Shakya Republic | |||||||||
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c. 7th century BCE–c. 5th century BCE | |||||||||
![]() Shakya among the Gaṇasaṅghas | |||||||||
![]() Shakya to the north of the Mahajanapadas in the post-Vedic period | |||||||||
Capital | Kapilavastu | ||||||||
Common languages | Prakrits Munda languages[1] | ||||||||
Religion | Sramana religions, Sun worship, tree worship, serpent worship | ||||||||
Government | Republic | ||||||||
Historical era | Iron Age | ||||||||
• Established | c. 7th century BCE | ||||||||
• Conquered by Viḍūḍabha of Kosala | c. 5th century BCE | ||||||||
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Today part of | India Nepal |
Shakya (Pāḷi: Sakya; Sanskrit: शाक्य, romanized: Śākya) was an ancient clan of the northeastern region of South Asia, whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The Shakyas were organised into a gaṇasaṅgha (an aristocratic oligarchic republic), also known as the Shakya Republic.[2] The Shakyas were on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain in the Greater Magadha cultural region.[1][3]