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First Battle of Eran

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The First Battle of Eran[4] was a key engagement of the First Hunnic War that took place in 498 CE at Airikana (Eran), India. It was fought between the Gupta Empire and the invading army of Alchon Huns. The battle involved the Emperor Budhagupta, his viceroys, and Toramana, an acclaimed Hunnic king. The confrontation had significant consequences for the political and territorial situation in the region. The conflict concluded with a victory for the Alchon Huns that influenced subsequent events in the region.[5]

First Battle of Eran
Part of First Hunnic War
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Find spots of epigraphic inscriptions (red dots) indicating local control by the Alchon Huns in India between 500 and 530 CE,[1] with neighbouring polities,[2] and territorial extent of the Alchon Huns (brown).[3]
Date498 CE
Location
Eran (Modern day India)
24°05′20″N 78°09′54″E / 24.0890°N 78.1650°E / 24.0890; 78.1650Coordinates: 24°05′20″N 78°09′54″E / 24.0890°N 78.1650°E / 24.0890; 78.1650
Result Hunnic victory
Territorial
changes		 Malwa fell to the Hunas
Belligerents
Gupta Empire Alchon Huns
Commanders and leaders
Budhagupta
Suraśmicandra
Mātṛviṣṇu †
Dhanyaviṣṇu Surrendered		 Toramana
Harigupta
Bhuta
First Battle of Eran is located in South Asia
First Battle of Eran
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Location of the battle within India

Prelude

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The invasion of the Hepthalites followed a geographical trajectory similar to that of the Indo-Greeks during the post-Maurya period and was later mirrored by the Turks. Like the Indo-Greeks and the Turks, the Hunas initially consolidated their power in the Punjab region. After their defeat by Skandagupta, they shifted their focus back to Persia.[6] In 456 CE, Yazdegerd II continued his struggle against them. Following his death in 457 CE, the Sassanian Empire came under the rule of Peroz I, who was defeated by the Hephthalite king Akun (or Akhshunwar) and forced to pay tribute.[7][8]

In 484 CE, Peroz I launched an offensive against the Hephthalites but was defeated and killed. According to Chavannes, based on Chinese historical accounts, by around 500 CE, the Huna Empire included Tokharistan, Kabulistan, and Zabulistan, with Gandhara and Chitral being the only regions of "India proper" under their control. The Chinese traveler Song Yun, who visited Gandhara in 520 CE, provided further details on the state of the region during that time:

This is the country which the Ye-thas destroyed, and afterwards set up a Tch'e-le (a tegin, prince or the member of the royal family) to be the king over the country; since which event two generations have passed.[9]

— Song Yun, The Chinese traveler

Song Yun's account suggests that the power of Jaūvla extended to Gandhara approximately two generations before his visit in 520 CE. The identity of the Huna king who led the conquest of Gandhara remains uncertain. However, it is plausible that King Ramanila, known only from his coins, preceded Toramana and played a key role in the Huna conquest of the region.[10] Nevertheless, it cannot be ruled out that Ramanila belonged to a different dynasty than that of Toramana.[11]

 
Portrait of Toramana and Gupta script initials    Tora, from his bronze coinage.[12]

Toramana, a prominent ruler of the Alchon dynasty, successfully established political and cultural dominance in the Punjab, which fostered his imperial ambitions. During this time, the Sasanian Empire was in turmoil following a coup against Kawad I in 496 CE. Although Kawad I regained power in 498 CE, his authority remained heavily reliant on the Hephthalites, the Hunnic rulers north of the Hindu Kush.[13]

 
Charles Joppen's construction in 1907 of possible Indian map in 500 AD

Capitalizing on this opportunity, Toramana launched an invasion of northern and western India from the Punjab, possibly from a stronghold on the banks of the Candrabhaga River. Within a year, he assumed the title of Maharajadhiraja, or Emperor, as evidenced by the inscription on the Boar of Eran, which describes him as 'the glorious Toramana, of great fame and great lustre.'[13]

Background

Toramana's prospect

 
A rare gold coin of Toramana with Lakshmi on the reverse (c. 490–515), inspired from contemporary Gupta coins, such as those of Narasimhagupta Baladitya. The obverse legend reads "avanipati torama(no) vijitya vasudham divam jayati": "The lord of the earth, Toramana, having conquered the earth, wins Heaven".[14][15]

