This article details the history of Raigad district. Raigad District is a district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located in the Konkan region. The Kulaba district was renamed after Raigad, the fort which was the former capital of the Maratha ruler Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The fort is surrounded by dense forest in the interior regions of the district, on a west-facing spur of the Western Ghats of Sahyadri range. The name was changed during the regime of Chief Minister A. R. Antulay on 1 January 1981.
Early history Kolaba Ports of Ceul, Mahad Chodeganv and Rajpuri in Janjira were probably centres of trade from the earliest historical times (B. C. 225). The trade-in those times must have been through the openings of the Sahyadris by the Bor, Devasthali, Kumbha and Sevtya passes. It is probable that at that time the entire Kolaba coast was ruled by a power which had its sway over both the Konkan and the Deccan and trade in the ports mentioned above shrank from foreign commerce to local traffic when Kolaba became part of Gujarat ruled by a local Chief.For early trade details see Thana Statistical Account XIII, 404 note 3-Also see Stanley's Barbosa p. 69. From the days of the 1st century after Christ, Buddhist caves have been located in Ceul, Pal and Kol near Mahad as well as Kuda near Rajpuri. Along with these historical places, Ghodeganv may also be mentioned as a centre of trade. Ptolemy's Simulla or Timula (A. D. 150) and possibly Pliny's Perimula (A. D. 77) are identical with Cemulla or Ceul. The earliest Hindu reference to this Cemulla (i.e., Ceul) is found in two Kanheri cave inscriptions of the beginning of the 2nd century after Christ.Bombay Gazetteer, XIV, 172, 189.
Local Rulers Among the twenty-eight inscriptions found at the Kuda Caves so far, five record gifts by connections of Khandapalita, the Mahabhoja,Burgess' Archaeological Survey of Western India, Separate Pamphlet, X.3–21 the Chief of Mandava, who probably belonged to a local dynasty with its capital at Mandad about a mile north of Kuda. Similarly, an inscription in the Pale Caves contains a reference to a Prince of a Kamboja dynasty as ruling somewhere in Kolaba at about the same time.9, 14, 15, 17. Dr. Burgess' Archaeological Survey, X 2. It is not certain whether these local dynasties were independent or subordinate to the Satavahanas, who at this time had their capital at Paithan near Ahmadnagar and at Kolhapur.
Kshatrapas The Kusana emperor Kaniska I extended his power over Central and Western India at about the end of the 1st century A. D. Ksaharata Bhumaka is the earlier known Ksatrapa who was put in charge of the south-western part of the empire of the Kusanas of Kaniska's house. This Ksatrapa Bhumaka was succeeded by Nahapana who flourished about the period 60 CE. Jain Works are unanimous in that Nahapana ruled Ujjain for 40 years while the inscriptions made by Ushavadata evince that Nahapana ruled for 46 years. Thus, Nahapana must have captured Ujjain in his 6th regnal year. Periplus of 60 CE evince that Nahapana was ruling Ujjain, thus fixing his regnal period from around 54 CE to 100 CE. In the earlier records Nahapana is called Ksatrapa although his precise relation with Bhuumaka is not known. On the coins. Nahapana is invariably called Rajan, a title which probably indicates that he assumed independence. During his reign, Rsabhadatta, his son-in-law, extended his sway over the northern part of Konkan. In about AD 125 the Satavahana King Gautamiputra Satakarni defeated Nahapana and annexed the southern provinces of the Ksaharata dominion. In the inscriptions found in caves at Naneghat (near Junnar), this king is described as 'Khakharatvamsaniravsesakala', i.e, the person who uprooted the entire family of Ksatrapas and 'Sakayavanapallavanisudana.', i.e, the destroyer of Sakas, Yavanas and Pallavas.
Kardamakas After the overthrow of Nahapana, the Scythian family of the Kardamakas established its authority in Western India under Castana, the son of Yasamotika. Inscriptions discovered at Andhan in Kaccha evince that in the Saka year 52 (A. D. 130-31) Raja Castana was ruling jointly with his grandson Rudradaman. Castana was the Mahaksatrapa and Rudradaman, the Ksatrapa.Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan-The Age of Imperial Unity p. 183. There is evidence to show that the Sakas under Rudradaman succeeded in defeating the Satavahana king and thereby, recovering most of the northern districts of the dominions of Satakarni originally conquered from Nahapana. Junagad inscription of Rudradaman speaks of him as the lord of many countries including Akora, Avanti, Anupa, Aparanta, Saurastra and Anarta (i.e, Dvaraka in Kathiavad). Most of these were conquered from Gautamiputra when Rudradaman was probably a Ksatrapa under his grandfather.
Rudradaman came to the throne sometime after AD 130. We know much about the reign of this powerful ruler with the help of the important historical document in Junagad inscription dated in the Saka year 72 (A. D. 150-51). The subject for the prasasti here is the reconstruction of the dam of the Sudarsana lake which during his time was wiped away by a terrible cyclone. Rudradaman's rule appears to have extended over the whole of the Ksaharata dominions with the only exception of Nasik and Poona districts. Besides being a great conqueror and administrator, he was a great patron of Sanskrit literature. In his reign and due to his influence Kardamakas entered into matrimonial alliances with the families of Satavahanas of Daksinapatha, of the Iksvakus of Andhrapatha and also of the Licchhavis of Vaisali. Successors of Rudradaman were, however, unable to retain their hold on the province of Aparanta probably on account of the pressure of Satavahanas at the end of the 2nd century AD.
