Note 87 — Chapter V · THE KSHATRAPAS (b.c. 70–a.d. 398.)

Kshatrapa XIX. Bharttṛidáman, a.d. 278–294.Viśvasiṃha was succeeded by his brother Bharttṛidáman.87 His coins which are found in large numbers are in style and workmanship inferior even to Viśvasiṃha’s coins. Of forty-five in the Pandit’s collection seven bear the dates 202, 207, 210, 211, and 214. As the earliest coin of his successor is dated 218, Bharttṛidáman’s reign seems to have lasted about fourteen years from 202 to 216 (a.d. 278–294). Most of the coin legends style Bharttṛidáman Mahákshatrapa though in a few he is simply styled Kshatrapa. This would seem to show that like his brother Viśvasiṃha he began as a Kshatrapa and afterwards gained the rank and power of Mahákshatrapa.