Textbook
Our Pasts I, II & III (Classes 6–8)
The simplest possible start: short, illustrated and the base of countless exam questions.
Satavahana Empire
Empire
Level 2
★ Major power
c. 200 BCE – c. 225 CE
Deccan power that controlled trade between the coasts.
- Also known as
- Andhras
- Capital
- Pratishthana / Amaravati
- Region
- Deccan
- Duration
- 424 years
- Main period
- Post-Mauryan Powers
Changing extent
- c. 200 BCE — ≈ 160,000 km²: Simuka: Pratishthana, Nasik and Junnar
- c. 106 CE — ≈ 530,000 km²: Gautamiputra Satakarni (Nasik prashasti): Aparanta, Anupa, Vidarbha, Akara–Avanti, Asika, Asaka
- c. 170 CE — ≈ 610,000 km²: Eastward shift: Andhra and Amaravati, western Deccan retained
Approximate extent over time (solid = latest, dashed = earlier).
At a glance
Move along the chart to read any year; click a ruler or event to open the map there.
Rulers
- Simuka Kingc. 200–177 BCEFounder.
- Satakarni I Kingc. 180–170 BCEPerformed Ashvamedha.
- Gautamiputra Satakarni Kingc. 106 CE – c. 130 CEDefeated the Western Kshatrapa Nahapana.
- Vasishthiputra Pulumavi Kingc. 130 CE – c. 159 CE
- Yajna Sri Satakarni Kingc. 170 CE – c. 199 CELast great Satavahana.
Selected rulers; gaps in the list are not gaps in the dynasty.
Key events
| Year | Event | Place |
|---|---|---|
| c. 50 BCE | Sanchi gateways carved | Sanchi |
| c. 28 BCE | Satavahanas end the Kanva dynasty The Kanva dynasty ended. |
Magadha |
| c. 100 CE | Chaitya halls at Karla and Nashik | Karla |
| c. 124 CE | Gautamiputra Satakarni defeats Nahapana The Satavahanas recovered the western Deccan from the Kshaharatas. |
Nashik |
Sites & monuments
Amaravati Stupa
Religious monument · c. 200 BCE
Personalities
📚 Recommended reading on the Satavahana Empire
Textbook
Themes in Indian History, Parts I–III (Class 12)
Source-based chapters on Harappa, Vijayanagara, the Mughal court and 1857 — essential for UPSC.
Textbook
An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I (Class 11)
The standard base for art and architecture questions — stupas, temples and sculpture.
Textbook
India's Ancient Past
The expanded version of the classic old-NCERT ancient India text; clear and exam-friendly.
We may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. See all recommended books →
📄 Research papers
Paper🏛 Library access
🇮🇳 Indian scholarship
The Image of the Barbarian in Early India
How early Indian texts described outsiders — the mleccha — and what that reveals about society.
Paper🏛 Library access
🇮🇳 Indian scholarship
Cults and shrines in early historical Mathura (c. 200 BC–AD 200)
Buddhist, Jaina, Brahmanical and local cults side by side at Mathura, from sculpture and inscriptions.
Paper🏛 Library access
🇮🇳 Indian scholarship
The Yavana Presence in Ancient India
Greeks and other westerners ('Yavanas') in ancient India: traders, donors and settlers.
Contemporaries
Powers that coexisted with the Satavahana Empire for a significant part of its history. The bar shows when, within its own span.
Anuradhapura Kingdom ★
Sri Lanka · c. 437 BCE – c. 1017
Overlap: 425 years
Kushan Empire ★
Northwest · c. 30 CE – c. 375 CE
Overlap: 195 years
Early Pandyas (Sangam era)
South · c. 400 BCE – c. 300 CE
Overlap: 425 years
Early Cholas (Sangam era)
South · c. 300 BCE – c. 300 CE
Overlap: 425 years
Early Cheras (Sangam era)
South · c. 300 BCE – c. 300 CE
Overlap: 425 years
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
Northwest · c. 256–125 BCE
Overlap: 75 years
Mahameghavahana (Chedi) of Kalinga
East · c. 200 BCE – c. 50 CE
Overlap: 250 years
Indo-Greek Kingdoms
Northwest · c. 200 BCE – c. 10 CE
Overlap: 210 years
Shunga Dynasty
Gangetic Plain · c. 185–73 BCE
Overlap: 112 years
Indo-Scythian (Saka) Kingdoms
Northwest · c. 110 BCE – c. 80 CE
Overlap: 190 years
Kanva Dynasty
East · c. 73–28 BCE
Overlap: 45 years
Indo-Parthian Kingdom
Northwest · c. 19 CE – c. 100 CE
Overlap: 81 years
Western Kshatrapas
West · c. 35 CE – c. 415 CE
Overlap: 190 years