The Pāratarājas were a Ruling-Class of Parthian Kings, who ruled from their capital region of modern Balochistan of the then North-Western India. The Pāratas are considered to be similar with the Pāradas of Indian literature, the Parθava of Iranian literature and the Parthians of Greek literature. The dynasty is essentially known through their coinage, which have been primarily found in and around the district of Loralai, Balochistan. The coins exhibit the bust of a particular monarch on the obverse (having long hair within a headband), and a swastika within a circular legend on the reverse in Kharoshthi (usually copper coins) and sometimes in Brahmi (usually silver coins). In about 440 BCE, the Greek historian Herodotus had described a tribe named Paraitakenoi, who was ruled by Deiokes, a Median monarch. The Paratas may have originated in northwestern Iran, northern Iraq or even eastern Turkey, roughly in the areas where Kurds live today, around the 7th century BCE. They then migrated, so that Alexander the Great encountered them in the area of Bactria and Sogdiana. They then moved through Seistan to reach Baluchistan in the 1st century CE, where they settled, first on the coast, and then in the interior. Indian sources also locate them in the same general area, beyond the Indus river. The Paratarajas must have maintained a strong interaction with their neighbors to the West (the Indo-Parthians), and their neighbors to the east (the Western Satraps), perhaps having a role of intermediary. According to Isidore of Charax, the geographical area beyond Sakastene is called "Paraitakene", corresponding to modern Baluchistan and Seistan, possibly their new territory from that time (25-1 BCE). The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (1st century CE) describes the territory of the Paradon beyond the Ommanitic region, on the coast of Balochistan. (Credit: Paratarajas, Wikipedia) [Image 1: The Paratajas in 2nd century CE. 2: Paratarajas ruler Kozana 200-220 CE ]
Parthian World
