Paithan ( ), historically Pratiṣṭhāna [pɾə'tɪʂʈʰanə], is a town with municipal council in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, Maharashtra, Maharashtra, India. Paithan is located 56 kilometres (35 mi) south of present-day Aurangabad on the banks of the Godavari River. It was the capital of the Satavahana dynasty, which ruled from the second century BCE to the second century CE. It is one of the few inland towns mentioned in the famous first-century Greek book, the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.