The Satavahana dynasty comprised a series of rulers who governed the Deccan Plateau in southern India from approximately the 2nd century BCE to the 3rd century CE, filling the power vacuum left by the Mauryan Empire's decline and establishing one of the earliest post-Mauryan states in the region.[1] Their rule is reconstructed primarily from archaeological evidence, including over 35 inscriptions in Prakrit using the Brahmi script and a vast corpus of coins that attest to their administrative and economic activities.[2] Key rulers included Simuka, the founder who consolidated power around the Godavari basin, and Gautamiputra Satakarni, who expanded the kingdom by defeating the Western Kshatrapas and restoring Satavahana dominance in the western Deccan during his reign circa 106–130 CE.[3]