Gautamiputra Satakarni

Gautamiputra Satakarni (IAST gautamīputra śatakarṇi) was a ruler of the Satavahana Empire. The exact date of Gautamiputra's reign is uncertain. His reign is dated variously: 86-110 CE, c. 103-127 CE, or 106-130 CE.

Achievement

We know about him from an inscription composed by his mother, Gautami Balashri.

Gautamiputra Satakarni, often acknowledged by historians as the greatest of the Satavahana rulers, took to the throne after his father. Satakarni had earlier expanded the Satavahana Empire and gained considerable prosperity due to his two Ashwamedha sacrifices. When Gautamiputra ascended the throne, the Satavahana Empire was loosely attached and was facing the threats of foreign invasions from Sakas and Yavanas. Gautamiputra defeated the Yavanas, Sakas, and Palavas and re-established the ancient glory of the Satavahanas. The Shaka rulers Nahapana and Ushavadata were ultimately defeated by the powerful Satavahana king Gautamiputra Satakarni. Gautamiputra drove the Sakas from Malwa and Western Maharashtra, forcing Nahapana west to Gujarat. Gautamiputra restruck many of Nahapana's coins. He overthrew Nahapana and restruck a large number of Ksaharata coins of the Jogalthembi hoard.

Nahapana

Nahapana (r. 119–124 CE) was an important ruler of the Western Kshatrapas, descendant of the Indo-Scythians, in northwestern India. According to one of his coins, he was the son of Bhumaka.

History

The Kshatrapa dynasty became very powerful with the accession of Nahapana to the throne. Ksatrapa Bhumaka was succeeded by him who flourished about the period 60 CE. Jain Works are unanimous in that Nahapana ruled Ujjain for 40 years while the inscriptions made by Ushavadata evince that Nahapana ruled for 46 years. Thus, Nahapana must have captured Ujjain in his 6th regnal year. Periplus of 60 CE evince that Nahapana was ruling Ujjain, thus fixing his regnal period from around 119 CE to 124 CE. Nahapana managed however to build a strong power base in the west, occupying the traditional base of Satavahanas in Western Maharasthra.

Nahapana is mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea under the name Nambanus, as ruler of the area around Barigaza:

He also established the Kshatrapa coinage, in a style derived from Indo-Greek coinage. The obverse of the coins consists of the profile of the ruler, within a legend in Greek. The reverse represents a thunderbolt and an arrow, within Brahmi and Kharoshthi legends.

Nandamuri Balakrishna

Nandamuri Balakrishna (born 10 June 1960) is an Indian film actor and politician, known for his works exclusively in the Telugu cinema. He is the sixth son of Telugu matinee idol and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. T. Rama Rao. He entered the film industry as a child artist at the age of 14 with the film Tatamma Kala. In a film career spanning 40 years he has acted in over ninety nine films, in a variety of roles. Balakrishna has received two state Nandi Awards, and the South Indian International Movie Award for best acting. Balakrishna was the guest of honour at the 43rd International Film Festival of India. He is famous for his roles in over the top action movies.

In 1984, he appeared in K. Viswanath's directorial Janani Janmabhoomi which was a critical success, he then starred in a dual role in Apurva Sahodarudu (1987) directed by K. Raghavendra Rao, was a box-office success. This year he had six super hit films in a row. In the same year, he starred in Presidentugari Abbai directed by Tatineni Rama Rao and Muvva Gopaludu by Kodi Ramakrishna were biggest hits of the year. Bhargava Ramudu, which is made from a novel, alongside vijayashanti is a success at the box office. His other box office hits during that time include Inspector Pratap, Bharatamlo Bala Chandrudu, Tiragabadda Telugubidda, and Rakthabhisekham. In 1989, he was starred alongside Vijaya Shanti in Muddula Mavayya directed Kodi Ramakrishna. The film was a blockbuster at the box-office.Bhale Donga alongside Vijayasanthi and sharada was also success at the boxoffice. In 1990, he acted in Nari Nari Naduma Murari directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy alongside Shobana and Nirosha. The film was a box-office success. In the same year he appeared in B. Gopal's Lorry Driver opposite Vijaya Shanti; the film was a Superhit at the box-office. Talli Tandrulu alongside vijayasanthi was again a success at the boxoffice.

Satakarni

Satakarni (Sātakarnī I) was the third of the Satavahana kings. He ruled around 180 BCE in the Deccan region of India. He is variously dated: 70-60 BCE, or 187-177 BCE.

Biography

According to the Puranas, the Satavahana king Simuka was succeeded by his brother Krishna (also known as Kanha). According to Matsya Purana, Krishna was succeeded by Mallakarni, but according to other Puranas, he was succeeded by Satakarni. The Nanaghat cave inscription of Satakarni lists his family members: it mentions Simuka's name, but not that of Krishna. Based on this, multiple historians conclude that Satakarni was Simuka's son, and succeeded Krishna. G. V. Rao, however, believes that the inscription is that of a different king Satakarni II; Simuka is mentioned in the inscription as the founder of the dynasty.

According to the Matsya Purana, Satakarni enjoyed a long reign of about 56 years. He seems to have conquered Western Malwa region from the Shungas.

Satakarni organized two horse sacrifices (Aswamedha), to proclaim his sovereignty.

2nd century

The 2nd century is the period from 101 to 200 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Common Era. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period.

Early in the century, the Roman Empire attained its greatest expansion under the emperor Trajan, but after his death became primarily defensive for the rest of its history. Much prosperity took place throughout the empire at this time, ruled as it were by the Five Good Emperors, a succession of just and able rulers. This period also saw the removal of the Jews from Jerusalem during the reign of Hadrian after Bar Kokhba's revolt. The last quarter of the century saw the end of the period of peace and prosperity known as the Pax Romana at the death of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, last of the "Five Good Emperors", and the accession of his ineffective and deranged son Commodus.

Although the Han Dynasty of China was firmly cemented into power and extended its imperial influence into Central Asia during the first half of the century, by the second half there was widespread corruption and open rebellion. This set in motion its ultimate decline, until it was overthrown in 220.