Examine individual changes

'{{Distinguish|Kingdom of Kush}} {{Redirect|Kushan|the village in Iran|Kushan, Iran|the fictional video game race|Homeworld}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}} {{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}} {{Infobox former country |native_name = {{native name|xbc|Κυϸανο}}<br/>{{native name|sa|कुषाण साम्राज्य}}<br/>{{lang|grc|Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν}} <span class="languageicon" style="font-size:81%;font-weight:normal;">([[Koine Greek|Greek]])</span> |conventional_long_name = Kushan Empire |common_name = Kushan Empire |era = Classical Antiquity |status = Nomadic empire |event_start = [[Kujula Kadphises]] unites [[Yuezhi]] tribes into a confederation |year_start = 30 |event_end = Subjugated by the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanians]], [[Gupta Empire|Guptas]], and [[Hepthalites]]<ref name="lcwb2">{{cite web |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+af0005) |title=Afghanistan: Central Asian and Sassanian Rule, ca. 150 B.C.-700 A.D. |accessdate=2012-08-16 |publisher=[[Library of Congress Country Studies]] |location=United States|year=1997}}</ref> |year_end = 375 |p1 = Greco-Bactrian Kingdom |p2 = Indo-Parthian Kingdom |p3=Indo-Scythians |s1 = Sasanian Empire |flag_s1 = Derafsh_Kaviani_flag_of_the_late_Sassanid_Empire.svg |s2 = Gupta Empire |s3 = Hephthalite Empire |s4 = Khasa kingdom |image_map = Kushanmap.jpg |image_map_caption = Kushan territories (full line) and maximum extent of Kushan dominions under [[Kanishka the Great]] (dotted line), according to the [[Rabatak inscription]].<ref>"The Rabatak inscription claims that in the year 1 Kanishka I's authority was proclaimed in India, in all the satrapies and in different cities like Koonadeano (Kundina), Ozeno ([[Ujjain]]), Kozambo (Kausambi), Zagedo ([[Saketa]]), Palabotro ([[Pataliputra]]), and Ziri-Tambo (Janjgir-Champa). These cities lay to the east and south of Mathura, up to which locality Wima had already carried his victorious arm. Therefore they must have been captured or subdued by Kanishka I himself." "Ancient Indian Inscriptions", S. R. Goyal, p. 93. See also the analysis of [[Sims-Williams]] and J.Cribb, who had a central role in the decipherment: "A new Bactrian inscription of Kanishka the Great", in "Silk Road Art and Archaeology" No4, 1995–1996. Also Mukherjee B.N. "The Great Kushanan Testament", Indian Museum Bulletin.</ref> |capital = [[Bagram]] <small>([[Ancient Kapisa|''Kapiśi'']])</small><br/>[[Peshawar]] <small>([[History of Peshawar|''Puruṣapura'']])</small><br/>[[Taxila]] <small>(''Takṣaśilā'')</small><br/>[[Mathura, Uttar Pradesh|Mathura]] <small>(''Mathurā'')</small> |common_languages = [[Koine Greek|Greek]] <small>(official until ca. 127)</small><ref name="Greek">The Kushans at first retained the [[Greek language]] for administrative purposes but soon began to use Bactrian. The Bactrian [[Rabatak inscription]] (discovered in 1993 and deciphered in 2000) records that the Kushan king [[Kanishka the Great]] (c. 127&nbsp;AD), discarded Greek (Ionian) as the language of administration and adopted Bactrian ("Arya language"), from Falk (2001): "The yuga of Sphujiddhvaja and the era of the Kuṣâṇas." Harry Falk. Silk Road Art and Archaeology VII, p. 133.</ref><br/>[[Bactrian language|Bactrian]]<ref name="The Bactrian 2000 p. 133">The Bactrian [[Rabatak inscription]] (discovered in 1993 and deciphered in 2000) records that the Kushan king [[Kanishka the Great]] (c. 127&nbsp;AD), discarded Greek (Ionian) as the language of administration and adopted Bactrian ("Arya language"), from Falk (2001): "The yuga of Sphujiddhvaja and the era of the Kuṣâṇas." Harry Falk. Silk Road Art and Archaeology VII, p. 133.</ref> <small>(official from ca. 127)</small><br/>Unofficial regional languages:<br/>[[Gāndhārī language|Gurjari-Gandhari]], [[Sogdian language|Sogdian]], [[Khwarezmian language|Chorasmian]], [[Tocharian languages|Tocharian]], [[Saka dialects]], [[Prakrit]]<br/>Liturgical language:<br/>[[Sanskrit]] |religion = [[Hinduism]]<ref name="Wink">André Wink, ''Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: The Slavic Kings and the Islamic conquest, 11th-13th centuries'', (Oxford University Press, 1997), 57.