Indian family that, according to some interpretations based on the Puranas belonged to the Andhrajati (“tribe”) and was the first Deccanese dynasty to build an empire in daksinapatha (southern region).
The Satavahanas (also called Andhra and Shalivahan) rose to power in Maharashtra around 200 B.C. They remained in power, for about 400 years.
Following the demise of the Mauryan Empires the Satavahanas rose as the successor state to check and contend with the influx of the Central Asian tribes from the Northwest.
The Satavahanas straddling the Deccan plateau also provided a link for transmission of Buddhism and contact between the Northern Gangetic plains and the Southern regions even as the Upanishads were gaining ground.
The Satavahanas had to compete with the Sunga and the Kanva dynasty of the Mauryan Empire to establish first their independence then to expand their rule.
Approximate extent of the Satavahana Empire, circa 150 CE.
Although there is some controversy about when the dynasty came to an end, the most liberal estimates suggest that it lasted about 450 years.
Long before that their kingdom had disintegrated into successor states.the satavahanas are credited for establishing peace in the country from the onslaught of foreigners after the decline of mauryan empire.
50 B.C. to 250 A.D. King Simuka, belonging to the Satavahana (a.k.a Salivahana) family in present day Andhra Pradesh founded the Satavahanadynasty after defeating the Mauryan rule in the Deccan.
Simukha and his successors extended their kingdom from the mouth of the Krishna river to the whole of the Deccan plateau.
The dates in the Puranic sources, describing the rule of thirty kings over a period of 450 years, are however dispute of many a historians.
The rulers of the Satavahanadynasty were great patrons of art.
From the inscriptions found here, on the temples of Andhra Vishnu, which was the most sacred shrine of those days, it is evident that no fewer than 300 devadasis consecrated to the deity, received royal patronage.
The Satavahana Empire declined and with it the Vedic religion that the rulers practiced received a setback.
SATAVAHANA (Andhra) Period [200 B.C. 250] - Ancient Indian Costume,Discover Indians,The people of the Deccan were a hybrid race, a mixture of the aboriginal Dravidians and foreign invaders.
The Satavahana or Andhra empire was the next great empire after the Mauryan, and was established in the Deccan just as the Mauryan empire was coming to an end.
Strands of pearls were the main motif in all forms of jewellery particularly in the late period of the Satavahana empire.
'Satavahana' and 'Satakarni' are the two standard names by which the rulers of that dynasty are referred to in their inscriptions and coins.
It is also suggested that Satavahana is only a variant of 'Saptavahana', meaning the sun, and that they were so called because they were the worshippers of the sun.
Moreover, the early evidences of the Satavahana rule are not found in Maharashtra, and they might only have drifted into Andhradesa towards the end of their rule.
Following the demise of the Mauryan Empires the Satavahanas rose as the successor state to check and contend with the influx of the Central Asian tribes from the Northwest.
The Satavahanas straddling the Deccan plateau also provided a link for transmission of Buddhism and contact between the Northern Gangetic plains and the Southern regions even as the Upanishads were gaining ground.
The Satavahanas had to compete with the Sunga and the Kanva dynasty of the Mauryan Empire to establish first their independence then to expand their rule.
During the reign of the Kulothunga Chola I the Vengi kingdom became partof the Chola empire.
The Vengi territory was part of Asoka's empire and Satavahanas were the Mauryan feudatories administering the area.
Following Asoka's death and the decline of the Mauryas, Satavahana Simuka established the Satavahanadynasty, which came to include even the Magadha and Bengal at its height.
In the 3rd century B.C., Simukha, the founder of the Satavahanadynasty, unified the various Andhra principalities into one kingdom and became its ruler (271 B.C. Dharanikota near Amaravati in Guntur district was the first capital of Simukha, but later he shifted his capital to Pratishtana (Paithan in Aurangabad district).
With him passed away the age of the great Satavahanas and by the end of the 2nd century A.D., the rule of the Satavahanas was a matter of past history.
Satavahanas were not only the able rulers but were also lovers of literacy and architecture.
However, when Gautamiputra ascended the throne, the Satavahana Empire was loosely attached and was facing the threats of invasions from Sakas and Yavanas.
However, Gautamiputra defeated the Yavanas, Sakas and Pahlavas and re-established the ancient glory of the Satavahanas.
He is also credited with the conquest of territories in the Kolhapur area in the Southern Maharashtra, which he seized from the Ananda rulers.
With him passed away the age of the great Satavahanas and by the end of the 2nd century A.D., the rule of the Satavahanas became a history of the past.
The earlier Satavahanas of Junnar struck mainly a smaller sized potin coins (alloy of Copper and Iron).
Satavahanas, north of Karnataka (of the river Krishna) issued fairly neater coins.
