Miron Costin

Miron Costin (March 30, 1633 – 1691, Roman) was a Moldavian (Romanian) political figure and chronicler. His main work, "Letopiseţul Ţărâi Moldovei [de la Aron Vodă încoace]" ("The Chronicles of the land of Moldavia [from the rule of Aron Vodă]") was meant to extend Grigore Ureche's narrative, covering events from 1594 to 1660. The Chronicles were first published in 1675.
He also wrote "Istoria în versuri polone despre Ţara Moldovei şi Munteniei" ("Polish verse history of Moldavia and Wallachia"), also known under the title "Poema polonă" ("The Polish poem").
Life.
Miron Costin was born as the son of a rich Moldavian boyar ("Ion" or "Iancu"). He spent his earliest years in Poland, where his family had taken refuge from Ottoman violence in Moldavia. His father had become a Polish magnate, which gave Miron the right to study at the Jesuit College in Bar, then at Kamienec Podolski. 
He returned to Moldavia in 1653, and became a trainee of the country's treasury. Valued by the administration, he rose quickly, becoming "Vornic" in 1669 (i.e.: overseer of the Court, with several political responsibilities both inside the state and abroad).
In 1691 his relation with Prince Constantin Cantemir deteriorated. He and his brother ("Hatman" Velicico) were believed to have tried to usurp the throne in Iaşi: both were executed.

The Aihole inscription of Pulakeshin boasts the "harsha" (mirth) of Harsha melted away by fear, as his elephants fell in the battle. The only other inscription from his reign that mentions this battle is the Bijapur-Mumbai inscription. Harsha's court poet Bana does not mention this conflict in his biography "Harsha-charita", presumably to avoid portraying his patron in a negative light. However, Pulakeshin's success against Harsha is confirmed by other independent sources.
The Chinese traveler Xuanzang, who calls Pulakeshin's kingdom Mo-ho-la-cha (the Chinese transcription of "Maharashtra"), provides the evidence of Pulakeshin's success against Harsha. Xuanzang states that Shiladitya (that is, Harsha) had conquered the nations from east to west, and had marched with his army to remote parts of India: only the people of Mo-ho-la-cha had refused to accept his suzerainty. Xuanzang further states that Harsha gathered troops from different parts of his kingdom, summoned his best commanders, and himself led the army to punish the people of Mo-ho-la-cha, but could not subjugate them.
The Rashtrakutas, who ultimately overthrew the Chalukyas several years after Pulakeshin's death, also boast that they defeated the dynasty that claimed victory over Harshavardhana, thus indirectly confirming Pulakeshin's achievement.
The Aihole inscription poetically states that Pulakeshin's elephants had to avoid the neighbourhood of the Vindhya mountains beside the Narmada River, because they "by their bulk, rivalled the mountains". Historian K. A. Nilakanta Sastri interprets to mean that Pulakeshin "did not send his elephant forces into the difficult Vindhya terrain", and guarded the passes with infantry. According to Shreenand L. Bapat and Pradeep S. Sohoni, the inscription suggests that Pulakeshin's army subsequently tried to cross the Vindhyas, in a bid to invade Harsha's kingdom, but was unsuccessful, which may explain why only two inscriptions from Pulakeshin's reign mention his conflict with Harsha.
Dakshina Kosala and Kalinga.
The Aihole inscription states that the rulers of Koshala and Kalinga accepted Pulakeshin's suzerainty without offering any resistance.
Koshala here can be identified as Dakshina Kosala (present-day Chhattisgarh and western Odisha), which was probably under the Panduvamshi rule. The Aihole inscription does not mention the name of the subjugated ruler, but historian D. C. Sircar theorizes that he may have been the Panduvamshi king Mahashivagupta Balarjuna.
The name of the ruler of Kalinga, which includes parts of present-day Odisha and northern Andhra Pradesh, is not certain either. Historian Durga Prasad Dikshit suggests that he was probably a member of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. Historian K. A. Nilakanta Sastri suggests that he may have been a Vishnukundina feudatory.
Vishnukundina dynasty.
According to the Aihole inscription and the Maruturu inscription, Pulakeshin invaded and captured Pishtapura (modern Pithapuram in Andhra Pradesh). The Maruturu inscription suggests that this event took place around or before 617–618 CE. The Aihole inscription states that subsequently, a fierce battle was fought near Kunala lake (identified with modern Kolleru Lake), whose water turned red with the blood of those killed in the war. These inscriptions do not name Pulakeshin's rival in these conflicts, but modern scholars identify him as a king of the Vishnukundina dynasty, which ruled in Andhra Pradesh.
Pulakeshin probably subjugated Vishnukundina vassals during his eastern campaign in Kalinga, which may have brought him in conflict with the Vishnukundina dynasty. Pulakeshin conquered the Vishnukundina kingdom, located in the lower Godavari-Krishna valley, and appointed his younger brother 'Kubja' Vishnu-vardhana as the governor of the newly-conquered territory. The Chalukya conquest in this region is corroborated by Vishnu-vardhana's 631 CE Kopparam copper-plate inscription, which records a land grant in the Karma-rashtra region of present-day Andhra Pradesh.