</ref><br/>[[Mahayana|Buddhism]]<ref>The Silk Road in World History By Xinru Liu, Pg.61 [https://books.google.co.in/books?id=FJ8RDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA61&dq=kushans+mahayana+buddhism&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi9oLKHqKfXAhUDsY8KHWSIAHAQ6AEIKjAB#v=onepage&q=kushans%20mahayana%20buddhism&f=false]</ref><br/>[[Nana (Bactrian goddess)|Proto-Zoroastrian Bactrian religion]]<br/>[[Zoroastrianism]]{{sfn|Golden|1992|p=56}} |currency = [[Kushan Coinage|Kushan drachma]] |government_type = Monarchy |leader1 = [[Kujula Kadphises]] |year_leader1 = 30–80 |leader2 = [[Kipunada]] |year_leader2 = 350–375 |title_leader = Emperor |stat_area1 = 2500000<ref name="Taagepera132">{{cite journal|date=1979|title=Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D.|jstor=1170959|journal=[[Social Science History]]|volume=3|issue=3/4|page=132|doi=10.2307/1170959|last1=Taagepera|first1=Rein}}</ref> |stat_year1=200}} The '''Kushan Empire''' ({{lang-grc|Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν}}; {{lang-xbc|Κυϸανο}}, {{transl|xbc|Kushano}}; {{lang-sa|कुषाण साम्राज्य}}, {{transl|sa|Kuṣāṇa Sāmrājya}}; [[Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit|BHS]]: ''{{IAST|Guṣāṇa-vaṃśa}}''; [[Chinese language|Chinese]]: 貴霜帝國; {{lang-xpr|Kušan-xšaθr}}<ref>''The Dynasty Arts of the Kushans'', University of California Press, 1967, [https://books.google.com/books?id=udnBkQhzHH4C&pg=PA7 p. 5]</ref>) was a syncretic empire, formed by the [[Yuezhi]], in the [[Bactria]]n territories in the early 1st century. It spread to encompass much of [[Afghanistan]],<ref>http://www.kushan.org/general/other/part1.htm and Si-Yu-Ki, Buddhist Records of the Western World, (Tr. Samuel Beal: Travels of Fa-Hian, The Mission of Sung-Yun and Hwei-S?ng, Books 1–5), Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd. London. 1906 and Hill (2009), pp. 29, 318–350</ref> and then the northern parts of the [[Indian subcontinent]] at least as far as [[Saketa]] and [[Sarnath]] near [[Varanasi]] (Benares), where inscriptions have been found dating to the era of the Kushan Emperor [[Kanishka the Great]].<ref>which began about 127 CE. "Falk 2001, pp. 121–136", Falk (2001), pp. 121–136, Falk, Harry (2004), pp. 167–176 and Hill (2009), pp. 29, 33, 368–371.</ref> Emperor Kanishka was a great patron of [[Buddhism]]; however, as Kushans expanded southward, the deities of their later coinage came to reflect its new [[Hindu]] majority.<ref>{{cite book |author=Grégoire Frumkin |title=Archaeology in Soviet Central Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gdUUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA51 |year=1970 |publisher=Brill Archive |pages=51– |id=GGKEY:4NPLATFACBB}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Rafi U. Samad |title=The Grandeur of Gandhara: The Ancient Buddhist Civilization of the Swat, Peshawar, Kabul and Indus Valleys |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNUwBYGYgxsC&pg=PA93 |year=2011 |publisher=Algora Publishing |isbn=978-0-87586-859-2 |pages=93–}}</ref><ref name="Wink"/> They played an important role in the establishment of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent and its spread to Central Asia and China. The Kushans were one of five branches of the [[Yuezhi]] confederation,<ref>{{cite book |last=Runion |first=Meredith L. |title=The history of Afghanistan |year=2007 |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport |isbn=978-0-313-33798-7 |page=46 |quote=The Yuezhi people conquered Bactria in the second century BCE. and divided the country into five chiefdoms, one of which would become the Kushan Empire. Recognizing the importance of unification, these five tribes combined under the one dominate Kushan tribe, and the primary rulers descended from the Yuezhi.}}</ref><ref name=liu156>{{cite book |last=Liu |first=Xinrui |title=Agricultural and pastoral societies in ancient and classical history |year=2001 |publisher=Temple University Press |location=Philadelphia |isbn=978-1-56639-832-9 |page=156 |editor=Adas, Michael}}</ref> a possibly [[Iranian peoples|Iranic]]<ref name="EKH">{{harvnb|Enoki|Koshelenko|Haidary|1994|pp=171–191}}</ref><ref name="EB_Ancient_Iran_Yuezhi">{{cite web |url=http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/851961/ancient-Iran/32124/The-Seleucids |title=Ancient Iran: The movement of Iranian peoples |last1=Girshman |first1=Roman |author-link=Roman Ghirshman |last2= |first2= |date= |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |access-date=29 May 2015 |quote=At the end of the 3rd century, there began in Chinese Turkistan a long migration of the Yuezhi, an Iranian people who invaded Bactria about 130&nbsp;bc, putting an end to the Greco-Bactrian kingdom there. (In the 1st century bc they created the Kushān dynasty, whose rule extended from Afghanistan to the Ganges River and from Russian Turkistan to the estuary of the Indus.)