Satavahana in the context of "Western Satraps"

In numismatics, an overstrike describes a situation in which an existing coin rather than a blank is struck with a new design. This practice is now obsolete and generally occurred for two purposes. Overstriking was sometimes done for technical reasons when a first strike is unsatisfactory, or accidentally if the blank slips out of place or if the dies judder, resulting in a slight doubling of the design. However, sometimes old or worn coins were overstruck with new designs by later rulers or foreign states.

In the ancient world, use of overstrikes was not uncommon, since the manufacture of flans was resource consumptive; thus a foreign or outdated coin could be overstruck with less investment than new mintage. Evidence of overstriking appears as early as about 500 BC when coins of Aegina were overstruck by the ancient city of Kydonia on Crete. In this case and many others, the overstrike can be a valuable aid to dating an ancient coin, an era when dates were not commonly affixed to the design.

The Indo-Scythian Kingdom, also known as Indo-Sakas, were a group of nomadic people of Iranic Scythian origin who migrated from Central Asia southward into the Indus Valley region of present-day Pakistan and also regions of Afghanistan, Eastern Iran and northern India. The migrations persisted from the middle of the second century BCE to the fourth century CE.

The first Saka king in the subcontinent was Maues/Moga (first century BCE) who established Saka power in Gandhara, the Indus Valley, and other regions. The Indo-Scythians extended their supremacy over the north-western subcontinent, conquering the Indo-Greeks and other local peoples. They were apparently subjugated by the Kushan Empire's Kujula Kadphises or Kanishka. The Saka continued to govern as satrapies, forming the Northern Satraps and Western Satraps. The power of the Saka rulers began to decline during the 2nd century CE after the Indo-Scythians were defeated by the Satavahana emperor Gautamiputra Satakarni. Indo-Scythian rule in the northwestern subcontinent ended when the last Western Satrap, Rudrasimha III, was defeated by the Gupta emperor Chandragupta II in 395 CE.

The Western Satraps, or Western Kshatrapas (Brahmi: , Mahakṣatrapa, "Great Satraps") were Indo-Scythian (Saka) rulers of the western and central parts of India (extending from Saurashtra in the south and Malwa in the east, covering modern-day Sindh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh states), between 35 and 415 CE. The Western Satraps were contemporaneous with the Kushans who ruled the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, and were possibly vassals of the Kushans. They were also contemporaneous with the Satavahana who ruled in Central India. They are called "Western Satraps" in modern historiography in order to differentiate them from the "Northern Satraps", who ruled in Punjab and Mathura until the 2nd century CE.

The power of the Western Satraps started to decline in the 2nd century CE after the Saka rulers were defeated by the Emperor Gautamiputra Satakarni of the Satavahana dynasty. After this, the Saka kingdom revived, but was ultimately defeated by Chandragupta II of the Gupta Empire in the 4th century CE.

The history of southern India covers a span of over four thousand years, during which the region saw the rise and fall of a number of dynasties and empires.

The period of known history of southern India begins with the Iron Age (c. 1200 BCE – 200 BCE), Sangam period (c. 600 BCE – 300 CE) and Medieval southern India until the 15th century CE. Dynasties of Chera, Chola, Pandyan, Pallava, Travancore, Cochin, Zamorin, Kolathunadu, Chalukya, Satavahana, Rashtrakuta, Western Ganga, Kakatiya, Hoysala, Seuna, Bhonsle, Gaekwad, Scindia, Holkar, Patwardhan, Sangama, Saluva, Tuluva, Aravidu and Bahmani were at their peak during various periods of history.

Gautamiputra Satakarni (Brahmi: 𑀕𑁄𑀢𑀫𑀺𑀧𑀼𑀢 𑀲𑀸𑀢𑀓𑀡𑀺, Gotamiputa Sātakaṇi, IAST: Gautamīputra Śātakarṇi) was a ruler of the Satavahana Empire in present-day Deccan region of India. He was mentioned as the important and greatest ruler of Satavahana Dynasty. He ruled in the 1st or 2nd century CE, although his exact period is uncertain. His reign is dated variously: 86-110 CE, c. 103-127 CE, 106-130 CE, or more recently and specifically ca. 60-85 CE.

The information available about Gautamiputra Satakarni comes from his coins, the Satavahana inscriptions, and the royal genealogies in the various Puranas. The best known of these is the Nashik prashasti (eulogy) inscription of his mother Gautami Balashri, which credits him with extensive military conquests. Historical evidence suggests that Gautamiputra revived the Satavahana power after a decline caused by Saka invasions.

Shalivahana (IAST: Śālivāhana) was a legendary emperor of ancient India, who is said to have ruled from Pratishthana (present-day Paithan, Maharashtra). He is believed to be based on a Satavahana king (or kings).

There are several contradictory legends about him. Most legends associate him with another legendary emperor, Vikramaditya of Ujjain, in some way. In some legends, he is presented as an enemy of Vikramaditya; in other legends, he is named as a grandson of Vikramaditya; and in a few legends, the title Vikramaditya is applied to the ruler of Pratishthana. According to some historically inaccurate legends, his birth or one of his battle victories marked the beginning of the Shalivahana calendar era, which is another name for the Saka era.

Vasishthiputra Pulumavi (Brahmi: 𑀯𑀸𑀲𑀺𑀣𑀺𑀧𑀼𑀢 𑀧𑀼𑀎𑀼𑀫𑀸𑀯𑀺, Vāsiṭhiputa Puḷumāvi, IAST: Vāsiṣṭhiputra Śrī Pulumāvi) was a Satavahana king, and the son of Gautamiputra Satakarni. The new consensus for his reign is c. 85-125 CE, although it was earlier dated variously: 110–138 CE or 130–159 CE. He is also referred to as Vasishthiputra Sri Pulumavi. Ptolemy, the second century writer, refers to Pulumavi as Siriptolemaios, a contemporary of the Western satrap, Chastana.

He is said to be the first Satavahana king to rule from Dhanyakataka, now Dharanikota in Andhra Pradesh, while some note his capital as Paithan.