Pahares I
| Pahares I | |
|---|---|
| King of Turan | |
 Coinage of Pahares I, king of Turan (Circa 160–230 CE). Bearded bust left, wearing Parthian-style tiara. Crude figure of Nike walking right | |
| King of Turan, King of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom | |
| Reign | 160–230 CE |
| Predecessor | Sanabares |
| Successor | Ardashir I (Sasanian Empire) |
| Died | 230 |
| House | House of Gondophares |
Pahares I (160–230 CE) was an Indo-Parthian ruler of Turan. Pahares ruled the newly established Kingdom of Turan, following the partition of the remains of the Indo-Parthian kingdom into the realms of Sakastan and Turan. The kingdom of Turan covers the period from 160 to 230 CE.[1] The kingdom of Sakastan was ruled by a second king with the name Sanabares (160-175 CE).[2]
Pahares succeeded the last of the major Indo-Parthian kings, Sanabares, in 160 CE.[2]
In his coinage, he wears a Parthian-style tiara, a close-fitting headress in the style introduced by Sanabares, and the reverse has a figure of Nike walking.[3]
The Kingdoms of Turan and Sakastan ended when they submitted to the Sasanian ruler Ardeshir I circa 230 CE.[2] These events were recorded by Al-Tabari, describing the arrival of envoys to Ardeshir at Gor:[2]
“Then he [Ardashir] marched back from the Sawad to Istakhr, from there east to Sagistan, then to Gurgan, then to Abrasahr, Merv, Balkh, and Khwarizm to the farthest boundaries of the provinces of Kohrasan, whereupon he returned to Merv. After he had killed many people and sent their heads to the Fire temple of Anahedh he returned from Merv to Pars and settled in Gor. Then envoys of the king of the Kushan, of the kings of Turan and Mokran came to him with declarations of their submission."
References
[edit]- ^ Mitchiner, Michael (1975). Indo-Greek and Indo-Scythian Coinage. Hawkins Publications. p. 779. ISBN 978-0-904173-12-3.
- ^ a b c d e Mitchiner, Michael (1978). The Ancient & Classical World, 600 B.C.-A.D. 650. Hawkins Publications. ISBN 978-0-904173-16-1.
Pakores was succeeded in the office of Great King by Sanabares (c. AD 135-160). The much reduced Indo-Parthian realm then split into its two geographical constituents. These now became the Kingdom of Turan whose king was named Pahares and the Kingdom of Sakastan ruled by a second king bearing the name Sanabares (c. AD 160-175). These two kingdoms, Turan and Sakastan, were to persist until the first Sasanian Emperor, Ardeshir I, about AD 230. Both then became vassal kingdoms within the Sasanian Empire. Tabari recorded the submission made by the King of Turan which transpired when Ardeshir was at Gor: then envoys of the king of the Kushan, of the kings of Turan and Mokran came to him with declarations of their submission.
- ^ Mitchiner, Michael (1975). Indo-Greek and Indo-Scythian Coinage. Hawkins Publications. p. 771. ISBN 978-0-904173-12-3.
Meanwhile Pahares consolidated his new Kingdom of Turan . His copper tetradrachms show his bust wearing a close - fitting decorated headress, conforming with the fashion recently introduced to the mint of Kandahar by Sanabares I.
- ^ Bracey, Robert (1 January 2012). The Mint Cities of the Kushan Empire. BAR International Series 2402. p. 124.