The Vishnukundina ruler defeated by Pulakeshin was probably Indravarman: he appears to have ultimately accepted Pulakeshin's suzerainty, and was allowed to rule as a Chalukya vassal. Pulakeshin assigned some of the newly-conquered territories to his own feudatories. For example, the Maruturu inscription states that the Aluka ruler Gunasagara, a Chalukya vassal, came from Mangalapura (identified with modern Mangalagiri in Guntur district) to Kallura after undergoing several hardships.
Xuanzang's visit.
The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang visited Pulakeshin's kingdom in 641–642 CE. He calls the Chalukya kingdom "Mo-ho-la-cha" (the Chinese transcription of "Maharashtra"), and corroborates Pulakeshin's success against Harsha (see above). He had visited the Pallava kingdom before arriving in the Chalukya kingdom, but he doesn't mention any conflict between the two kingdoms, presumably because he was not aware of major political changes or because his main interest was Buddhism rather than politics.
Xuanzang describes Pulakeshin ("Po-le-ke-she") as "a man of farsighted resource and astuteness who extends kindness to all". The king's subjects were "tall and sturdy in nature and... proud and carefree by nature... grateful for kindness and revengeful for injustice". They preferred death to disloyalty, and called for a duel if they or their families were insulted.
According to Xuanzang, the king was war-like and loved "military arts", because he was a Kshatriya by birth. His well-disciplined troops comprised several thousands of men, and several hundreds of elephants. The elephants, who were intoxicated with wine before battles, were used to break the enemy's front line. When his generals were defeated, they were not punished, but were humiliated by being ordered to wear women's dresses. The soldiers who lost a battle would commit suicide as a matter of honour.
According to Xuanzang, the kingdom's capital (not named by Xuanzang) was situated to the east of a large river, around 1000 li from Bharukachchha (modern Bharuch). This description does not fit the Chalukya capital Vatapi (modern Badami). Modern scholars identify the city mentioned by Xuanzang as Nashik, although this identification is not conclusive. It is possible that Xuanzang spent some time in Nashik, which was an important centre of Buddhism, and mistook it as the kingdom's capital. Xuanzang mentions that there were five stupas in and around the capital city: these stupas had been built by the earlier king Ashoka, and were several hundred feet high. Around 5,000 Buddhist monks lived in over 100 monasteries in the kingdom; in particular, Xuanzang describes a large monastery identified with the Ajanta Caves by modern scholars. Xuanzang adds that the kingdom also had temples of "heretics" who "smeared dust on their bodies".
War with the Pallavas and death.
The Pallavas were the southern neighbours of the Chalukyas. The Vishnukundins were their allies at the time, and Pulakeshin's subjugation of the Vishnukundins brought him in conflict with the Pallava king. The Chalukyas and the Pallavas fought several battles without conclusive results.
The Aihole inscription states that the Pallava ruler opposed the rise of Pulakeshin, who caused the enemy's splendour to be "obscured by the dust of his army" and forced the enemy to take shelter behind the walls of the Pallava capital Kanchipuram. The Kashakudi inscription of the Pallavas states that the Pallava King Mahendravarman defeated an unnamed enemy at Pallalura (modern Pullalur). These two accounts appear to refer to the same battle, which must have been inconclusive: the Pallava army was probably forced to retreat to Kanchipuram, but inflicted enough damage on the Chalukya army to force Pulakeshin to retreat to Vatapi.
The undated Peddavaduguru inscription records Pulakeshin's grant of the Elpattu Simbhige village in Bana-raja-vishaya ("Bana king's province") after the subjugation of Ranavikrama. Assuming that Ranavikrama was a Bana king, it appears that Pulakeshin defeated the Banas. (An alternative theory identifies Ranavikrama as Mangalesha; see Early life section above.) The Banas appear to have been Pallava feudatories before their submission to Pulakeshin, as suggested by the name of the inscription's engraver: Mahendra Pallavachari. Pulakeshin's subjugation of a Pallava feudatory must have renewed his conflict with the Pallavas.
The Aihole inscription suggests that Pulakeshin won over the Chola, the Chera, and the Pandya kings as his allies in his struggle against the Pallavas. He marched towards Kanchipuram, but the Pallava inscriptions suggest that he suffered reverses in battles fought at Pariyala, Suramara, and Manimangala, near Kanchipuram.
The Pallavas, during the reign of Narasimha-varman I, ultimately besieged the Chalukya capital Vatapi. Pulakeshin was probably killed, when a Pallava force led by Shiruttondar Paranjoti captured Vatapi in c. 642–643 CE. The Pallava occupation of Vatapi is attested by an inscription found at the Mallikarjunadeva temple in Badami, dated to the 13th regnal year of Narasimha-varman.
