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Maues
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Maues (In Greek on his coins: ?????, "Mauou") was an Indo-Scythian king from modern Afghanistan who reigned circa 85-60 BCE, and invaded the Indo-Greek territories of modern Pakistan.
s had his capital in Sirkap and minted most of his coins in Taxila.
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Maues (In Greek on his coins: ?????, "Mauou") was an Indo-Scythian king from modern Afghanistan who reigned circa 85-60 BCE, and invaded the Indo-Greek territories of modern Pakistan.
Conqueror of Gandhara
Maues had his capital in Sirkap and minted most of his coins in Taxila. Maues did not manage however to conquer the Punjab territories of the Indo-Greeks east of the Jhelum, which remained under Greek control. After his death the Indo-Greeks regained most of their territory.
Maues is mainly known through his coins, which are often very closely inspired from Indo-Greek coinage. He represented Greek and Indian deities, and used Greek and Kharoshti in coin legends.
This tends to be indicative of a level of respect for Greek culture and a wish to assimilate it, rather than destroy it. Maues probably ruled his conquered territories based on his military might, but otherwise maintained cohabitation with local Greek and Indian communities. It has been suggested that Maues may have been a Scythian general hired by the Indo-Greeks, who would have briefly seized power, before the Indo-Greeks managed to take it back ("Crossroads of Asia").
Maues took the tile of "Great King of Kings", an exceeded version of a traditional Persian royal title.
One inscription is known which mentions Maues (usually called the "Moga inscription", and starts with:
- "In the seventy eighth, 78, year the Great King, the Great Moga, on the fifth, 5, day of the month Panemos, on this first, of the Kshaharata and Kshatrapa of Chukhsa - Liaka Kusuluka by name - his son Patika - in the town of Takshasila..."
Maues issued joint coins mentioned a queen Machene ("??????"). Machene may have been a daughter of one of the Indo-Greek houses.
An Indo-Greek king, Artemidoros also issued coins where he describes himself as "Son of Maues".
Maues and Buddhism
A few of the coins of Maues, struck according to the Indian square standard, seamingly depict a King in a cross-legged seated position. This may represent Maues himself, or possibly one of his divinities. It has been suggested that this might also be one of the first representations of the Buddha on a coin, in an area where Buddhism was flourishing at the time.
Also, Maues struck some coins incorporating Buddhist symbolism, such as the lion, symbol of Buddhism since the time of the Mauryan king Ashoka.
The symbolism of the lion had also been adopted by the Buddhist Indo-Greek king Menander II. Maues therefore probably supported Buddhism, although whether sincerely or for political motives is unclear. His coins also included a variety of other religious symbol such as the cow of Shiva, indicating wide religious tolerance.
Theories of Origins
Scholars are at variance regarding the ethnic background of king Maues or Moga. Scholars like Dr. J. N. Banerjea, Dr D. C. Sircar, Dr V. D. Mahajan, Dr E. J. Rapson etc think that king Maues or Moga was Indo-Scythian ruler. According to Dr V. A. Smith, William Wilson Hunter, H. A. Rose, Chandra Chakravarty, Firoze and some other scholars, Maues was a Parthian king . However, according to Dr S. Konow, Dr R. K. Mukerjee, Dr J. L. Kamboj, king Maues, Yuvaraja Kharaosta Kamuio and princess Aiyasi Kamuia belonged to the Kamuia clan, which fact, is fairly born out by Mathura Lion Capital Inscriptions. Yuvaraja Kharaosta Kamuio was son of Arta as is attested from Kharaosta's own coins . Arta is said to be the elder brother of king Maues . Princess Aiyasi Kamuia, the chief queen of Kshatrapa Rajuvula, was the daughter of the Crown prince (Yuvaraja) Kharaosta Kamuio . Many scholars including Dr S. Konow, Dr H. W. Bailey, Dr R. K. Mukerjee, Dr K. P. Jaiswal, Dr J. L. Kamboj, Dr Buddha Prakash etc recognise the names Kamuia & Kamuio (q.v) of the Mathura Lion Capital Inscriptions as the Kharoshthi/Prakritic forms of Sanskrit/Pali Kambojika or Kamboja . Hence according to this view, king Maues, Arta, Kharaosta Kamuio and his daughter Aiyasi Kamuia --- all belonged to the Kambojika or Kamboja clan or lineage. The family relationship between Aiyasi Kamuia/Kharaosta Kamuio and king Moga or Maues has been accepted by other scholars as well . In numerous ancient literature including Puranas, Manu Samhita , Ramayana , Mahabharata, Kavimimansa, Brihat-Katha , Kathasaritsagara etc, the Sakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Pahlavas etc are constantly associated with each other. All are known to have been East Iranian tribes and were localised contiguously in Central Asia. Hence a close cultural and linguistic intimacy apparently existed amongst them. Hence their social customs, religious beliefs and political ideaology had all become almost identical and therefore, it is sometimes very difficult to distinguish between them. It has been argued that the supposedly Parthian or Scythian features of king Maues or Moga and his family are due to long contacts of the Kamuiyas (Kambojas) with the Sakas and the Parthians in Central Asia . "The nomenclature of the early Sakas in India shows an admixture of Scythian, Parthian and Iranian elements. .... " .
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