View source for Apracharajas

{{Short description|Indo-Scythian dynasty (15 BCE-50 CE)}}
{{Infobox former country
|conventional_long_name = Apracharajas
|common_name = Apracharajas
|era       = [[ancient history|Antiquity]]
|government_type = Monarchy
|year_start  = 15 BCE
|year_end    = 50 CE
|image_map    = Apracharajas territory.jpg
|image_map_caption  = Approximate location of the Apracharajas.
|capital          = [[Bajaur]]
|common_languages = [[Scythian language]]<br />[[Prakrit]] ([[Kharoshthi]] script)<br />[[Greek language|Greek]] (coinage)
|religion         = Buddhism
}}
[[File:AzesIITriratna.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Silver coin of the Apracaraja [[Vijayamitra]] in the name of [[Azes II]]. Buddhist [[triratna]] symbol in the left field on the reverse.]]
The '''Apracharajas''' ([[Kharosthi]]: '''𐨀𐨤𐨿𐨪𐨕𐨪𐨗''' ''{{IAST|A-pra-ca-ra-ja}}'', ''{{IAST|Apracaraja}}'',<ref>[[Richard G. Salomon (academic)|Richard Salomon]], ''The "Avaca" Inscription and the Origin of the Vikrama Era'', Journal of the American Oriental Society
Vol. 102, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1982), pp. 59-68.</ref> '''𐨀𐨤𐨕𐨪𐨗''' ''{{IAST|A-pa-ca-ra-ja}}'', ''{{IAST|Apacaraja}}''<ref name="salomon">[[Richard G. Salomon (academic)|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 (Jul. - Sep., 1996), pp. 418-452</ref>), also known as '''Avacarajas''' ([[Kharosthi]]: '''𐨀𐨬𐨕𐨪𐨗''' ''{{IAST|A-va-ca-ra-ja}}'', ''{{IAST|Avacaraja}}''<ref name="salomon"/>), were an [[Indo-Scythian]] ruling dynasty of western [[Pakistan]]. The ''Apracharaja'' capital, known as '''Apracapura''' (also '''Avacapura'''), was located in the [[Bajaur]] district of the [[Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa]], Pakistan. Apraca rule of Bajaur lasted from the 1st century BCE to the 1st century CE.

<ref name="salomon"/>

==Origins==
Before the arrival of the [[Indo-Greeks]] and the [[Indo-Scythians]], Apracan territory was the stronghold of the warlike [[Aspasioi]] tribe of [[Arrian]], recorded in Vedic [[Sanskrit]] texts as [[Ashvakas]]. The Apracas are known in history for having offered a stubborn resistance to the [[Macedon]]ian invader, [[Alexander the Great]] in 326 BCE.

The Indo-Scythians of the Apracharajas dynasty were successors of the Indo-Scythian king [[Azes]]. It seems that they established their dynasty from around 12 BCE.<ref>Greek Gods in the East, Stančo, Ladislav, Charles University in Prague, Karolinum Press, 2012, p.45 [https://books.google.com/books?id=lKJyCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA45]</ref> Their territory seems to have centered in [[Bajaur]] and extended to [[Swat, Pakistan|Swat]], [[Gandhāra]], [[Taxila]], and parts of eastern [[Afghanistan]].<ref>Neelis, Jason, ''Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange.'', Brill, Leiden and Boston. 2011, pp. 117-118. {{ISBN|978 90 04 18159 5}}.</ref>

==Buddhism==
[[Image:BajaurCasket.jpg|thumb|The [[Bajaur casket]] was a Buddhist dedication made by Apraca king [[Indravarman]]. [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]].<ref>[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] notice [http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/38111]</ref>]]
The Apracharajas embraced [[Buddhism]]: they are known for their numerous Buddhist dedications on reliquaries. On their coins [[Ancient Greek Religion|Hellenic]] designs, derived from the coinage of the [[Indo-Greeks]], continued to appear alongside Buddhist ones.

* [[Vijayamitra]] (ruled 12 BCE - 15 CE) personally dedicated in his name a Buddhist reliquary, the [[Shinkot casket]].<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 still a Prince, personally dedicated in 5-6 CE a Buddhist reliquary, the [[Bajaur casket]], now in the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]].