Satavahanas Satavahanas came to power in trans-Vindhyan India during the 1st century B. C. Kings of this illustrious family were styled as Lords of Daksinapatha. According to Indian literary tradition, the Satavahanas had their capital at Pratisthana now identified with modern Paithan on the Godavari in Aurangabad district, Maharashtra. Ptolemy's Geography also confirms this view. Puranas use the expression Andhrabhrtya in case of the members of this family. This has given rise to a controversy.For the controversy, see the Age of Imperial Unity, Pages 192–193 (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan).] among scholars. In this connection, it can be pointed out that Satavahana might be the name of kula or family; while Andhra can be considered to be the name of a jati or a tribe.
Simuka and his successors The chronology of the Satavahanas has also been a matter of dispute. According to Pauranic passages, Simuka, the founder of this dynasty, distinguished himself by overthrowing Susarman, the last of the Kanva kings who ruled for 45 years, after extirpating the last Shunga king Devabhuti. On this basis, Simuka can be assigned to the 1st century B. C. which is also confirmed by the palaeography of the Naneghat, Nasik, Sanci and Hathigumpha inscriptions referring to Simuka as well as his immediate successors, namely, Krsna and Satakarni. Both of these are known through inscriptions. The Hathigurhpha inscription shows that Satakarni I must have exercised his sway over a large empire. It probably included Northern Konkan and also Kathiavad. The Naneghat inscription speaks of Nayanika, the wife of this king claiming to have celebrated numerous Vedic sacrifices. Here a mention has been made of her. sons Vedisri and Saktisri also. Elder Saraganus noted in Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (written between A. D. 70 and 80) probably refers to this Satakarni I. Periplus suggests that the Northern Konkan passed from Satakarni to Sandares some time about the middle of the 1st century CE. This Satakarni, appears to have been a descendant of Satakarni I. The period of about a century that intervened between Satakarni I (end of the 1st century) and that of Gautamiputra Satarkarni (beginning of the 2nd century CE) seems to have witnessed a temporary eclipse of the Satavahana power owing to the encroachment of the Sakas.
106–130 CE Gautamiputra Satakarni is styled as 'Saka-yavana-pallava- nisudana' and 'Satavahana-kula-yasa-pratisthapanakara'. Extirpation of the Ksaharata dynasty was his outstanding achievement. A Nasik inscription of the eighteenth year of his reign (roughly coinciding with AD 124-25) is seen recording a grant of some land that belonged to Rsabhadatta, Nahapana's son-in-law. This grant was issued from a "Victorious camp of the army that was gaining success",For the interpretation of the relevant passage, see Select Inscriptions bearing on Indian History and Civilisation, Part I, P. 191, by D. C. Sircar, Calcutta, 1942. Also see Journal of the Numismatic Society of India, Bombay III, pp. 79–81. and the king at that time was stationed at a place called Benakataka in the Govardhana (Nasik) district. On the strength of this inscription, it is possible to say that the direct rule of this king extended over the whole land from the Krsna in the south to Malva and Kathiavad in the north and from Berar in the east to the Konkan in the west. Last epigraphic record of this king which belongs to the twenty-fourth year of his reign was issued jointly by him along with his mother Gautami Balasri who is styled as one, "whose son is living". Soon after this charter being issued, the king seems to have died and was succeeded by his son Vasisthaputra Pulumavi (the name is written as Pulumayi). Hence the reign of this king can be roughly assigned to the period A. D. 106–130. Before his death, this king had lost some of the districts that he had conquered from Nahapana to another Scythian dynasty of the Kardamakas, already referred to above.
Among the successors of this illustrious king, Yajnasri Satakarni or better Yajna Satakarni (A. D. 174–203) deserves mention. This king is known from inscriptions at Nasik (seventh year of his reign), Kanheri (16th year of the rule) and Cinna-Ganjan in the Krsna district (27th year of his reign). Silver coins of this king found at Sopara (Ancient Surparaka, the capital of Aparanta) have the head of the king on the obverse; while the reverse type is a combination of the Ujjain and hill symbols with the rayed Sun, a constant feature of the coins of the Sakas of Western India. Yajna, by far, was the last great king of the family, who succeeded in ousting Sakas; but soon after his death, the decline of the Satavahanas started and the empire appears to have been split up into a number of separate units under different princes of the royal blood.
Ptolemy, 150 CE From the days of the geographer Ptolemy (135–150 CE) Konkan, the part of the west coast, is known to the Greeks. Information about Western India was supplied to this geographer by Greeks, who had known Symulla, probably Ceul, as one of the trading centres.Ptolemy I XVII, Bertius's Edition 17. Ptolemy's account of India suffers from the confusion due to his mistaken idea of the Indian coast stretching (according to him) east and west instead of north and south. In his division of Ariake, i.e, the Maratha country, he refers to Sadan's Ariake (a word of doubtful meaning) or the north Konkan and Pirate Ariake or the south Konkan. He mentions three places in Kolaba; the cape and mart of Symulla (i.e, Ceul), Hippokura, south of Symulla and Balepatna not far from Hippokura. These three can be identified respectively with the south point of Bombay Harbour and the mart of modern Ceul, Goreganv or Ghodeganv six miles south of Manganv and modern Mahad respectively. Details about the trade of the Greeks attracted towards the emporium of Symulla or Ceul are, however, not available from Ptolemy.
Periplus