Question

Chashtana was the Satraps of _ _ ___ _
A) Gujarat
B) Malwa
C) Katihar
D) Kashmir

Answer 1

Hint: Chashtana belonged to Saka rule, who were historically a group of nomadic Iranian people who inhabited the Tarim Basin. The king Chashtana was succeeded by Rudradaman I.

Complete answer: A Satrap system of government was introduced by the Sakas in Ancient India which was similar to the Iranian Achaemenid. The kingdom was subdivided into provinces by the king, under this system of Satrap, each province had a military governor called Maha Kshatrapa ( great Satrap) who normally belonged to the nobility, these governors were endowed with the power to issue their own inscriptions, mint their own coins and held office indefinitely. According to John Marshall, British archaeologist believes that the word “ kshatrapa” is derived from the Persian word meaning “ governor’. The Satrap was the judicial authority and was responsible for security, raising an army and collection of tax. During 78-130CE he was a satrap of the Malwa region and the inception of the Saka era is attributed to the ascension of Chashtana in 78 CE. Not only was he the founder of Saka satrap in the northern region called Bhadramukhas but also of the Kshaharatas. The satrap rulers of Malwa used Greek, Kharosthi and Brahmi scripts in their coins.
Options A, C and D can be easily eliminated.
Option B Malwa is the right answer.


Note: The Saka rulers referred themselves as “king of kings” as they had authority over the military and administration of the province. The Saka dynasty was overthrown completely in the fourth century CE by Chandragupta II of the Gupta empire.