At least two of the Chutu kings bore the title of "Satakarni", which is associated with the more notable
Satavahana dynasty, and which was also borne by ministers and ordinary people in the Satavahana period. The exact relationship between the Chutus and the Satavahanas is uncertain. Modern historians variously believe the Chutu family originated as a branch of the Satavahanas, was descended from the Satavahana princesses, or simply succeeded the Satavahanas in the southern Deccan. Numismatist Michael Mitchiner speculates the Chutus may have been of
Indo-Scythian (Shaka) origin. According to him, some Chutu coins bear designs copied from Indo-Scythian coins. For example, the obverse of two lead coins found at
Kondapur features a
swastika surrounded by a legend "reminds one of the
Kshaharata coins stuck for Ladhanes and Pisayu". The reverse of the same coin bears an arrow and a thunderbolt that seems to be derived from the coins of
Bhumaka and
Nahapana. According to
V. V. Mirashi's interpretation, the issuers of such coins variously call themselves Shakas or members of the Chutu family. Mirashi and Mitchiner read the legend on the coin as
Mahasenapatisa Baradajaputasa Saga Mana Chutukulasa, which means "of the
Maha-senapati (chief commander) Saka Mana, the son of Baradaja, of the Chutu family". Mitchiner notes that according to a
Nashik inscription, the Satavahana king
Gautamiputra Satakarni issued an order from his "camp of victory" at Vaijayanti (the ancient name of Banavasi). He theorizes the Chutus were originally Indo-Scythian chiefs, who became Satavahana feudatories when Gautamiputra defeated the Indo-Scythian king Nahapana around 125 CE. Subsequently, they participated in Satavahana military campaigns: one Chutu chief was appointed as the
Mahasenapati in the Kondapur region, while another was appointed to govern the newly-captured city of Banavasi. Historian
D. C. Sircar has disputed Mirashi's reading of the coin legend, arguing the expression
Saga Mana Chutukulasa cannot be interpreted as "Saka Mana of the Chutu family". Sircar argues if this was the meaning intended, the expression would have been
Chutu-kulasa Saga-Manasa or
Chutu-kula-Saga-Manasa. Sircar instead reads the term
Saga-Mana as
Sagamana ("of the Sagamas, that is, belonging to the Sagama family"). The Chutu coins discovered from
Anantapur district in
Andhra Pradesh and the southern part of
Telangana prove the Chutus held sway in and around the
Srisailam (
Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh) or Sriparvata area which explained their title of Sriparvatiyas (the masters of the Sriparvata region). In medieval times, the Srisailam region or the Sriparvata area was known as
Kannadu and
Kannavisaya which is the contracted form of
Satakarninadu and
Satakarnivisaya.
Satakarninadu and
Satakarnivisaya seem to be identical with the Satavahanihara of the Myakadoni inscription of
Pulumayi, or the Satavahaniratta of the
Hirehadagalli grant. The Chutus continued to use the title
Satakanni along with their names and regions, but later dropped the
Sata part of
Satakanni and used only the title of
Kanni. == Political history ==