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{{Infobox military conflict
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict         = Battle of Takkolam
| conflict   = Conquests of Kujula Kadphises
| image            =
| partof      =  
| caption          =
| place       = [[Central Asia]], [[Afghanistan]], [[Pakistan]] and  [[India|North India]]
| date              = 948–949
| result     = [[Kushan]] victory
| place             = [[Thakkolam|Takkolam]], [[Ranipet district]], [[Tamil Nadu]]
| combatant1 = [[File:Flag Of Kushan Empire.png|22px|border]] [[Kushan Empire]]
| result           = [[Rashtrakuta]] victory
| combatant2 = [[Indo-Parthian kingdom]]<br>[[Bactria|Greater Bactria kingdom]]<br>Four Yuezhi Kingdoms
| combatant1       = {{flagicon image|Flag of Chola Kingdom.png}} [[Chola dynasty|Chola empire]]<br>[[File:Flag of Chera dynasty.svg|22px]] [[Chera dynasty|Chera Perumals]]<ref name=":0" />
| commander1 = [[File:Flag Of Kushan Empire.png|22px|border]] [[Kujula Kadphises]]<br>[[File:Flag Of Kushan Empire.png|22px|border]] [[Vima Takto]]<br>[[File:Flag Of Kushan Empire.png|22px|border]] [[Hermaeus]]
| combatant2       = [[Rashtrakuta Empire]]<br>[[Seuna (Yadava) dynasty]]<br>[[Western Ganga Dynasty]]
| commander2 = Gondophernes<br>[[Pacores]]
| commander1       = {{flagicon image|Flag of Chola Kingdom.png}} [[Rajaditya Chola]]{{KIA}}<br>[[File:Flag of Chera dynasty.svg|22px]] [[Vellan Kumaran]] ([[Chera dynasty|Chera]]/[[Kerala]])<ref name=":0" />
| date        = 45 A.D–64 A.D/78 A.D
| commander2       = [[Krishna III]]<br>[[Vaddiga I]]<br>[[Butuga II]]
| territory   = Conquest of [[Taxila]], Takht-i-Bahani, Guissar mountains, [[Bactria|Western Bactria]], [[Kashmir]], [[Gandhara]], [[Kabul]] and North-Eastern portion of [[Indus River]].
| strength1        =
| image      = Coin of the Kushan king Kujula Kadphises.jpg
| strength2        =
| caption    = Tetradrachm of Kujula Kadphises (30–80 CE) in the style of Hermaeus.<br/>Corrupted legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΤΗΡΟΣΣΥ ΕΡΜΑΙΟΥ ("Basileos Sterossy Hermaiou")
| casualties1      =
| casualties2      =  
| territory         = [[Thakkolam|Takkolam]] and Surrounding areas annexed by [[Rashtrakutas]]
| partof            = Krishna's Southern Expedition
}}
}}


The '''Battle of Takkolam''' (948–949) was a military engagement between a contingent of troops led by [[Rajaditya]], crown prince<ref>{{cite book|title= The Cambridge History of War: Volume 2, War and the Medieval|first= Anne |last= Curry|publisher= Cambdrige |year= 2020 |page= all|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Bm_-DwAAQBAJ&dq=cambridge+chalukyas&pg=PT517 }}</ref> and eldest son of the [[Chola dynasty|Chola]] king [[Parantaka I]] (907–955), and another led by the [[Rashtrakuta]] king [[Krishna III]] (939–967) at [[Takkolam]] in southern [[India]]. The battle resulted in the death of Rajaditya on the battlefield and the defeat of the Chola garrison at Takkolam.<ref name=":1">Ali, Daud. "The Death of a Friend: Companionship, Loyalty and Affiliation in Chola South India." ''Studies in History'', vol. 33, no. 1, Feb. 2017, pp. 36–60.</ref>
Conquest of Kujula Kadphises is the military conquest of [[Kushan Empire|Kushan Empire’s]] King Kujula Kadphises, in which he completely defeated the Four Yuezhi Kingdoms and [[Indo-Parthian Kingdom]] along with his commerical relations with [[Roman Empire]].