}}</ref> or [[Tocharians|Tocharian]],<ref name="Pulleyblank">{{harvnb|Pulleyblank|1966|pp=9–39}}</ref><ref name="Mallory_1989">{{harvnb|Mallory|1989|pp=59–60}}</ref><ref name="EOIC">{{harvnb|Mallory|1997|pp=591–593}}</ref>{{sfnp|Mallory|Mair|2000|pp=270–297}}<ref name="TCHAC">{{harvnb|Loewe|Shaughnessy|1999|pp=87–88}}</ref><ref name="Benjamin_Marshak">{{cite journal |last=Benjamin |first=Craig |author-link=Craig Benjamin |last2= |first2= |date=October 2003 |title=The Yuezhi Migration and Sogdia |url=http://www.transoxiana.org/Eran/Articles/benjamin.html |journal=Transoxiana Webfestschrift |publisher=Transoxiana |volume=1 |issue=Ēran ud Anērān |pages= |doi= |access-date=29 May 2015}}</ref> [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-European]]<ref name="TCHAC"/><ref name="EB_Zhang_Qian">{{cite web |url=http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/105520/Zhang-Qian |title=Zhang Qian |last1= |first1= |author-link= |last2= |first2= |date= |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |access-date=29 May 2015 |quote=}}</ref><ref name="EPAO">{{harvnb|West|2009|pp=713–717}}</ref><ref>"They are, by almost unanimous opinion, Indo-Europeans, probably the most oriental of those who occupied the steppes." Roux, p.90</ref> nomadic people who migrated from [[Gansu]] and settled in ancient [[Bactria]].<ref name=liu156/> The Kushans possibly used the [[Greek language]] initially for administrative purposes, but soon began to use [[Bactrian language]].<ref name="The Bactrian 2000 p. 133">The Bactrian [[Rabatak inscription]] (discovered in 1993 and deciphered in 2000) records that the Kushan king [[Kanishka the Great]] (c. 127&nbsp;AD), discarded Greek (Ionian) as the language of administration and adopted Bactrian ("Arya language"), from Falk (2001): "The yuga of Sphujiddhvaja and the era of the Kuṣâṇas." Harry Falk. Silk Road Art and Archaeology VII, p. 133.</ref> Kanishka sent his armies north of the [[Karakoram|Karakoram mountains]], capturing territories as far as [[Kashgar]], [[Khotan]] and [[Yarkant County|Yarkant]], in the [[Tarim Basin]] of modern-day [[Xinjiang]], [[China]]. A direct road from [[Gandhara]] to China remained under Kushan control for more than a century, encouraging travel across the Karakoram and facilitating the [[Silk Road transmission of Buddhism|spread of Mahayana Buddhism]] to China. The Kushan dynasty had diplomatic contacts with the [[Roman Empire]], [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian Persia]], the [[Aksumite Empire]] and [[Han dynasty|Han Dynasty]] of [[Han Dynasty|China]]. While much philosophy, art, and science was created within its borders, the only textual record of the empire's history today comes from inscriptions and accounts in other languages, particularly Chinese.<ref>Hill (2009), p. 36 and notes.</ref> The Kushan empire fragmented into semi-independent kingdoms in the 3rd century AD, which fell to the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanians]] invading from the west, establishing the [[Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom]] in the areas of [[Sogdiana]], [[Bactria]] and [[Gandhara]]. In the 4th century, the [[Gupta Empire|Guptas]], an Indian dynasty also pressed from the east. The last of the Kushan and Kushano-Sasanian kingdoms were eventually overwhelmed by invaders from the north, known as the [[Kidarites]], and then the [[Hepthalites]].<ref name="lcwb2"/> ==Origins== Chinese sources describe the ''Guishuang'' (貴霜), ''i.e.'' the Kushans, as one of the five aristocratic tribes of the [[Yuezhi]], with some people claiming they were a loose confederation of [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-European]] peoples,<ref name="metmuseum.