Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 17, 2026

Tottika

Tottika was a king of the Tarim Basin state of Kucha in the second half of the 6th century CE. He appears in a mural of the Maya Cave of the Kizil Caves, with his wife Svayamprabhā, accompanied by two monks and other attendants. The paintings were brought to Berlin by the Third Turfan expedition (1905-1907), but lost in World War II.

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Tottika
King of Kucha
King Tottika of Kucha with his wife Svayamprabhā, accompanied by two monks, Maya Cave (205), Kizil Caves
Reign5??–600
Bornc. 550
Died600 (aged 49–50)
SpouseSvayaṃprabhā
ReligionKuchean Buddhism

Tottika (circa 550-600 CE) was a king of the Tarim Basin state of Kucha in the second half of the 6th century CE. He appears in a mural of the Maya Cave of the Kizil Caves, with his wife Svayamprabhā, accompanied by two monks and other attendants. The paintings were brought to Berlin by the Third Turfan expedition (1905-1907), but lost in World War II.1

The murals of Maya Cave are generally thought to date to the 2nd half of the 6th century, after the 552 Turk conquest following their uprising against the Jou-Jan Qağanate.2

  • Armed attendants to King Anandavarman, Maya Cave (205)
    Armed attendants to King Anandavarman, Maya Cave (205)
  • Cataphracts, Maya Cave (224). These follow the events of 552 CE and the subsequent Turk expansion. Kizil Caves, 2nd half of the 6th century CE.[3]
    Cataphracts, Maya Cave (224). These follow the events of 552 CE and the subsequent Turk expansion. Kizil Caves, 2nd half of the 6th century CE.3
  • Inscription mentioning Anandavarman, found next to the mural of King Tottika.[4]
    Inscription mentioning Anandavarman, found next to the mural of King Tottika.4
References

References

  1. Howard, Angela F. (2015). "On "Art in the Dark" and Meditation in Central Asian Buddhist Caves" (PDF). The Eastern Buddhist. 46 (2): 29. ISSN 0012-8708. JSTOR 26274148.
  2. Kubik, Adam (2008). "The Kizil Caves as an terminus post quem of the Central and Western Asiatic pear-shape spangenhelm type helmets The David Collection helmet and its place in the evolution of multisegmented dome helmets, Historia i Świat nr 7/2018, 141-156". Historia i Swiat. 7: 148.
  3. Kubik, Adam (2018). "The Kizil Caves as an terminus post quem of the Central and Western Asiatic pear-shape spangenhelm type helmets The David Collection helmet and its place in the evolution of multisegmented dome helmets, Historia i Świat nr 7/2018, 141-156". Historia i Swiat. 7: 145–148.
  4. Grünwedel translates it "When Anantavarma, the great king of Kucha, saw the letter of Ilmonis, the dedication and the little container of musk, he had honor done to the Buddha." in German in Grünwedel, Albert. Alt-Kutscha archäologische und religionsgeschichtliche Forschungen an Tempera-Gemälden aus buddhistischen Höhlen der ersten acht Jahrhunderte nach Christi Geburt. p. 41.