• The Satavahanas,also known in the Puranas as the Andhras, were an ancient South Asian dynasty based in Deccan
• The Satavahana kingdom included modern-day Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra.
• At various times, they ruled over parts of modern Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka.
• At various times, the dynasty’s capital cities included Pratishthana (Paithan) and Amaravati (Dharanikota).

Origin of Satavahana Dynasty

• The dynasty’s origins are unknown, but their first king, according to the Puranas, overthrew the Kanva dynasty.
• The Satavahanas established peace in the Deccan region and resisted foreign invaders in the post-Maurya era.
• Their conflicts with the Saka Western Satraps, in particular, lasted a long time.
• Gautamiputra Satakarni and his successor Vasisthiputra Pulamavi led the dynasty to its pinnacle.
• By the early third century CE, the kingdom had disintegrated into smaller states.
• Simuka is mentioned as the first king in a list of royals discovered at Naneghat in a Satavahanas inscription, and he is referred to as such.
• According to numerous Puranas, the dynasty’s first monarch reigned for 23 years.
• According to the Puranas, the first Andhra ruler ended the reign of the Kanva monarchs.

Rulers of Satavahana Dynasty

Simuka (230 – 207 BC)

• Simuka founded the Satavahana Dynasty and is credited with destroying the Shunga Power.
• He accomplished this with the help of the Rathikas and Bhojakas.
• He reigned for approximately 23 years before being beheaded by his brother Kanha, who succeeded him.
• Kanha was the Satavahana Dynasty’s second ruler.
• He expanded the empire southward. Satkarni-I, Simuka’s son, succeeded him.

Satakarni I (70-60 BC)

• Satakarni-I, also known as Sri Satkarni, was a great ruler among the Early Satavahanas and the son of Simuka.
• His queen’s name was Naganika, and he was known as the Lord of Dakshinpatha.
• Kanha expanded his empire to the south, to the Malwa and Narmada valleys.
• He performed the Ashvamedha and Rajsuya Yajnas.

Hala (20–24 CE)

• Hala, the 17th King of the Satavahana line, was another great Satavahana king. He had compiled the “Gatha saptasati” or Gaha Sattasai, which was primarily a love text.
• He is also mentioned in the Lilavati text.
• These rulers were only minor rulers who were subject to Kanvas’ suzerainty.
• The Satavahanas’ expansion was checked shortly after Satakarni II.
• The Shakas drove them south, and the western Deccan was taken over by Shaka King Nahapana.

Gautamiputra Satakarni(106 – 130 AD )

• Gautamiputra Satkarni, known as the Destroyer of Shaka, Pahalava, and Yavana Power, resurrected Satavahana’s lost power.
• Gautamiputra Satkarni is known to have recovered the Satvahans completely and sharply.
• His mother Gautami mentioned his accomplishments in the Nasik Inscription.
• His empire spanned Eastern and Western Malwa, the Narmada Valley, Vidarbha, Western Rajputana, Saurastra, and even Kalinga.
• Gautamiputra is described in Nasik Prasasti as the ruler of the Aparanta, Anupa, Saurashtra, Kukura,Akara, and Avanti.
• In the south, his reign extended all the way to Kanchi.
• He took the titles of Raja-raja and Maharaja.
• The Puranic inscription names other Satavahanas after Gautamiputra Satkarni, including Pulumayi, Sri Satkarni, Shiva Sri, Shivaskanda Satkarni, Madhariptra Sakasena, and Sri Yajna Satkarni.

Vashishthiputra Pulumayi (c. 130 – 154 CE)

• Vasishthiputra Pulumavi, the successor of Gautamiputra Satakarni, expanded the Satavahana Empire’s borders.
• His coins can be found all over south India.
• Yagnashri Satakarni was another famous ruler who issued coins with a ship motif, indicating the importance of overseas trade during his reign.
• Vashishti Putra Pulumayi’s inscriptions and coins have been discovered in Andhra Pradesh.
• According to the inscriptions in Junagadh, he married Rudradaman I’s daughter.
• Because of eastern engagements, the Shaka-Kshatrapas were able to reclaim a few territories and lands.

Yajna Sri Satakarni (c. 165 – 194 CE)

• Yajna Sri Satakarni, also known as Gautamiputra Yajna Sri, was a Satavahana dynasty Indian ruler.
• He was Vashishtiputra Satakarni’s brother.
• He is regarded as the Satavahana dynasty’s final great king.
• He reclaimed some of the territory lost to the Shakas (Western Satraps) during the reign of Vashishtiputra Satakarni.
• He defeated the Western Satraps and took back their southern territories in western and central India.
• After Yajna Sri Satakarni, the Satavahana began to decline, while the Western Satraps prospered for another two centuries.

