Apracarajas

Apracharajas
15 BCE–50 CE
Approximate location of the Apracharajas.
Capital		Bajaur
Languages		Scythian language Prakrit (Kharoshthi script) Greek (coinage)
Religion		Buddhism
Government		Monarchy
Historical era		Antiquity
•	Established	15 BCE
•	Disestablished	50 CE

The Apracharajas (also known as Apracarajas, Apraca, Avacas) were an Indo-Scythian dynasty ruling dynasty of Western Pakistan. The Apracharaja capital, known as Apracapura (also Avacapura), 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.

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.

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.