684? Coins of Indian Buddhist Satraps. [No. 7. 



of India by the king of Persia, and of the invader's retirement on 

 receiving a number of elephants from the king of India.* The 

 period at which these invasions took place is also the same, as I will 

 now show. The Greek historian is relating the Indian expedition 

 of Antiochus the Great, which Bayer and others have agreed to fix 

 in B. C. 205. On this occasion, he renewed his alliance with the 

 Indian king. At what time, his original alliance took place is riot 

 mentioned, but we may fix it with great probability in B. C. 220, 

 at the close of his first eastern expedition. From 220 to 212 B. C. 

 Antiochus was fully employed in his wars with Ptolemy, and his 

 second eastern expedition lasted from 212 to 205 B. C. The reign 

 of the Indian king may therefore be supposed to have commenced 

 at least as early as that of Antiochus himself, or in B. C. 224i. 



The Mahomedan historian calls the king of Persia, Ardshir Babe- 

 gau, which is an evident mistake, as this is the well known name of 

 the founder of the Sassanian dynasty in 226 A. D. I would read 

 Artaban, for Arsaces, 3rd Arfcabanus, who reigned from B. C. 216 

 to 196, and was therefore a contemporary of Antiochus the Great* 

 and his Indian ally Sophagasenus. In favour of the correctness of 

 this alteration, we have Ferishta' s previous mention of. Gudarz and 

 Tirasif as the kings of Persia to whom Jona's predecessors had 

 paid tribute. The latter name I would correct to t^j^, Pirasi, aud 

 thus identify the two kings with Gotarzes and Volageses 1st. J It 

 is true that the dates of these two princes are much too late for 

 the period of Jona : but it must be remembered that Ferishta had 

 access only to the Persian historians, according to whom Gudarz 

 and Volas are the fourth and fifth princes of the Ashkanian dynasty. 

 There is an acknowledged confusion in these Persian accounts 

 between Ashkanians and Ashganians ; but Gudarz and his son 

 Volas, the fourth and fifth princes of the former dynasty, are 

 evidently those to whom Ferishta alludes. The Greek and Eoman 



* In the original of Ferishta, I find the word "jewels" added to the other gifts 

 which General Briggs has omitted in his translation ; C%* JJ^~^ J- A L^ -? )j J 

 " gold and many jewels aud elephants." 



f <<*»*3 J j) £j£ — Gudarz wa Tirasi. 



% Tirasi may however, as Jas. Prinsep suggested, be only a Persian form of 

 Tiridates. 



