Yavana era

Yavana era
(174 BCE)
The Yavana era was thought to have started in 186–185 BCE, at the time of the expansion into India of Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius, but now is more probably attributed to 174 BCE.[1]

The Yavana Era, or Yona (Prakrit: Yoṇaṇa vaṣaye)[2] was a computational era used in the Indian subcontinent from the 2nd century BCE for several centuries thereafter, probably starting in 174 BCE.[1][3] It was initially thought that the era started around 180-170 BCE, and corresponded to accession to the Greco-Bactrian throne of Eucratides, who solidified Hellenic presence in the Northern regions of India. The Greeks in India flourished under the reign of the illustrious, Menander - greatest of the Yavana rulers, who campaigned as far as Pataliputra in Eastern India.[3] It is now equated with the formerly theorized "Old Śaka era".[1]

Harry Falk and others have suggested that the Yavana era actually started in 174 BCE, based on a reevaluation of the Azes era which is now thought to have started in 47/46 BCE.[4] The exact historical event corresponding to the creation of this Yavana era is uncertain, but it may mark the alliance of Antimachos I and Apollodotus I in toppling Agathokles, thereby creating a unified realm north and south of the Hindu-Kush.[1]

The creation of specific eras is a well-known phenomenon marking great dynastical events, such as the Seleucid era (starting in 312 BCE, with the return of Seleucus to Babylon), the Arsacid Era in Parthia (starting in 248/247 BCE), the Azes era in Gandhara (starting in 47/46 BCE),[4] and the Kanishka era, when he established his empire in 127 CE.[3][4]

It is now thought that the Kushan king Kanishka I created his own era precisely 300 years after the Yavana era, and probably in reference to it, so that year 1 of Kanishka (127 CE) would correspond exactly to year 301 of the Yavana era.[1] Arguably, Kanishka wished to link his own rule to the rule of the Indo-Greeks, who for the first time had united the areas of Bactria and parts of ancient India.[1]

The Yavana era progressively fell into disuse after the creation of the Kanishka era, the Kanishka era being used exclusively in inscriptions on relic caskets from the 18th year of his reign, from 145 CE.[5] On statues of the Buddha, an inscription using the Yavana era is known from Gandhara as late as 209 CE (year 384 of the Yavana era), with the "Hashtnagar Buddha".[6]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Falk, Harry (2007). "Ancient Indian Eras: An Overview". Bulletin of the Asia Institute. 21: 135–136. JSTOR 24049367.
  2. ^ "Silk Road Art and Archaeology". Journal of the Institute of Silk Road Studies, Kamakura. 9. The Institute: 49. 2003.
  3. ^ a b c Des Indo-Grecs aux Sassanides: données pour l'histoire et la géographie historique, Rika Gyselen, Peeters Publishers, 2007, p.103-109 [1]
  4. ^ a b c Falk, Harry (2007). "Ancient Indian Eras: An Overview". Bulletin of the Asia Institute. 21: 136. JSTOR 24049367.
  5. ^ Baums, Stefan (2017). A framework for Gandharan chronology based on relic inscriptions, in "Problems of Chronology in Gandharan Art". Archaeopress.
  6. ^ Problems of Chronology in Gandharan Art p.37