt., 4. Bd., I. Absch., Leiden-Köln. 1958.
*Faccenna D., "Sculptures from the sacred area of Butkara I", Istituto Poligrafico Dello Stato, Libreria Dello Stato, Rome, 1964.
<!-- H -->
* [[János Harmatta|Harmatta, János]], ed., 1994. ''History of civilizations of Central Asia, Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizations: 700 B.C. to A.D. 250''. Paris, UNESCO Publishing.
* Hill, John E. 2004. ''The Peoples of the West from the Weilue'' 魏略 ''by Yu Huan'' 魚豢'': A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between AD 239 and 265.'' Draft annotated English translation. [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html]
*Hill, John E. (2009) ''Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries AD''. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina. {{ISBN|978-1-4392-2134-1}}.
* {{cite book | last =Hirakawa | first =Akira | year =1993 | title =History of Indian Buddhism: From Śākyamuni to Early Mahāyāna | publisher =Motilall Banarsidas}}
*Hulsewé, A. F. P. and Loewe, M. A. N. 1979. ''China in Central Asia: The Early Stage 125 BC&nbsp;– AD 23: an annotated translation of chapters 61 and 96 of the History of the Former Han Dynasty''. E. J. Brill, Leiden.
* Huet, Gerard (2010) ''"Heritage du Sanskrit Dictionnaire, Sanskrit-Francais,"'' p.&nbsp;128. [http://sanskrit.inria.fr/Dico.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227183848/http://sanskrit.inria.fr/Dico.pdf |date=27 February 2008 }}
<!-- L -->
* Litvinsky, B. A., ed., 1996. ''History of civilizations of Central Asia, Volume III. The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750''. Paris, UNESCO Publishing.
* Liu, Xinru 2001 "Migration and Settlement of the Yuezhi-Kushan: Interaction and Interdependence of Nomadic and Sedentary Societies." ''[[Journal of World History]]'', Volume 12, No. 2, Fall 2001. University of Hawaii Press, pp 261–292. [http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/jwh/].
* ''Bulletin of the Asia Institute: The Archaeology and Art of Central Asia''. Studies From the Former Soviet Union. New Series. Edited by B. A. Litvinskii and Carol Altman Bromberg. Translation directed by Mary Fleming Zirin. Vol. 8, (1994), pp 37–46.
<!-- M -->
* Millward, James A. (2007). ''Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang''. Columbia University Press, New York. {{ISBN|978-0-231-13924-3}}.
<!-- N -->
* {{cite book | last =Neelis | first =Jason | year =2010 | title =arly Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange Within and Beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of South Asia | publisher =BRILL}}
<!-- P -->
* Pulleyblank, Edwin G. 1970. "The Wu-sun and Sakas and the Yüeh-chih Migration." ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 33'' (1970), pp 154–160.
* [[Ptolemy]] (1932). ''The Geography''. Translated and edited by Edward Luther Stevenson. 1991 unabridged reproduction. Dover Publications, Mineola, N. Y. {{ISBN|0-486-26896-9}} (pbk)
* Puri, B. N. 1994. "The Sakas and Indo-Parthians." In: ''History of civilizations of Central Asia, Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizations: 700 B.C. to A.D. 250''. Harmatta, János, ed., 1994. Paris: UNESCO Publishing, pp 191–207.
* Ronca, Italo (1971). ''Ptolemaios Geographie 6,9–21. Ostrian und Zentralasien, Teil I''. IsMEO&nbsp;— ROM.
<!-- S -->
* {{cite book | last =Seldeslachts | first =Erik | year =2007 | chapter =Greece, the Final Frontier? The Westwards Spread of Buddhism | editor-last1 =Heirman | editor-first1 =Ann  | editor-last2 =Bumbacher  | editor-first2 =Stephan Peter | title =The Spread of Buddhism | publisher =BRILL}}
<!-- W -->
* Watson, Burton. Trans. 1993. ''Records of the Grand Historian of China: Han Dynasty II (Revised Edition).'' Translated from the ''[[Shiji|Shih chi]]'' of [[Sima Qian|Ssu-ma Ch'ien]]. Chapter 123: The Account of [[Ta-Yuan|Ta-yüan]]. Columbia University Press. {{ISBN|0-231-08167-7}}
*Wilcox, Peter and Angus McBride (1986). ''Rome's Enemies (3): Parthians and Sassanid Persians (Men-at-Arms).'' Osprey Publishing; illustrated edition. {{ISBN|978-0-85045-688-2}}.
* Yu, Taishan. 1998. ''A Study of Saka History''. Sino-Platonic Papers No. 80. July 1998. Dept. of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Pennsylvania.
* Yu, Taishan. 2000. ''A Hypothesis about the Source of the Sai Tribes''. Sino-Platonic Papers No. 106. September 2000. Dept. of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Pennsylvania.
* ''Political History of Ancient India'', 1996, H. C. Raychaudhury
* ''Hindu Polity, A Constitutional history of India in Hindu Times'', 1978, K. P. Jayswal
* ''Geographical Data in Early Puranas'', 1972, M. R. Singh
* ''India and Central Asia'', 1955, [[P. C. Bagchi]].
* ''Geography of Puranas'', 1973, S. M. Ali
* ''Greeks in Bactria and India'', W. W. Tarn
* ''Early History of North India'', S. Chattopadhyava
* ''Sakas in Ancient India'', S. Chattopadhyava
* ''Development of Kharoshthi script'', C. C. Dasgupta
* ''Ancient India'', 1956, R. K. Mukerjee
* ''Ancient India'', Vol III, T. L. Shah
* ''Hellenism in Ancient India'', G. N. Banerjee
* ''Manu and Yajnavalkya'', K. P. Jayswal
* Anabaseeos Alexanddrou, Arrian
* Mathura lion capital inscriptions
* ''Corpus Inscriptionium Indicarum'', Vol II, Part I, S. Konow
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071015203904/http://iranica.com/newsite/articles/ot_grp8/ot_indoscyth_20050802.html "Indo-Scythian dynasties", R. C. Senior]}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040809235721/http://www.grifterrec.com/coins/indoscythian/indoscythian.html Coins of the Indo-Scythians]

{{Indo-Scythians}}
{{Middle kingdoms of India}}
{{Ancient India and Central Asia}}
{{Scythia}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Indo-Scythian peoples| ]]
[[Category:Historical Iranian peoples]]
[[Category:Iranian nomads]]
[[Category:Ancient history of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Ancient history of Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Foreign relations of ancient India]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Iron Age peoples of Asia]]
[[Category:Former countries in South Asia]]
[[Category:200s BC establishments]]
[[Category:States and territories established in the 2nd century BC]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 5th century]]
[[Category:400 disestablishments]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples of Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Invasions of India]]