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/TOAH/HD/kush/hd_kush.htm |title=Kushan Empire (ca. 2nd century B.C.&#150;3rd century A.D.) &#124; Thematic Essay &#124; Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History &#124; The Metropolitan Museum of Art |publisher=metmuseum.org|accessdate=2015-10-23}}</ref> though many scholars are still unconvinced that they originally spoke an [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language]]. As the historian John E. Hill has put it: "For well over a century ... there have been many arguments about the ethnic and linguistic origins of the Great Yuezhi or Da Yuezhi (大月氏), Kushans (貴霜), and the Tochari, and still there is little consensus".<ref>Hill (2009), p. 311.</ref> [[File:Koshanoy.jpg|thumb|left|The [[ethnonym]] "KO[[Sho (letter)|Ϸ]][[Sho (letter)|Ϸ]]ANOV" (''Koshshanou'', "Kushans") on a coin of the first known Kushan ruler [[Heraios]] (1st century CE).]] The Yuezhi were described in the ''[[Records of the Great Historian]]'' 史記 and the ''[[Book of Han]] 漢書'' as living in the grasslands of [[Gansu]], in the northwest of modern-day China, until their King was beheaded by the Huns from Siberia (the [[Xiongnu]] 匈奴) who were also at war with China, which eventually forced them to migrate west in 176–160&nbsp;BCE.<ref>{{cite book |first=Michael A.N. |last=Loewe |chapter=Introduction |pages=1–70 |title=China in Central Asia: The Early Stage: 125 BC – AD 23; an Annotated Translation of Chapters 61 and 96 of the History of the Former Han Dynasty |editor-first=Anthony François Paulus |editor-last=Hulsewé |publisher=Brill |year=1979 |isbn=978-90-04-05884-2}} pp. 23–24.</ref> The five tribes constituting the Yuezhi are known in Chinese history as ''Xiūmì'' (休密), ''Guìshuāng'' (貴霜), ''Shuāngmǐ'' (雙靡), ''Xìdùn'' (肸頓), and ''Dūmì'' (都密). The Yuezhi reached the Hellenic kingdom of [[Greco-Bactria]] (in northern Afghanistan and Uzbekistan) around 135&nbsp;BC. The displaced Greek dynasties resettled to the southeast in areas of the [[Hindu Kush]] and the [[Indus river|Indus]] basin (in present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan), occupying the western part of the [[Indo-Greeks|Indo-Greek Kingdom]]. ==Early Kushans== [[File:KushanHead.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Head of a Kushan prince ([[Khalchayan]] palace, [[Uzbekistan]])]] Some traces remain of the presence of the Kushans in the area of Bactria and [[Sogdiana]]. Archaeological structures are known in Takht-I-Sangin, [[Surkh Kotal]] (a monumental temple), and in the palace of [[Khalchayan]]. Various sculptures and friezes are known, representing horse-riding archers,<ref>Lebedynsky, p. 62.</ref> and, significantly, men with [[Artificial cranial deformation|artificially deformed skulls]], such as the Kushan prince of Khalchayan<ref>Lebedynsky, p. 15.</ref> (a practice well attested in nomadic Central Asia). The Chinese first referred to these people as the Yuezhi and said they established the Kushan Empire, although the relationship between the Yuezhi and the Kushans is still unclear. On the ruins of ancient Hellenistic cities such as [[Ai-Khanoum]], the Kushans are known to have built fortresses. [[File:Heraios profile.jpg|thumb|The first known Kushan king [[Heraios]] (1-30 CE)]] The earliest documented ruler, and the first one to proclaim himself as a Kushan ruler, was [[Heraios]]. He calls himself a "[[tyrant]]" in [[Greco-Bactria|Greek]] on his coins, and also exhibits skull deformation. He may have been an ally of the Greeks, and he shared the same style of coinage. Heraios may have been the father of the first Kushan emperor Kujula Kadphises. [[Ban Gu]]'s [[Book of Han]] tells us the Kushans (Kuei-shuang) divided up Bactria in 128&nbsp;BC. [[Fan Ye (historian)|Fan Ye]]'s [[Book of the Later Han]] "relates how the chief of the Kushans, Ch'iu-shiu-ch'ueh (the Kujula Kadphises of coins), founded by means of the submission of the other Yueh-chih clans the Kushan Empire, known to the Greeks and Romans under the name of Empire of the [[Indo-Scythians]]."