Deva-Hellene Kingdom of Arosiananda
Deva-Hellene Kingdom of Arosiananda | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 103 BC–37 AD | |||||||||
| Historical era | Antiquity | ||||||||
• Established | 103 BC | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 37 AD | ||||||||
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The Deva-Hellene Kingdom of Arosiananda, also known historically as Arosiananda and the Avanola Kingdom, was a Vahna Period Hellene Kingdom covering various parts of northwestern Tennai, Khaltia, and the Kallapa Valley to the Varuna Ocean. It existed between the end of the second century BC through the first half of the first century AD an was ruled by over 20 kings and queens, Kephissa being the most illustrious and successful.
Background
Initial Hellene presence in Tennai
Hellene settlements and poleis in Khaltia and the Chalna Empire
Rise of the Kanka (96 BC)
History of the Deva-Hellene Kingdom of Arosiananda
Expansion of Eirenaios into Tennai
Rule of Kephissa
Consolidation
Interactions with Tennaiite culture and religions
Decline
Later Contributions
Buddhist caves
Avanola era for Buddha sculptures
Idealogy
Buddhism flourished under the Deva-Hellene monarchs, and their rule, especially that of Kephissa, has been remembered as benevolent. It has been suggested, although direct evidence is lacking, that their invasion of Tennai was intended to show their support for the Chalna empire which may have had a long history of marital alliances, exchange of presents, demonstrations of friendship, exchange of ambassadors and religious missions with the Hellenes. The historian Androcles even wrote that the monarch of Korkai had "great love for the Hellenes".
The Hellene expansion into Tennaiite territory may have been intended to protect Hellene populations in Tennai, and to protect the Buddhist faith from the religious persecutions of the Kankas. The city of Gachur founded by Athamas (1) combines Hellene and Tennaiite influences without signs of segregation between the two cultures.
The first Hellene coins to be minted in Tennai, those of Kephissa I and Demoleon I bear the mention "Saviour monarch" (ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ), a title with high value in the Hellene world which indicated an important deflective victory. The title was also inscribed in Pali as ("Tratarasa") on the reverse of their coins. Kephissa and Demoleon may indeed have been saviours to the Hellene populations residing in Tennai, and to some of the Tennaites as well.
Also, most of the coins of the Hellene monarchs in Tennai were bilingual, written in Hellene on the front and in Pali on the back (in the Kharosthi script, derived from Aramaic, rather than the more eastern Brahmi, which was used only once on coins of Agathocles of Khaltia), a tremendous concession to another culture never before made in the Hellenic world. From the reign of Demoleon II, around XX BC, Kharosthi letters started to be used as mintmarks on coins in combination with Hellene monograms and mintmarks, suggesting the participation of local technicians to the minting process. Incidentally, these bilingual coins of the Deva-Hellenes were the key in the decipherment of the Kharoshthi script by (Insert name Here) and (Insert name here). Kharoshthi became extinct around the 3rd century AD.
In Tennaiite literature, the Deva-Hellenes are described as Avanolas (in Sold Samil), or Yolas (in Pali) both thought to be transliterations of "Ionians". In the Nattuvara "Avanola" Deva-Hellenes are qualified, together with the XXXX, XXXX, XXXX and XXXX, as Kshatriya-pungava i.e. foremost among the Warrior class, or Kshatriyas. The XXXX explains that in the lands of the Avanolas and XXXX, in contrast with the numerous Tennaiite classes, there were only two classes of people, Aryas and Dasas (masters and slaves).
Religion
The Hellenic colonists that settled in Khaltia and northerwestern Tennai, alongside their culture, brought with them the worship of the Hellenic deities. This is especially evident in the early period of settlement as the images of Hellenic deities appear frequently in the art and architecture of the Hellenic colonies in Khaltia and Tennai. Among the Hellenic deities that were worshipped in the Khalitian and Tennaiite colonies, the trio of Athena, Artemis, and Aphrodite were among the most prominent. Afte the intitial phase of colonization and over the course of a century, the worship of Gaia became increasingly prominent within the Hellenic colonies of Khaltia and Tennai as the influence Buddhism spread.