Administration

• The Satavahana Dynasty’s government was based on the Dharmashastras.
• The Satavahana empire’s districts were referred to as ahara, and its rulers were known as mahamatras and amatyas.
• The province governor was named as Senapathi.
• The military unit had 45 cavalry, 9 elephants, 9 chariots, and 25 horses.
• Gaulmika, who oversaw the rural districts, was the regiment’s commander.
• The use of words like kataka and skandhavaras indicates that the Satavahana monarchy had a military bent.
• Three levels of feudatories existed in the kingdom.
• The King established the first grade, while Mahabhoja established the second. Senapati created the third grade.
• The towns and farms that were given to the Brahmanas and Buddhist monks were exempt from taxes and later developed into separate islands within the monarchy.
• Varna system enforcement helped to stabilise the social order.

Economy

• The Satavahanas contributed to and benefited from economic growth through agricultural intensification, increased production of other commodities, and trade within and beyond the Indian subcontinent.
• Several large settlements arose in the fertile areas, particularly along the major rivers, during the Satavahana period.
• As a result of forest clearance and the construction of irrigation reservoirs, the amount of land under agricultural use has also increased significantly.
• The exploitation of mineral resource sites may have increased during the Satavahana period, resulting in the formation of new settlements in these areas.
• Such locations aided commerce and crafts (such as ceramic ware).
• Archaeological discoveries at sites such as Kotalingala, as well as epigraphic references to artisans and guilds, show that craft production increased during the Satavahana period.
• The Satavahanas dominated the expanding Indian trade with the Roman Empire because they controlled the Indian sea coast.
• The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea mentions two important Satavahana trade centres: Pratishthana and Tagara.
• Kondapur, Banavasi, and Madhavpur were also significant urban centres.
• Nanaghat was the location of an important pass that connected the Satavahana capital Pratishthana to the sea.

Religion

• The Satavahanas were Hindus who claimed Brahmanical status, but they also made generous donations to Buddhist monasteries.
• In general, lay people in the Satavahana period did not support a single religious group.
• The Naneghat inscription of Nayanika, written on the walls of a Buddhist monastic cave, mentions that her husband Satakarni I performed several Vedic sacrifices, including ashvamedha (horse sacrifice), rajasuya (royal consecration), and agnyadheya (fire ceremony).
• The inscription also records large fees paid to Brahmin priests and attendees for these sacrifices.
• In the Nashik inscription of Gautami Balashri, her son Gautamiputra Satakarni is called “ekabamhana,” which some interpret as “unrivalled Brahmana,” indicating a Brahmin origin.

Language

• The majority of Satavahana inscriptions and coin legends are written in a Middle Indo-Aryan language.
• Some modern scholars refer to this language as “Prakrit,” but this terminology is only correct if the term “Prakrit” is defined broadly to include any Middle Indo-Aryan language that is “not exactly Sanskrit.”
• The inscriptions’ language is actually closer to Sanskrit than to the literary Prakrit used in the Gaha Sattasai anthology, which is attributed to Satavahana king Hala.
• Apart from Sanskrit and Prakrit, there is another language known as ‘Desi,’ which may refer to the native language or the language of the common man.
• Later Satavahana kings such as Gauthamiputra Satakarni, Vastistiputra Pulamovi, and Yajna Satakarni had names in both Prakrit and Desi, a native language.
• The Satvahanas used Sanskrit in political inscriptions on occasion.
• A fragmentary inscription discovered near Gautamiputra Satakarni’s Nashik prashasti uses Sanskrit verses in vasanta-tilaka metre to describe a deceased king (probably Gautamiputra).
• A Sanskrit inscription discovered at Sannati most likely refers to Gautamiputra Shri Satakarni, one of whose coins also bears a Sanskrit legend.
• The Satavahanas also issued bilingual coins with Middle Indo-Aryan on one side and Tamil on the other.

Architecture

• The sculptures of the Amaravati Stuparepresent the Satavahana periods’ architectural development.
• They constructed Buddhist stupas in Amravati (95 feet high).
• They also built many stupas in Goli, Jaggiahpeta, Gantasala, Amravati Bhattiprolu, and Shri Parvatam.
• Satavahana patronised Caves IX and X, which contain Ajanta paintings, and the painting throughout the caves appears to have begun with them.
• The earlier bricks and woodwork on Ashokan Stupas were replaced with stonework.
• The stupas are the most well-known of these monuments, with the Amravati Stupa and the Nagarjunakonda Stupa being the most well-known.
• Karle Chaitya’s sculptureis another example of Satavahana architecture’s magnificence. The hall is over 124 feet long, 46 feet wide, and 46 feet tall.
• It was also associated with the construction of the garbhagriha, pradakshinapatha, and mandapa.
• Along with the doorway, the elegant chaitya window encasing the woodwork of sculptures has survived to this day.
• Kanehri’s sculpture is also modelled after the style in which other Satavahana sculptures have been carved.

Decline of Satavahanas

• Pulamavi IV is regarded as the final king of the Satavahana line.
• He reigned until the year 225 AD. Following his death, the empire was divided into five smaller kingdoms.
• The entire kingdom was split into five lesser dynasties once the Satavahana Dynasty fell.
• The Ikshvakus replaced the Satavahanas in the eastern region at the beginning of the third century A.D.
• The west was ruled by the Abhiras, the south-west by the Chutus, the south-east by the Pallavas, and the northern provinces by a collateral branch of the Satavahanas.