Indo-Scythian in the context of "Western Kshatrapa"

The "Azes era" (also known as the Aja or Ajasa era, Prakrit: Ayasa vaṣaye) starting 47/46 BCE, was named after the Indo-Scythian king, "King Azes the Great" or Azes I. As a number of inscriptions are dated in this era it is of great importance in dating the reigns of several kings and events in early Indian history.

Earlier, some scholars believed that the Azes era was same as the Vikrama Samvat (57 BCE) used in the Indian subcontinent. However, this was disputed by Robert Bracey following discovery of an inscription of Vijayamitra, which is dated in two eras. Research by Falk and Bennett (2009) shows that these two were indeed separate eras, and that the Azes era can be dated with a high degree of likelihood to 47 BCE, or c. 48/47 or 47/46 BCE, depending on whether it began in the spring or the autumn.

Strato III Philopator (Greek: Στράτων Γ΄ Φιλοπάτωρ; epithet means "the Father-loving") was an Indo-Greek king who ruled c. 25 BCE to 10 CE. He is only known through the joint coins with his father Strato II. He may have been supplanted, in conjunction with his father or later as an independent king, by the Indo-Scythian Northern Satraps, particularly Rajuvula and Bhadayasa, whose coins were often copied. Strato was the last of the line of Diodotus and independent Hellenistic king to rule at his death in 10 AD.

Maues (Greek: Μαύης Maúēs; ΜΑΥΟΥ Mauou (epigraphic); Kharosthi: 𐨨𐨆𐨀 Mo-a, Moa, called 𐨨𐨆𐨒 Mo-ga, Moga on the Taxila copper plate; also called 𐨨𐨅𐨬𐨐𐨁 𐨨𐨁𐨩𐨁𐨐 Me-va-ki Mi-yi-ka, Mevaki Miyika in the Mathura lion capital inscription,) was the first Indo-Scythian king, ruling from 98/85 to 60/57 BCE. He invaded India and established Saka hegemony by conquering Indo-Greek territories.

The Northern Satraps (Brahmi: , Kṣatrapa, "Satraps" or , Mahakṣatrapa, "Great Satraps"), or sometimes Satraps of Mathura, or Northern Sakas, are a dynasty of Indo-Scythian ("Saka") rulers who held sway over the area of Punjab and Mathura after the decline of the Indo-Greeks, from the end of the 1st century BCE to the 2nd century CE. They are called "Northern Satraps" in modern historiography to differentiate them from the "Western Satraps", who ruled in Sindh, Gujarat and Malwa at roughly the same time and until the 4th century CE. They are thought to have replaced the last of the Indo-Greek kings in the Punjab region, as well as the Mitra dynasty and the Datta dynasty of local Indian rulers in Mathura.

The Northern Satraps were probably displaced by, or became vassals of, the Kushans from the time of Vima Kadphises, who is known to have ruled in Mathura in 90–100 CE, and they are known to have acted as Satraps and Great Satraps in the Mathura region for his successor Kanishka (127–150 CE).

Azes II (Greek: Ἄζης Azēs, epigraphically ΑΖΟΥ Azou; Kharosthi: 𐨀𐨩 A-ya, Aya), may have been the last Indo-Scythian king, speculated to have reigned circa 35–12 BCE, in what is now Pakistan. His existence has been questioned; if he did not exist, artefacts attributed to his reign, such as coins, are likely to be those of Azes I.

After the death of Azes II, the rule of the Indo-Scythians in northwestern India and Pakistan finally crumbled with the conquest of the Kushans, one of the five tribes of the Yuezhi who had lived in Bactria for more than a century, and who were then expanding into India to create a Kushan Empire. Soon after, the Parthians invaded from the west. Their leader Gondophares temporarily displaced the Kushans and founded the Indo-Parthian Kingdom that was to last until the middle of the 1st century CE. The Kushans ultimately regained northwestern India circa 75 CE, where they were to prosper for several centuries.