<ref name=Rene>{{cite book |last=Grousset |first=Rene |title=The Empire of the Steppes |publisher=Rutgers University Press |year=1970 |isbn=0-8135-1304-9 |pages=32}}</ref> The Chinese [[Hou Hanshu]] 後漢書 chronicles gives an account of the formation of the Kushan empire based on a report made by the Chinese general [[Ban Yong]] to the Chinese Emperor c. 125&nbsp;AD: {{quote|More than a hundred years later [than the conquest of Bactria by the Da Yuezhi], the prince [''xihou''] of Guishuang ([[Badakhshan]]) established himself as king, and his dynasty was called that of the Guishuang (Kushan) King. He invaded Anxi (Indo-Parthia), and took the Gaofu ([[Kabul]]) region. He also defeated the whole of the kingdoms of Puda (Paktiya) and Jibin (Kapisha and [[Gandhara]]). Qiujiuque (Kujula Kadphises) was more than eighty years old when he died. His son, Yangaozhen [probably Vema Tahk (tu) or, possibly, his brother Sadaṣkaṇa], became king in his place. He defeated Tianzhu [North-western India] and installed Generals to supervise and lead it. The Yuezhi then became extremely rich. All the kingdoms call [their king] the Guishuang [Kushan] king, but the Han call them by their original name, Da Yuezhi.|Hou Hanshu<ref name="Hill 2009, p. 29">Hill (2009), p. 29.</ref><ref>Chavannes (1907), pp. 190–192.</ref>}} ==Diverse cultural influences== [[File:Kushan script.jpg|thumb|[[Greek alphabet]] (narrow columns) with Kushan script (wide columns)]] [[File:KushanDevoteeFullLength.jpg|thumb|150px|A Buddhist devotee in Kushan dress, Mathura, 2nd century. The Kushan dress is generally depicted as quite stiff, and it is thought it was often made of leather (Francine Tissot, "Gandhara").]] In the 1st century BCE, the ''Guishuang'' (Ch: 貴霜) gained prominence over the other Yuezhi tribes, and welded them into a tight confederation under ''yabgu'' (Commander) Kujula Kadphises. The name ''Guishuang'' was adopted in the West and modified into ''Kushan'' to designate the confederation, although the Chinese continued to call them ''Yuezhi''. Gradually wresting control of the area from the [[Indo-Scythians|Scythian]] tribes, the Kushans expanded south into the region traditionally known as [[Gandhara]] (an area primarily in [[Pakistan]]'s [[Pothohar Plateau|Pothowar]] and [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]] region but going in an arc to include the Kabul valley and part of [[Qandahar]] in Afghanistan){{Citation needed|date=February 2011}} and established twin capitals in [[Begram]]<ref>S. Frederick Starr, ''Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane''. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2013, p. 53</ref> and [[Peshawar]], then known as Kapisa and Pushklavati respectively. [[File:Sho uc lc.svg|thumb|left|100px|The Kushan writing system used the [[Greek alphabet]], with the addition of the letter [[Sho (letter)|Sho]] (associated with the Greek [[Sampi]]).]] The Kushans adopted elements of the [[Hellenistic civilization|Hellenistic]] culture of Bactria. They adopted the [[Greek alphabet]] to suit their own language (with the additional development of the letter Þ "sh", as in "Kushan") and soon began minting coinage on the Greek model. On their coins they used Greek language legends combined with Pali legends (in the [[Kharoshthi]] script), until the first few years of the reign of Kanishka. After that date,{{Vague|date=April 2010}}{{When|date=April 2010}}{{Dubious|date=April 2010}} they used Kushan language legends (in an adapted Greek script), combined with legends in Greek (Greek script) and legends in Prakrit (Kharoshthi script). The Kushans "adopted many local beliefs and customs, including [[Zoroastrianism]] and the two rising religions in the region, the Greek cults and [[Buddhism]]".<ref>Starr, p. 53</ref> From the time of [[Vima Takto]], many Kushans started adopting aspects of [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] culture, and like the Egyptians, they absorbed the strong remnants of the Greek culture of the Hellenistic Kingdoms, becoming at least partly [[Hellenise]]d. The great Kushan emperor [[Vima Kadphises]] may have embraced [[Saivism]] (a sect of [[Hinduism]]), as surmised by coins minted during the period. The following Kushan emperors represented a wide variety of faiths including Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and possibly Saivism. The rule of the Kushans linked the seagoing trade of the [[Indian Ocean]] with the commerce of the [[Silk Road]] through the long-civilized [[Indus Valley]]. At the height of the dynasty, the Kushans loosely ruled a territory that extended to