The Alkhans gradually expanded their influence in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent during the latter half of the 5th century. This culminated with Toramana's rise to power as the leader of the Alkhan quadrumvirate, declaring himself "King of Kings" (Rajadhiraja) as evidenced by the. Khura Stone Inscription. By the close of the century, the Alkhan had significantly integrated into Indian society and culture.[16] According to Bakker, this integration may have fueled Toramana's ambitions for territorial expansion, guided not by the supposed ferocity often attributed to the Huns, of which there is scant evidence, but by principles from the Indian Book of State, which emphasized the ideal ruler's duty to pursue conquest.[17]

Toramana's campaign

 
The silver bowl in the British Museum
 
Alchon horseman.[18]
The so-called "Hephthalite bowl" from Gandhara, features two Kidarite hunters wearing characteristic crowns, and as well as two Alchon hunters (one of them shown here, with skull deformation), suggesting a period of peaceful coexistence between the two entities.[18] Swat District, Pakistan, 460–479 CE. British Museum.[19][20]

Toramana emerged as a formidable and charismatic leader with exceptional military skills. His dominance over rival Hunnic factions, forcing them into subordinate roles, and his strategic establishment of Parvatikā on the Chenab (Candrabhaga) River in Punjab as his operational base underscore his tactical acumen.[16] His rapid military campaigns resulted in the conquest of large areas of northern and western India within a few years, culminating in the construction of the Goparaja funereal monument in AD 510.[13]

  1. ↑ Bakker, Hans T. (2020-03-12). The Alkhan: A Hunnic People in South Asia. Barkhuis. ISBN 978-94-93194-00-7.[page needed]
  2. ↑ Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical atlas of South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 25. ISBN 0226742210.
  3. ↑ Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical atlas of South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 145, map XIV.1 (k). ISBN 0226742210.
  4. ↑ Bakker, Hans T. (2020-03-12). The Alkhan: A Hunnic People in South Asia. Barkhuis. p. 33. ISBN 978-94-93194-00-7. Alkhan invasion in Western India in first year of the reign of Mahārājādhirāja Toramāna First Battle of Eran (Betwā Valley), in which Mātṛviṣṇu is probably killed. His younger brother Dhanyaviṣṇu installs a Varāhamūrti in Eran (SB X.032).
  5. ↑ S. R. Goyal (1967). A history of the Imperial Guptas. With a Foreword by R. C. Majumdar. pp. 337–342.
  6. ↑ History Of Ancient And Early Medieval India From The Stone Age To The 12th Century. p. 1085.
  7. ↑ S. R. Goyal (1967). A history of the Imperial Guptas. With a Foreword by R. C. Majumdar. p. 337.
  8. ↑ Keay, John (1999). India : a history. Internet Archive. London : HarperCollins. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-00-255717-7.
  9. ↑ S. R. Goyal (1967). A history of the Imperial Guptas. With a Foreword by R. C. Majumdar. p. 337.
  10. ↑ R. C. Majumdar (1970). History and Culture of the Indian People, Volume 03, The Classical Age. Public Resource. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. p. 36.
  11. ↑ S. R. Goyal (1967). A history of the Imperial Guptas. With a Foreword by R. C. Majumdar. p. 338.
  12. ↑ ALRAM, MICHAEL (2003). "Three Hunnic Bullae from Northwest India" (PDF). Bulletin of the Asia Institute. 17: 180, Figure 11. ISSN 0890-4464. JSTOR 24049314.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Bakker, Hans T. (2020-03-12). The Alkhan: A Hunnic People in South Asia. Barkhuis. pp. 71–72. ISBN 978-94-93194-00-7. Alkhan invasion in Western India in first year of the reign of Mahārājādhirāja Toramāna First battle of Eran (Betwā Valley), in which Mātṛviṣṇu is probably killed. His younger brother Dhanyavisnu installs a Varāhamūrti in Eran (SB X.032).
  14. ↑ CNG Coins
  15. ↑ The Identity of Prakasaditya by Pankaj Tandon, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, October 2015.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 S. R. Goyal (1967). A history of the Imperial Guptas. With a Foreword by R. C. Majumdar. pp. 338–339.
  17. ↑ Bakker, Hans T. (2020-03-12). The Alkhan: A Hunnic People in South Asia. Barkhuis. pp. 71–72. ISBN 978-94-93194-00-7. Arthaśāstra 6.2.13: rājā ātmadravyaprakrtisampanno nayasyādhisthānam vijigīsuh
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 ALRAM, MICHAEL (2014). "From the Sasanians to the Huns New Numismatic Evidence from the Hindu Kush". The Numismatic Chronicle. 174: 274–275. ISSN 0078-2696. JSTOR 44710198.
  19. ↑ Iaroslav Lebedynsky, "Les Nomades", p172.
  20. ↑ "British Museum notice". British Museum. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
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