The battle is considered as the climax of the confrontation between the two imperials powers, the Rashtrakutas and the [[Rashtrakuta dynasty|Cholas]], for complete domination of south India.<ref name=":0">Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 100-101.</ref> The death of prince Rajaditya is unusually commemorated by the Cholas. The Chola version of the events can be found in Larger Leiden Grant<ref>''Epigraphia Indica'' 22 (1933–34), no. 34: vv. 19–21.</ref> (1006 AD) of [[Raja Raja Chola I|Rajaraja I]] and Tiruvalangadu Plates (1018 AD) of [[Rajendra Chola I|Rajendra Chola]].<ref>''South Indian Inscriptions'' 3 (1920), no. 205: v. 54.</ref><ref name=":1" /> An account of the battle, which differs in some details from the Chola version, is found in the Atakur inscription issued by [[Krishna III]] and prince [[Butuga II]] (a young underlord of Krishna III<ref name=":13">Ali, Daud. “The Death of a Friend: Companionship, Loyalty and Affiliation in Chola South India.” ''Studies in History'', vol. 33, no. 1, Feb. 2017, pp. 36–60.</ref>) of the [[Western Ganga dynasty|Western Ganga]] family.<ref>''Epigraphia Indica'' 6 (1900–01), no. 6c: 53–56.</ref><ref name=":13" /> The Sravana Belgola record of Ganga king Marasimha (963 - 975 AD) also claims victory of the king for his predecessor Bhutuga II.<ref>Narayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 100-101 and 113-114.</ref>
These conquests by Kujula Kadphises probably took place between AD 45 and 60 and laid the basis for the [[Kushan Empire]] which was rapidly expanded by his descendants.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.107570/page/17/mode/1up|title=India Under The Kushanas|last=Puri|first=B.n|year=1965|pages=15-17}}</ref>
== Background ==
==Conquest==
It seems that king Parantaka I anticipated a climatic battle with the Rashtrakutas and their allies in Tirumunaippati Nadu.<ref name=":1" />
===Defeat of Yuezhi Kingdoms===
Not much detail is available on this conquest but Kujula Kadphises of [[Kushan Empire]] said to have defeated and overthrown Four Yuezhi Kingdoms.


Sometime in the 930s, or perhaps as early as 923 AD,<ref>''South Indian Inscriptions'' 7 (1932), No. 1009.</ref> prince Rajaditya was sent with a substantial military contingent, including elephants and horses, as well as his entire household, to the region (to protect the northern edges of a nascent Chola state).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> The prince was joined in Tirumunaippati Nadu by his mother and his half-brother Arinjaya (whose mother also might have been from the Chera Perumal family).<ref name=":1" />
{{blockquote|...the prince [elavoor] of Guishuang, named thilac [Kujula Kadphises], attacked and exterminated the four other xihou. He established himself as king, and his dynasty was called that of the Guishuang [Kushan] King. He invaded Anxi [Indo-Parthia] and took the Gaofu [Kabul] region. He also defeated the whole of the kingdoms of Puda [Paktiya] and Jibin [Kapisha and Gandhara]. Qiujiuque [Kujula Kadphises] was more than eighty years old when he died."|[[Book of the Later Han|Hou Hanshu]]{{sfn|Hill|2009|p=29}}|title=|source=}}
== Battle at Takkolam ==
===Conquest of Anxi===
The Rashtrakuta contingent at Takkolam included a collection of feudal militias and royal soldiers (from [[Western Gangas]], [[Bana kingdom|Banas]] and Vaidumbas among others).<ref name=":1" /> Prince Rajaditya was supported by a number of military personnel from [[Kerala]] (Chera) chiefdoms.<ref name=":1" />
Kujula Kadphises' conquests are recorded in [[Chinese language|Chinese]] historical texts and seen in his coins and inscriptions from 122 and 136 CE. After defeating local rulers, he invaded Parthia (referred to as "Ansi") and took control of the kingdoms of Kao-fu, Pu-ta, and Ki-pin. "Ansi" likely refers to the [[Indo-Parthian Kingdom|Parthian dynasty]] in the east, to which Gondophernes (or Guduvhara) belonged. Kujula is called a prince or Kumāra in 103 CE, which could correspond to the 26th year of Gondophernes’ reign.