the [[Aral Sea]] through present-day [[Uzbekistan]], [[Afghanistan]], and [[Pakistan]] into northern India. The loose unity and comparative peace of such a vast expanse encouraged long-distance trade, brought Chinese silks to [[Rome]], and created strings of flourishing urban centers. ==Territorial expansion== [[File:Kushan king or prince.jpg|thumb|Kushan king or prince, [[Greco-Buddhist art]] of [[Gandhara]], 2nd-3rd century CE]] Rosenfield notes that archaeological evidence of a Kushan rule of long duration is present in an area stretching from Surkh Kotal, [[Begram]], the summer capital of the Kushans, Peshawar, the capital under Kanishka I, [[Taxila]], and [[Mathura, Uttar Pradesh|Mathura]], the winter capital of the Kushans.<ref name="Rosenfield, p. 41">Rosenfield, p. 41.</ref> Other areas of probable rule include [[Khwarezm]],<ref name="Rosenfield, p. 41"/> [[Kausambi]] (excavations of Allahabad University),<ref name="Rosenfield, p. 41"/> [[Sanchi]] and Sarnath (inscriptions with names and dates of Kushan kings),<ref name="Rosenfield, p. 41"/> [[Malwa]] and [[Maharashtra]],<ref>For "Malwa and Maharashtra, for which it is speculated that the Kushans had an alliance with the [[Western Kshatrapas]]", see: Rosenfield, p. 41.</ref> and [[Odisha]] (imitation of Kushan coins, and large Kushan hoards).<ref name="Rosenfield, p. 41"/> [[File:A picture of Sirsukh Texila by Usman Ghani.jpg|thumb|left|Remains of a Kushan fortress in [[Sirsukh]], [[Pakistan]]]] Kushan [[invasions]] in the 1st century CE had been given as an explanation for the [[Human migration|migration]] of [[Indian people|Indians]] from the [[Indian Subcontinent]] toward [[Southeast Asia]] according to proponents of a [[Greater India]] theory by 20th-century Indian [[nationalists]]. However, there is no evidence to support this hypothesis.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hall|first=D.G.E.|title=A History of South-East Asia, Fourth Edition|year=1981|publisher=Macmillan Education Ltd.|location=Hong Kong|isbn=0-333-24163-0|pages=17}}</ref> The recently discovered [[Rabatak inscription]] confirms the account of the Hou Hanshu, [[Weilüe]], and inscriptions dated early in the Kanishka era (incept probably 127 CE), that large Kushan dominions expanded into the heartland of northern India in the early 2nd century CE. Lines 4 to 7 of the inscription<ref>For a translation of the full text of the Rabatak inscription see: Mukherjee, B.N., "The Great Kushana Testament", Indian Museum Bulletin, Calcutta, 1995. This translation is quoted in: Goyal (2005), p.88.</ref> describe the cities which were under the rule of Kanishka, among which six names are identifiable: [[Ujjain]], [[Kundina]], Saketa, Kausambi, [[Pataliputra]], and [[Janjgir-Champa|Champa]] (although the text is not clear whether Champa was a possession of Kanishka or just beyond it).<ref>For quotation: "The Rabatak inscription claims that in the year 1 Kanishka I's authority was proclaimed in India, in all the satrapies and in different cities like Koonadeano (Kundina), Ozeno (Ujjain), Kozambo (Kausambi), Zagedo (Saketa), Palabotro (Pataliputra) and Ziri-Tambo (Janjgir-Champa). These cities lay to the east and south of Mathura, up to which locality Wima had already carried his victorious arm. Therefore they must have been captured or subdued by Kanishka I himself." see: Goyal, p. 93.</ref><ref>See also the analysis of Sims-Williams and J. Cribb, specialists of the field, who had a central role in the decipherment: "A new Bactrian inscription of Kanishka the Great", in ''Silk Road Art and Archaeology'' No. 4, 1995–1996. pp.75–142.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Sims-Williams |first=Nicholas |authorlink=Nicholas Sims-Williams |coauthors= |title=Bactrian Documents from Ancient Afghanistan |work= |publisher= |url=http://www.gengo.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~hkum/bactrian.html |doi= |accessdate=2007-05-24 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610192252/http://www.gengo.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~hkum/bactrian.html |archivedate=10 June 2007 |df= }}</ref> The Kushan state was bounded to the south by the [[Paratarajas|Pārata state]] of [[Balochistan (Pakistan)|Balochistan]], western [[Pakistan]], [[Afghanistan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Uzbekistan]], and [[Turkmenistan]]. [[Turkmenistan]] was known for the kushan Buddhist city of [[Merv]].