Chastana
Encyclopedia
Saka
The Saka were a Scythian tribe or group of tribes....
Western Satraps in northwestern India around 130 CE. He was satrap of Ujjain
Ujjain
Ujjain , is an ancient city of Malwa region in central India, on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River , today part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative centre of Ujjain District and Ujjain Division.In ancient times the city was called Ujjayini...
during that period.
A statue found in Mathura together with statues of the Kushan king Kanishka
Kanishka
Kanishka ) was an emperor of the Kushan Empire, ruling an empire extending from Bactria to large parts of northern India in the 2nd century of the common era, and famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements...
and Vima Kadphises
Vima Kadphises
Vima Kadphises was a Kushan emperor from around 90–100 CE. As detailed by the Rabatak inscription, he was the son of Vima Takto and the father of Kanishka.-Rule:...
, and bearing the name "Shastana" is often attributed to Castana himself. Chastana is called Tisman by the bards, a spelling that matches the Greek rendition of his name more closely and is one of the most famous Ror
Ror
The Ror is a Kshatriya community and numbers between 750,000 and 1,000,000. They hold nearly 270 villages in Haryana and 52 more in Western Uttar Pradesh and the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand....
kings and a lot of his coins have been found in the Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
area clearly identifying him as Ror
Ror
The Ror is a Kshatriya community and numbers between 750,000 and 1,000,000. They hold nearly 270 villages in Haryana and 52 more in Western Uttar Pradesh and the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand....
-Vanshi.
Chastana was mentioned by Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
as "Tiasthenes" or "Testenes", ruling a large area of Western India into the 2nd century CE, especially the area of Ujjain
Ujjain
Ujjain , is an ancient city of Malwa region in central India, on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River , today part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative centre of Ujjain District and Ujjain Division.In ancient times the city was called Ujjayini...
("Ozene"), during the reign of the Satavahana
Satavahana
The Sātavāhana Empire or Andhra Empire, was a royal Indian dynasty based from Dharanikota and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh as well as Junnar and Prathisthan in Maharashtra. The territory of the empire covered much of India from 230 BCE onward...
king Vasisthiputra Sri Pulamavi
Vasisthiputra Sri Pulamavi
Vasisthiputra Sri Pulamavi was a Satavahana king, and the son of Gautamiputra Satakarni.He was mentioned by Ptolemy under the name Siristolemaios .He was succeeded by his younger brother Vashishtiputra Satakarni....
. Ptolemy in his "Geographia", where he qualifies the Western Satraps as "Indo-Scythians", describes Chastana's territory as starting from Patalene in the West, to his capital Ujjain
Ujjain
Ujjain , is an ancient city of Malwa region in central India, on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River , today part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative centre of Ujjain District and Ujjain Division.In ancient times the city was called Ujjayini...
in the east ("Ozena-Regia Tiastani", "Ozene, capital of king Chastana"), and beyond Barigaza in the south:
Chastana was the grandfather of the great Western Satrap conqueror Rudradaman I
Rudradaman I
Rudradaman I was a Saka ruler from the Western Kshatrapas dynasty. He was the grandson of the celebrated Sah king Chastana. Rudradaman I was instrumental in the decline of the Satavahana Empire.- Mahakshatrapa :...
.