Numerous Buddhist dedications were made by the rulers of the Apracas:

{{Quote|"Members of the Apraca family in the northwestern borderlands of Pakistan and Afghanistan made numerous Buddhist donations recorded in Kharosṭḥī inscriptions dated in the era of Azes. Although most of these inscriptions lack specific provenance, the domain of the Aparacas was probably centered in Bajaur and extended to Swat, Gandhāra, Taxila, and parts of eastern Afghanistan in the last half of the first century BCE and the early decades of the first century CE. Since the discovery of an inscribed reliquary casket from Shinkot in Bajaur donated by the Apraca king Vijayamitra (who evidently founded the dynasty), other inscriptions record donations of relics by at least four generations of kings, queens, and court officials. Apraca kings known from Kharosṭḥī inscriptions, coins, and seals included Indravasu, Visṇuvarman (perhaps identical to Viśpavarman), and Indravarman, but the dynastic genealogy remains uncertain."|Neelis, Jason, ''Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange.''<ref>Neelis, Jason, ''Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange.'' Brill, Leiden and Boston. 2011, pp. 117-118. {{ISBN|978 90 04 18159 5}}.</ref>}}

A recently discovered inscription in Kharoshthi on a [[Buddhist]] reliquary, the [[Bajaur reliquary inscription]], gives a relationship between several eras of the period and mentions several Apraca rulers:

{{quote|"In the twenty-seventh year in the reign of Lord Viyeemitro, the King of the Apraca; in the seventy-third year which is called the era of [[Azes I|Azo]], in the two hundred and first - 201 - year of the [[Yavana|Yonas]] (Greeks), on the eighth day of the month of Sravana; on this day was established [this] stupa by Rukhana, the wife of the King of Apraca, [and] by Viyeemitro, the king of Apraca, [and] by Iṃdravarmo (Iṃdravaso), the commander (stratega), [together] with their wives and sons."|[[Bajaur reliquary inscription]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Afghanistan, ancien carrefour en l'Est et l'Ouest|first=O. |last=Bopearachchi|language=French|date=December 31, 2005|isbn= 978-2503516813|pages=373}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last = Senior| first = R.C.| title = Indo-Scythian coins and history |volume=IV| year  = 2006| publisher  = Classical Numismatic Group, Inc.| isbn = 978-0-9709268-6-9}}</ref>}}

This inscription would date to c. 15 CE, according to the new dating for the Azes era which places its inception c. 47 BCE.<ref>{{cite book|last=Falk |last2=Bennett| year=2009|title= Macedonian Intercalary Months and the Era of Azes}}</ref> The rulers seem to have been related to [[Kharaostes]].<ref name="silver">{{cite news|jstor=605147 |title=An Inscribed Silver Buddhist Reliquary of the Time of King Kharaosta and Prince Indravarman|work=Journal of the American Oriental Society|year=1996|location=University of Washington|first=Richard|last=Salomon|volume=116|number=3|pages=418}}</ref>

Dr. Prashant Srivastava, an Indian professor from the [[University of Lucknow]], has in a research monograph highlighted the significant role played by the Apraca Dynasty rulers, and has connected the Apraca kings of [[Pakistan]] to the Ashvaka clan of Vedic literature.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Apracharajas: A History Based on Coins and Inscriptions|isbn=978-81-7320-074-8|year=2007|first=Prashant|last=Srivastava|publisher=University of Lucknow}}</ref>
  
The Apraca kings are also mentioned in the [[Bajaur casket]].<ref>Loeschner, Hans."Kanishka in Context with the Historical Buddha and Kushan Chronology." In: ''Glory of the Kushans – Recent Discoveries and Interpretations''. Edited by Professor Vidula Jayasval, Aryan Books, [[New Delhi]], 2013, p. 142.</ref>

==Apraca Rulers and their Queens{{anchor|Rulers}}==
[[File:AspavarmaCoinRev.JPG|thumb|Coin of the Apracaraja [[Aspavarma]] (reverse), featuring the [[Greek mythology|Greek]] goddess [[Athena]].]]
* [[Vijayamitra]] (12 BCE - 15 CE), Queen: Rukhana
* [[Indravasu]] (c. 20 CE), Queen: Vasumitra
* [[Vispavarma]] or Visnuvarma, Queen: Śiśirena
* [[Indravarman|Iṃdravarmo]], Queen: Utara
* [[Aspavarman|Aspo]]<ref name="silver"/> or [[Aspavarma|Aspavarmo]] (15 - 45 CE)
* [[Sasan (Apraca)|Sasan]]<ref name="silver"/>

==See also==
* [[Ashvakas]]
* [[Apracaraja Indravarman's Silver Reliquary|Apraca King Imdravarmo's Silver Reliquary]]

==References==
<references/>

{{Indo-Scythians}}

[[Category:Ancient history of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Empires and kingdoms of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Indo-Scythian peoples]]