<ref name="Rosenfield, p. 41"/> As late as the 3rd century AD, decorated coins of Huvishka were dedicated at [[Bodh Gaya]] together with other gold offerings under the "Enlightenment Throne" of the Buddha, suggesting direct Kushan influence in the area during that period.<ref>British Museum display, Asian Art room.</ref> Northward, in the 2nd century AD, the Kushans under Kanishka made various forays into the [[Tarim Basin]], where they had various contacts with the Chinese. Both archaeological findings and literary evidence suggest Kushan rule, in [[Kashgar]], [[Yarkent County|Yarkand]], and [[Hotan|Khotan]].<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/33275660/The_Sino-Kharosthi_coins_of_Khotan_part_2_Numismatic_Chronicle_1984_pp.129-152 The Sino-Kharosthi coins of Khotan part 2, Numismatic Chronicle (1984), pp.129-152., by Joe Cribb]</ref> ==Main Kushan rulers== [[File:BodhGayaEnlightmentThroneOfferingAndHuvishkaCoin.jpg|thumb|Offerings found in Bodh Gaya under the "Enlightenment Throne of the Buddha", with an impression of an imitation of a coin of the Kushan emperor [[Huvishka]], 2nd century CE. [[British Museum]]]] ===Kujula Kadphises (c. 30 – c. 80)=== {{quote|...the prince [elavoor] of Guishuang, named thilac [Kujula Kadphises], attacked and exterminated the four other xihou. He established himself as king, and his dynasty was called that of the Guishuang [Kushan] King. He invaded Anxi [Indo-Parthia] and took the Gaofu [Kabul] region. He also defeated the whole of the kingdoms of Puda [Paktiya] and Jibin [Kapisha and Gandhara]. Qiujiuque [Kujula Kadphises] was more than eighty years old when he died."|Hou Hanshu<ref name="Hill 2009, p. 29"/>}} These conquests probably took place sometime between 45 and 60 and laid the basis for the Kushan Empire which was rapidly expanded by his descendants. Kujula issued an extensive series of coins and fathered at least two sons, [[Sadashkana|Sadaṣkaṇa]] (who is known from only two inscriptions, especially the Rabatak inscription, and apparently never ruled), and seemingly Vima Takto. Kujula Kadphises was the great-grandfather of Kanishka. ===Vima Taktu or Sadashkana (c. 80 – c. 95)=== Vima Takto (Ancient Chinese: 閻膏珍 ''Yangaozhen'') is mentioned in the Rabatak inscription (another son, Sadashkana, is mentioned in an inscription of Senavarman, the King of Odi). He was the predecessor of Vima Kadphises, and Kanishka I. He expanded the Kushan Empire into the northwest of South Asia. The Hou Hanshu says: {{quote|"His son, Yangaozhen [probably Vema Tahk (tu) or, possibly, his brother Sadaṣkaṇa], became king in his place. He defeated Tianzhu [North-western India] and installed Generals to supervise and lead it. The Yuezhi then became extremely rich. All the kingdoms call [their king] the Guishuang [Kushan] king, but the Han call them by their original name, Da Yuezhi."|Hou Hanshu<ref name="Hill 2009, p. 29"/>}} ===Vima Kadphises (c. 95 – c. 127)=== [[Vima Kadphises]] (Kushan language: Οοημο Καδφισης) was a Kushan emperor from around 90–100 CE, the son of Sadashkana and the grandson of Kujula Kadphises, and the father of Kanishka I, as detailed by the Rabatak inscription. Vima Kadphises added to the Kushan territory by his conquests in Afghanistan and north-west Pakistan. He issued an extensive series of coins and inscriptions. He issued gold coins in addition to the existing copper and silver coinage. ===Kanishka I (c. 127 – c. 140)=== {{Main|Kanishka}} [[File:Kanishka enhanced.jpg|thumb|Kanishka, [[Mathura art]], [[Mathura Museum]]]] The rule of [[Kanishka I|Kanishka the Great]], fifth Kushan king, lasted for about 13 years from c.&nbsp;127. Upon his accession, Kanishka ruled a huge territory (virtually all of northern India), south to Ujjain and Kundina and east beyond Pataliputra, according to the Rabatak inscription: [[File:Qila Mubarak in Bathinda.jpg|thumb|The [[Qila Mubarak]] fort at [[Bathinda]], India was built by Kanishka the Great.]] {{Quote|In the year one, it has been proclaimed unto India, unto the whole realm of the governing class, including Koonadeano (Kaundiny, Kundina) and the city of Ozeno (Ozene, Ujjain) and the city of Zageda (Saketa) and the city of Kozambo (Kausambi) and the city of Palabotro (Pataliputra) and so long unto (i.e., as far as) the city of Ziri-tambo (Sri-Champa).