Succession.
By 641 CE, during Pulakeshin's lifetime, his brother Vishnu-vardhana had carved out an independent kingdom in the eastern part of the Chalukya empire, resulting in the establishment of the Chalukya dynasty of Vengi. According to one theory, this arrangement may have happened with the approval of Pulakeshin, who did not want his brother to wage a war of succession like Mangalesha.
Pulakeshin had multiple sons, and the order of succession after him is not clear from the available historical evidence:
Extent of the kingdom.
The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang attests that Pulakeshin ruled an extensive, militarily powerful and economically prosperous kingdom through several loyal vassals. The Aihole inscription states that Pulakeshin's kingdom was bound by the oceans on three sides, suggesting that he ruled a vast portion of the Indian peninsula to the south of the Vindhyas. However, there is no evidence that he was able to annex the extreme southern kingdoms of the Cholas, the Keralas (Cheras), and the Pandyas to his empire.
After his victory over Harsha, Pulakeshin appears to have acquired control of a large part of western Deccan to the south of the Narmada river. The Aihole inscription states that he gained control of the "three Maharashtras" which included 99,000 villages. The identity of these "three Maharashtras" is not certain: according to historian D. C. Sircar, they may have been the Maharashtra proper (a large part of present-day Maharashtra), Konkana, and Karnata.
Pulakeshin could not administer this large kingdom centrally, and therefore, ruled through governors from the Chalukya family and loyal vassals, who included the rulers defeated by him. The Sendraka prince Sena-nanda-raja ruled the Konkana and neighbouring areas as his loyal feudatory. The family of Alla-shakti ruled the Khandesh and neighbouring areas as his vassal, as attested by the Abhona and Kasare inscriptions.
After defeating the Vishnukundins, Pulakeshin acquired control of a large part of the eastern Deccan region, extending from Vishakhapatnam in north to Nellore and Guntur in the south. Pulakeshin appointed his younger brother Vishnu-vardhana, who had earlier served as his governor of the Velvola country, as the governor of Vengi in eastern Deccan. Vishnu-vardhana acknowledges Pulakeshin's suzerainty in his 631 CE Kopparam inscription, but asserts himself as an independent ruler in his 641 CE Chirupalli inscription.
After Pulakeshin's death, the Chalukya governor Vijaya-varman, who ruled in the Lata region (in southern Gujarat), also seems to have asserted his independence. Vijaya-varman's 643 CE Kheda (Kaira) inscription records a land grant without any reference to a Chalukya overlord.
Foreign relations.
According to the 9th-century Persian historian Al-Tabari, Pulakeshin ("Pharmis") maintained diplomatic relations with the Sasanian ruler Khosrow II of present-day Iran. Pulakeshin sent expensive presents and letters to Khusrow and his sons, during the 26th regnal year of the Sasanian monarch. This embassy can be dated to c. 625 CE.
In the 1870s, architectural historian James Fergusson theorized that a painting at the Ajanta Cave 1 depicted a Sasanian embassy to Pulakeshin's court. The painting depicts several figures in foreign dress: Fergusson identified the dress as Sasanian, and proposed that the Sasanian king sent a return embassy to the Chalukya kingdom. This theory was widely accepted by other scholars, but is no longer considered correct: the painting, which does indeed include the visit of foreigners in Persian or Sassanian dress, actually depicts a scene from the Maha-sudarsana Jataka, in which the enthroned king can be identified as the Buddha in one of his previous births as a King. The inclusions of numerous men in Sassanian clothing in the caves of Ajanta seems to reflect the great number of Sassanian traders or workers in Central India at that time, and the fact that they were an object of intense interest by the Indians.
Religion.
Pulakeshin was a Vaishnavite, as attested by the Lohner copper-plate inscription which calls him a Parama-bhagavata ("devotee of Vishnu"), and the Pimpalner copper-plate inscription which states that he belonged to the line of Vishnu. Several of his inscriptions begin with salutations to Vishnu, and bear seals with emblems that feature varaha, an incarnation of Vishnu.
He was tolerant of other faiths: The construction of the Shaivite shrines now called the Upper Shivalaya, the Lower Shivalaya, and Malegitti Shivalaya, started during his reign. The Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang mentions that there were over 100 Buddhist monasteries in his kingdom; over 5,000 monks - both Mahayana and Hinayana - lived in these monasteries. The Meguti Jain temple at Vatapi was also built during his reign, by Ravikirrti, who composed the Aihole inscription engraved on the wall of this temple.
Cultural activities.
The Aihole inscription of Pulakeshin states that he was generous in "bestowing gifts and honours on the brave and the learned". The inscription's composer Ravikirrti, a court poet of Pulakeshin, describes himself as an equal of the famous Sanskrit poets Bhasa and Kalidasa.
Inscriptions.
Following inscriptions from Pulakeshin's reign have been discovered:
Following inscriptions are attributed to Pulakeshin's reign, but are considered spurious by modern scholars: