ImportMaster at 05:19, 12 February 2022

2022-02-12T05:19:03Z

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{{Infobox royalty
|name = Aspavarma
|title =[[Apracha]] [[King]] ([[Gandhari language|Gāndhārī]]: Apacaraja)
|image= Apracharajas Aspavarama.jpg
|caption =<center>Coin of Aspavarma '''Obv''' King mounted on a horse, holding a whip. Greek legend around ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΝ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ / ΑΖΟΥ. '''Rev''' [[Pallas Athena]] holding spear, and [[triratna]] symbol. [[Kharoshthi]] legend around ''{{IAST|Iṃdravarmaputrasa Aśpavarmasa strategasa jayatasa}}'' "Victorious general Aspavarma, son of [[Indravarma]]".</center>
|reign = 1st century (c. 15 CE - c. 45 CE)
|coronation =
|predecessor = [[Indravarma]]
|successor = [[Sasan (Apraca)|Sasan]]
|spouse =
|issue =
|royal house = Apracharajas
|dynasty = [[Apracha]]
|father = [[Indravarma]]
|mother =
|birth_date =
|birth_place =
|death_date =
|death_place =
|date of burial =
|place of burial =
|religion = [[Buddhism]]
}}

{{short description|Indo-Scythian ruler (ruled c. 15 CE - c. 45 CE)}}
[[File:Apracharajas Aspavarma.jpg|thumb|300px|Apracaraja Aspavarma.]]
[[Image:AspavarmaCoinRev.JPG|thumb|Coin of Aspavarma (reverse).]]
'''Aspavarma''' or '''Aspa''' ([[Kharosthi]]: '''𐨀𐨭𐨿𐨤𐨬𐨪𐨿𐨨''' ''{{IAST|A-śpa-va-rma}}'', ''{{IAST|Aśpavarma}}''<ref>[[Alexander Cunningham|Cunningham, Alexander]], ''COINS OF THE INDO-SCYTHIANS.'' The Numismatic Chronicle and Journal of the Numismatic Society, Third Series, Vol. 8 (1888), pp. 199-248</ref>) was an [[Indo-Scythian]] ruler of the clan of the [[Apraca]], who ruled from around 15 to 45 CE. He ruled in the [[Bajaur]] area of modern [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]], [[Pakistan]] and is considered one of the [[Apraca]] rulers. He is essentially known through his coins and a few inscription.

==Inscriptions==
Asparvama was a son of Apraca king [[Indravarma]], as known from an inscription discovered in [[Taxila]],<ref name="Srinivasan">On the Cusp of an Era: Art in the Pre-Kuṣāṇa World, Doris Srinivasan, BRILL, 2007, p.269-270 [https://books.google.com/books?id=dCz8NczNbcMC&pg=PA269]</ref> who himself is known to be the son of [[Vispavarma]] according to [[Silver Reliquary of Indravarman|Indravarma's Silver Reliquary]].

[[Silver Reliquary of Indravarman|Indravarma's Silver Reliquary]], which is known for sure to be before the [[Bajaur casket]], hence before 5-6 CE, and is therefore usually dated to the end of the 1st century BCE, describes Aspavarma's grandfather [[Vispavarma]] as a general, and not yet a king at that time. This tends to confirm that his grandson, Aspavarma, probably ruled quite some time later, in the middle of the 1st century CE.<ref name="Cribb 31"/>

Aspavarma is also referenced in [[Gāndhārī language|Gāndhārī]] texts, written in [[Kharosthi|Kharoṣṭhī]] script, dating from the period.<ref>[http://ebmp.org/p_abt.php The British Library Kharosthi Fragments], The [[British Library]]/[[University of Washington]] Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project.</ref>

==Coinage==
The coinage shows the king on a horse, holding a whip in his right hand, in a style consistent with that of [[Azes II]] (who possibly is identical with Azes I). On the reverse, [[Athena]] makes a benediction gesture, and is flanked by a Buddhist [[triratna]] symbol.

According to [[Joe Cribb]], from a coinage standpoint, Aspavarma was contemporary to [[Sasan (Apraca)|Sasan]] and [[Mujatria]], just before the rule of [[Kushan]] ruler [[Vima Takto]].<ref name="Cribb 31">Joe Cribb, p.31 [https://www.academia.edu/15209723/DATING_AND_LOCATING_MUJATRIA_AND_THE_TWO_KHARAHOSTES Dating and locating Mujatria and the two Kharahostes]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|||||}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Indravarma]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Apracharajas|Apracharaja]]|years=c. 15 CE - c. 45 CE}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Sasan (Apraca)|Sasan]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Indo-Scythians}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aspavarma}}
[[Category:Indo-Scythian kings]]
[[Category:1st-century monarchs in Asia]]
[[Category:History of Pakistan]]
[[Category:1st-century Iranian people]]

Aspavarma - Revision history

ImportMaster at 05:19, 12 February 2022