An account of the battle, which differs in some details from the Chola version, is found in the Atakur inscription issued by [[Krishna III]] and prince Butuga (a young underlord of Krishna III<ref name=":1" />) of the Western Ganga family. According to the inscription, during the battle, Rajaditya was struck while seated atop his war elephant by an arrow from prince Butuga.<ref>''Epigraphia Indica'' 6 (1900–01), no. 6c: 53–56.</ref> The Chola prince died instantly. The Chola army was subsequently defeated and retreated in disorder.<ref name=":1" />
Coins of other Parthian rulers like Abdagases and Pacores have been found in areas such as western Punjab and Kandahar, suggesting the region was still influenced by Parthian kings. Coins of both Pacores and Wima Kadphises were discovered together at Sirkap, alongside coins of Guduvhara, showing Greek and Kharoshthi inscriptions. By Gondophernes' time, governors' loyalty to their suzerains was weakening, and there is no evidence of a strong Parthian presence in northwestern India after Guduvhara. Some scholars also link the 1st-century ruler Phraotes of Taxila to Gondophernes, based on the similarity of their names.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v9s8AAAAIAAJ&dq=kushan+invade+parthia&pg=PA66|title=taxila an illustrated account of archaeological excavations|last=John|first=Marshall|date=1975|publisher=CUP Archive|pages=66|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vp_q_MjupOIC&dq=kushan+invade+parthia&pg=PA99|title=Invasion of the Genes Genetic Heritage of India|last=Ahloowalia|first=B. S.|date=2009|publisher=Strategic Book Publishing|isbn=978-1-60860-691-7|pages=99|language=en}}</ref>
== Consequences ==
===Conquest of Kabul and Taxila===
The collapse of the Chola resistance after the battle of Takkolam lead to the virtual destruction of the Chola empire. The Rashtrakutas conquered eastern and northern parts of the Chola empire and advanced to [[Rameswaram]]. As per the Karhad copper plates of Krishna II, dated 959 AD, the king "uprooted the Cholas, distributed their territory among his followers, and extracted tribute from the Chera (Kerala) and [[Pandyan dynasty|Pandya]] kings" during his campaign.<ref name=":0" />
Kujula Kadphises likely defeated the Parthian king Gondophernes and took control of the [[Kabul]] region, possibly between A.D. 45 and A.D. 64. Coins from Gondophernes, [[Pacores]], and Kujula Kadphises found in Sirkap suggest he conquered Taxila from Pacores' weak successor. The [[Taxila]] Silver Scroll (A.D. 136-78) mentions "Mahārāja Rājātirāja Deva-putra Kushana," likely referring to Kujula Kadphises. He probably first conquered the western part of Gondophernes' empire before A.D. 122, with Gondophernes' successors likely becoming vassals. Abdagases’ attempt to claim the title of Mahārāja Rājātirāja may have led to his downfall, as the Kushan empire expanded to Taxila. Later records from the Hou-Han-Shu also suggest Kujula Kadphises conquered regions like [[Taxila]], and neighboring areas. Scholars now believe these regions refer to [[Gandhara]], not [[Kashmir]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-kushana-empire-b.-n.-mukherjee|title=The Rise And Fall Of The Kushāṇa Empire|last=B. N. Mukherjee}}</ref>
 
==Relations with Roman Empire==
The epithet ‘Tanjaiyunkonda’ or the 'conqueror of [[Thanjavur|Tanjore]]' was given to Krishna III as mentioned in many records found in Tondai-Mandalam, that the conclusion becomes inevitable that he had conquered and occupied the Chola capital at least for some time. The statements in the Karhad plates states that Krishna defeated the Pandyas and the Keralas, exacted tributes from the king of Ceylon and planted the creeper of his fame at [[Rameshwaram|Ramesvara]]{{sfn|A. S. Altekar|1934|p=134}}
The [[Kushan Empire|Kushan ruler]], after conquering Parthia and Kabul, likely had closer contact with the [[Roman Empire|Romans]]. Some of his coins imitate the bust of Hermaeus with a Greek inscription, and others resemble a [[Roman Empire|Roman emperor]]'s bust. Scholars debate which emperor is imitated—many think it's Augustus, but some, like Allan, suggest Claudius due to the design on the reverse. Prof. Basham notes Kujula's coins resemble both Augustus’s and Claudius’s. This imitation likely reflects trade, as Roman coins were used by Western merchants, influencing the [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] coinage.<ref name=":0" />
 
As per historians, the defeat at Takkolam reversed the substantial political gains made by Parantaka Chola in previous decades. It opened the way for a period of multiple (and perhaps even disputed) Chola accessions.<ref>Nilakantha Sastri, ''Cōḷas'', 140–67.</ref> The Chola royals remained in confusion, and perhaps continued a precarious political existence under the threat of Rashtrakuta invasion.<ref name=":0" />


==Reference==
==Reference==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
==Bibliography==
[[Category:Wars involving the Kushan Empire]]
{{cite book |author=A. S. Altekar |title=Rashtrakutas And Their Times|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.57217/page/n133/mode/2up?q=tanjore |year=1934 |publisher=Digital Library of India}}

Latest revision as of 11:38, 2 July 2025

Conquest of Kujula Kadphises is the military conquest of Kushan Empire’s King Kujula Kadphises, in which he completely defeated the Four Yuezhi Kingdoms and Indo-Parthian Kingdom along with his commerical relations with Roman Empire.

