Warrior king of the Satavahana Dynasty.

It was during the first half of the 2nd century A.D. that the Satavahana power once again rose into eminence in the South. The man of destiny this time was a king named Gautamiputra Satakarni.

By his achievements as a conqueror and as an able administrator he raised the prestige of the Satavahana Dynasty to a new height and came to be regarded as its greatest monarch.

Gautamiputra first increased the size of his army and made it a strong fighting force.

Next, he led expeditions against the foreign Saka rulers and drove them out of the Maharashtra region. After liberating that area, he fought against the Yavanas and the Palhavas and conquered their territories in the west. He recorded his victory over others in his inscriptions.

It is known from his inscriptions that the empire of Gautamiputra included such territories as Asmaka in the Godavari basin, Suratha or modern Kathiawad, Aparanta or northern Konkan, land of Anupa on the bank of river Narmada, Vidarbha or modern Berar, Akara or Eastern Malwa..

and Avanti or Western Malwa. It is thus estimated that the territory of Gautamiputra extended from Kathiawad in the north to the river Krishna in the south, and from Konkan in the west to Berar in the east.

Gautamiputra Satakarni was a patron of Brahmanism and he did not permit intercaste marriage among the people of the established ‘Four Varnas’.

On the other hand, he was a benevolent king who looked after the welfare of his subjects. He took several steps to benefit the peasant..

..population of his country and to improve the condition of agriculture. He was also a ruler of humanitarian attitude to help the poor and the needy. On the whole, during his liberal monarchy, the subjects lived in peace and enjoyed prosperity.

Gautamiputra was described in his inscriptions as the destroyer of the Sakas, Pahlavas and Yavanas. He was also mentioned as the ‘Lord of the Western Vindhyas’. Proud of his power, he styled himself as the King of Kings. After a long reign, this King died in 104 A.D.

Credit: The History Discussion.