Apracharajas


The Apracharajas were an Indo-Scythian ruling dynasty of western Pakistan. The Apracharaja capital, known as Apracapura, was located in the Bajaur district of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Apraca rule of Bajaur existed from the 1st century BCE to the 1st century CE. Its rulers formed the dynasty which is referred to as the Apracharajas.

Origins

Before the arrival of the Indo-Greeks and the Indo-Scythians, Apracan territory was the stronghold of the warlike Aspasioi tribe of Arrian, recorded in Vedic Sanskrit texts as Ashvakas. The Apracas are known in history for having offered a stubborn resistance to the Macedonian invader, Alexander the Great in 326 BCE.
The Indo-Scythians of the Apracharajas dynasty were successors of the Indo-Scythian king Azes. It seems that they established their dynasty from around 12 BCE. Their territory seems to have centered in Bajaur and extended to Swat, Gandhāra, Taxila, and parts of eastern Afghanistan.

Buddhism

The Apracharajas embraced Buddhism: they are known for their numerous Buddhist dedications on reliquaries. On their coins Hellenic designs, derived from the coinage of the Indo-Greeks, continued to appear alongside Buddhist ones.
Numerous Buddhist dedications were made by the rulers of the Apracas:
A recently discovered inscription in Kharoshthi on a Buddhist reliquary, the Bajaur reliquary inscription, gives a relationship between several eras of the period and mentions several Apraca rulers:
This inscription would date to c. 15 CE, according to the new dating for the Azes era which places its inception c. 47 BCE. The rulers seem to have been related to Kharaostes.
Dr. Prashant Srivastava, an Indian professor from the University of Lucknow, has in a research monograph highlighted the significant role played by the Apraca Dynasty rulers, and has connected the Apraca kings of Pakistan to the Ashvaka clan of Vedic literature.

The Apraca kings are also mentioned in the Bajaur casket.

Apraca Rulers and their Queens