Conquests of Kujula Kadphises
Coin of the Kushan king Kujula Kadphises.jpg
Tetradrachm of Kujula Kadphises (30–80 CE) in the style of Hermaeus.
Corrupted legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΤΗΡΟΣΣΥ ΕΡΜΑΙΟΥ ("Basileos Sterossy Hermaiou")
Date45 A.D–64 A.D/78 A.D
Location
Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and North India
Result Kushan victory
Territorial
changes		 Conquest of Taxila, Takht-i-Bahani, Guissar mountains, Western Bactria, Kashmir, Gandhara, Kabul and North-Eastern portion of Indus River.
Belligerents
Flag Of Kushan Empire.png Kushan Empire Indo-Parthian kingdom
Greater Bactria kingdom
Four Yuezhi Kingdoms
Commanders and leaders
Flag Of Kushan Empire.png Kujula Kadphises
Flag Of Kushan Empire.png Vima Takto
Flag Of Kushan Empire.png Hermaeus		 Gondophernes
Pacores

These conquests by Kujula Kadphises probably took place between AD 45 and 60 and laid the basis for the Kushan Empire which was rapidly expanded by his descendants.[1]

ConquestEdit

Defeat of Yuezhi KingdomsEdit

Not much detail is available on this conquest but Kujula Kadphises of Kushan Empire said to have defeated and overthrown Four Yuezhi Kingdoms.

...the prince [elavoor] of Guishuang, named thilac [Kujula Kadphises], attacked and exterminated the four other xihou. He established himself as king, and his dynasty was called that of the Guishuang [Kushan] King. He invaded Anxi [Indo-Parthia] and took the Gaofu [Kabul] region. He also defeated the whole of the kingdoms of Puda [Paktiya] and Jibin [Kapisha and Gandhara]. Qiujiuque [Kujula Kadphises] was more than eighty years old when he died."

— Hou Hanshu[2]

Conquest of AnxiEdit

Kujula Kadphises' conquests are recorded in Chinese historical texts and seen in his coins and inscriptions from 122 and 136 CE. After defeating local rulers, he invaded Parthia (referred to as "Ansi") and took control of the kingdoms of Kao-fu, Pu-ta, and Ki-pin. "Ansi" likely refers to the Parthian dynasty in the east, to which Gondophernes (or Guduvhara) belonged. Kujula is called a prince or Kumāra in 103 CE, which could correspond to the 26th year of Gondophernes’ reign.

Coins of other Parthian rulers like Abdagases and Pacores have been found in areas such as western Punjab and Kandahar, suggesting the region was still influenced by Parthian kings. Coins of both Pacores and Wima Kadphises were discovered together at Sirkap, alongside coins of Guduvhara, showing Greek and Kharoshthi inscriptions. By Gondophernes' time, governors' loyalty to their suzerains was weakening, and there is no evidence of a strong Parthian presence in northwestern India after Guduvhara. Some scholars also link the 1st-century ruler Phraotes of Taxila to Gondophernes, based on the similarity of their names.[1][3][4]

Conquest of Kabul and TaxilaEdit

Kujula Kadphises likely defeated the Parthian king Gondophernes and took control of the Kabul region, possibly between A.D. 45 and A.D. 64. Coins from Gondophernes, Pacores, and Kujula Kadphises found in Sirkap suggest he conquered Taxila from Pacores' weak successor. The Taxila Silver Scroll (A.D. 136-78) mentions "Mahārāja Rājātirāja Deva-putra Kushana," likely referring to Kujula Kadphises. He probably first conquered the western part of Gondophernes' empire before A.D. 122, with Gondophernes' successors likely becoming vassals. Abdagases’ attempt to claim the title of Mahārāja Rājātirāja may have led to his downfall, as the Kushan empire expanded to Taxila. Later records from the Hou-Han-Shu also suggest Kujula Kadphises conquered regions like Taxila, and neighboring areas. Scholars now believe these regions refer to Gandhara, not Kashmir.[1][5]

Relations with Roman EmpireEdit

The Kushan ruler, after conquering Parthia and Kabul, likely had closer contact with the Romans. Some of his coins imitate the bust of Hermaeus with a Greek inscription, and others resemble a Roman emperor's bust. Scholars debate which emperor is imitated—many think it's Augustus, but some, like Allan, suggest Claudius due to the design on the reverse. Prof. Basham notes Kujula's coins resemble both Augustus’s and Claudius’s. This imitation likely reflects trade, as Roman coins were used by Western merchants, influencing the Kushan coinage.[1]

ReferenceEdit

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Puri, B.n (1965). India Under The Kushanas. pp. 15–17.
  2. ↑ Hill 2009, p. 29.
  3. ↑ John, Marshall (1975). taxila an illustrated account of archaeological excavations. CUP Archive. p. 66.
  4. ↑ Ahloowalia, B. S. (2009). Invasion of the Genes Genetic Heritage of India. Strategic Book Publishing. p. 99. ISBN 978-1-60860-691-7.
  5. ↑ B. N. Mukherjee. The Rise And Fall Of The Kushāṇa Empire.
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