Aśvaka: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|People of ancient northern IndiaGandhara}}

{{About|the people and region of ancient northern IndiaGandhara|the ancient region of south India|Assaka}}

The Sanskrit term ''[[aśva]]'', [[AvestanPrakrit]] ''aspaassa'', and [[PrakritAvestan]] ''assaaspa'' means [[horse]]. The name ''Aśvaka''/''Aśvakan'' or ''Assaka'' is derived from the Sanskrit ''Aśva'' or Prakrit ''Assa'' and it denotes someone connected with the horses, hence a horseman, or a [[cavalry]]man.<ref>{{cite book |title=Ethnic Settlements in Ancient India: A Study on the Puranic Lists of the Peoples of Bharatavarsa |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12386 |publisher=General Printers and Publishers |year=1955 |page=51 |first=Sashi Bhusan |last=Chaudhuri}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=History of Indian Buddhism: From the Origins to the Saka Era |year=1988 |first=Etienne |last=Lamotte |others=Trans. Webb-Boin, Sara |publisher=Université Catholique de Louvain |isbn=978-9-06831-100-6 |page=100 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sJwEAAAAYAAJ}}</ref><ref name=Majumdar>{{cite book |url= https://archive.org/download/ageofimperialuni07bhar/ageofimperialuni07bhar.pdf|title= The History and Culture of the Indian People |year=19772001 |volume=2 |page=45 |first1=Ramesh Chandra |last1=Majumdar |first2= Achut Dattatrya |last2=Pusalker |first3=Bharatiya Vidya |last3=Bhavan |first4=A. K. |last4=Majumdar |first5= Dilip Kumar |last5=Ghose |first6= Vishvanath Govind |last6=Dighe}}</ref> orThe horseAsvakas breeder.<ref>{{citewere bookespecially |title=Faithsengaged in the occupation of Man:breeding, Araising Cyclopaediaand oftraining Religions[[Horses in warfare|volumewar horses]], as also in providing expert cavalry services.<ref name=1":0">{{Cite journal |yearlast=1906Tucci |pagefirst=554Giuseppe |firstdate=1977 J.|title=On GSwāt. R.The |last=ForlongDards and Connected Problems |url=https://archivewww.jstor.org/streamstable/faithsofmancyclo00forl#page29756375 |journal=East and West |volume=27 |issue=1/n303/mode/2up/search/horse+breeders4 |pages=9–103 |jstor=29756375 |issn=0012-8376}}</ref> The Aśvakasname wereof especiallythe engaged''Aśvakan'' inor the''Assakan'' occupationis ofbelieved breeding,by raisingsome andscholars trainingto [[Horseshave been preserved in warfare|warthat horsesof the modern [[Pashtun]], aswith alsothe inname providing[[Afghan expert(ethnonym)|Afghan]] cavalrybeing servicesderived from Asvakan.{{citation<ref needed|datename=February 2019}}Bosworth/>

In the [[Major Rock Edicts]] of [[Ashoka]], Asvakas are described as [[Gandhari people|Gandhāras]] (Gandharians)<ref name=Iranica>{{Encyclopædia Iranica Online|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-iranica-online/aspasii-COM_5974|lang=en|title=Aspasii|first=C. J.|last=Brunner|authorlink=|year=2020|doi=10.1163/2330-4804_eiro_com_5974}}</ref><ref name=Tarn/> who are recorded separately from [[Kambojas]].<ref>{{Encyclopædia Iranica Online|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-iranica-online/kamboja-COM_337524?lang=en|title=Kamboja|first=Rüdiger|last=Schmitt|authorlink=Rüdiger Schmitt|year=2021}}</ref> Ancient Greek historians who documented the exploits of [[Alexander the Great]] refer to the Aspasioi and Assakenoi (Ἀσσακηνοί) tribes among his opponents. The historian [[Ramesh Chandra Majumdar|R. C. Majumdar]] has said thatconsiders these words areto probablybe corruptions of ''Aśvaka''Asvaka.<ref>{{cite book |title=Ancient India |first=Ramesh Chandra |last=Majumdar |author-link=Ramesh Chandra Majumdar |edition=Reprinted |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1977 |orig-year=1952 |isbn=978-8-12080-436-4 |page=99 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNxiN5tzKOgC&pg=PA99}}</ref> It is possible that the corruption of the names occurred due to regional differences in pronunciation.<ref name="bevan">{{cite book |title=The Cambridge History of India |volume=1 |editor-first=Edward James |editor-last=Rapson |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1955 |page=352 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gYg8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA352 |chapter=Alexander the Great |first=E. R. |last=Bevan}}</ref> Rama Shankar Tripathi thinks it possible that the Assakenoi were either allied to or a branch of the Aspasioi.<ref>{{cite book |title=History of Ancient India |first=Rama Shankar |last=Tripathi |edition=Reprinted |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |orig-year=1942 |year=1992 |isbn=978-8-12080-018-2 |page=119 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rOVpOG6MPMcC&pg=PA119}}</ref> The Greeks recorded the two groups as inhabiting different areas, with the Aspasioi in either the [[Alishang]] or [[Kunar Valley]] and the Assakenoi in the [[Swat Valley]].<ref name="bevan" />

The Assakenoi fielded 2,000 cavalry, 30 elephants and 30,000 infantry{{efn|The statistics for the Assakenoi forces that fought Alexander vary. For example, Barbara West says there were 30,000 cavalry, 20,000 infantry and at least 30 elephants.<ref name="west">{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania |first=Barbara A. |last=West |publisher=Infobase Publishing |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-43811-913-7 |page=359 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pCiNqFj3MQsC&pg=PA359}}</ref>}} against Alexander during his [[Indian campaign of Alexander the Great|campaign in India]], which began in 327 BCE, but they eventually had to surrender after losses at places such as [[Barikot|Beira]], [[Massaga (ancient city)|Massaga]] and [[Udegram|Ora]]. The Aspasioi chose to flee into the hills but destroyed their city of [[Arigaion]] before doing so; 40,000 of them were captured, along with 230,000 oxen.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Companion to the Classical Greek World |editor-first=Konrad H. |editor-last=Kinzl |edition=Reprinted |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2010 |orig-year=2006 |isbn=978-1-44433-412-8 |page=577 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=loeWIRBo3isC&pg=PA577 |chapter=The Conquests of Alexander the Great |first=Waldemar |last=Heckel}}</ref> [[Diodorus]] recorded the strength of the Aśvaka opposition, noting that the women took up arms along with the men, preferring "a glorious death to a life of dishonour".<ref>{{cite book |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia |year=1999 |page=76 |first1=Ahmad Hasan |last1=Dani |first2=Vadim Mikhaĭlovich |last2=Masson |first3=János |last3=Harmatta |first4=Boris Abramovich |last4=Litvinovskiĭ |first5=Clifford Edmund |last5=Bosworth |publisher=UNESCO |url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001057/105703eo.pdf}}</ref> [[Cleophis|Queen Cleophis]] was the main leader of AshvakaAsvakas during their war against Alexander.