|Rabatak inscription, Lines 4–6}} His territory was administered from two capitals: Purushapura (now Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan) and Mathura, in northern India. He is also credited (along with [[Raja Dab]]) for building the massive, ancient [[Fort at Bathinda]] ([[Qila Mubarak]]), in the modern city of [[Bathinda]], Indian [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]]. The Kushans also had a summer capital in [[Bagram]] (then known as Kapisa), where the "Begram Treasure", comprising works of art from Greece to China, has been found. According to the Rabatak inscription, Kanishka was the son of Vima Kadphises, the grandson of Sadashkana, and the great-grandson of Kujula Kadphises. Kanishka's era is now generally accepted to have begun in 127 on the basis of Harry Falk's ground-breaking research.<ref name="Falk 2001, pp. 121–136">Falk (2001), pp. 121–136.</ref><ref>Falk (2004), pp. 167–176.</ref> Kanishka's era was used as a calendar reference by the Kushans for about a century, until the decline of the Kushan realm. ===Vāsishka (c. 140 – c. 160)=== [[Vāsishka]] was a Kushan emperor who seems to have had a 20-year reign following Kanishka. His rule is recorded as far south as Sanchi (near [[Vidisa]]), where several inscriptions in his name have been found, dated to the year 22 (the Sanchi inscription of "Vaksushana" – i.e., Vasishka Kushana) and year 28 (the Sanchi inscription of Vasaska – i.e., Vasishka) of the Kanishka era. ===Huvishka (c. 160 – c. 190)=== [[Huvishka]] (Kushan: Οοηϸκι, "Ooishki") was a Kushan emperor from about 20 years after the death of Kanishka (assumed on the best evidence available to be in 140) until the succession of [[Vasudeva I]] about thirty years later. His rule was a period of retrenchment and consolidation for the Empire. In particular he devoted time and effort early in his reign to the exertion of greater control over the city of Mathura. ===Vasudeva I (c. 190 – c. 230)=== [[Vasudeva I]] (Kushan: Βαζοδηο "Bazodeo", Chinese: 波調 "Bodiao") was the last of the "Great Kushans". Named inscriptions dating from year 64 to 98 of Kanishka's era suggest his reign extended from at least 191 to 225&nbsp;AD. He was the last great Kushan emperor, and the end of his rule coincides with the invasion of the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanians]] as far as northwestern India, and the establishment of the [[Indo-Sasanians]] or ''Kushanshahs'' in what is nowadays Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India from around 240&nbsp;AD. ==Kushan deities== [[File:Kumara, The Divine General LACMA M.85.279.3.jpg|thumb|Kumara/[[Kartikeya]] with a [[Kushan]] devotee, 2nd century CE]] [[File:Gandhara, omaggio di un re kushana al bodhisattva, II-III sec.JPG|thumb|Kushan prince making a donation to a [[Boddhisattva]]]] The Kushan religious [[Pantheon (gods)|pantheon]] is extremely varied, as revealed by their coins that were made in gold, silver, and copper. These coins contained more than thirty different gods, belonging mainly to their own Iranic, Greek, and Indo-Aryan worlds as well. Kushan coins had images of Kushan Kings, Buddha, and figures from the Indo-Aryan and Iranian<!-- Bactrian/Arachosian/etc == Eastern Iranian, which is _not_ "Persian", which is western Iranian--> pantheons.<ref>Xinru Liu, ''The Silk Road in World History'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), 47.</ref> Greek deities, with Greek names are represented on early coins. During Kanishka's reign, the language of the coinage changes to [[Bactrian language|Bactrian]] (though it remained in Greek script for all kings). After Huvishka, only two divinities appear on the coins: ''Ardoxsho'' and ''[[Oesho]]'' (see details below). The Iranic entities depicted on coinage include: *Αρδοχþο (''ardoxsho'', [[Ashi Vanghuhi]]) *Aþαειχþo (''ashaeixsho'', [[Asha Vahishta]]) *Αθþο (''athsho'', [[Atar]]) *Φαρρο (''pharro'', [[Khwarenah]]) *Λροοασπο (''lrooaspa'', [[Drvaspa]]) *Μαναοβαγο, (''manaobago'', [[Vohu Manah]]) *Μαο (''mao'', [[Mah]]) *Μιθρο, Μιιρο, Μιορο, Μιυρο (''mithro'' and variants, [[Mithra]]) *Μοζδοοανο (''mozdooano'', [[Ahura Mazda|Mazda *vana]] "Mazda the victorious?") *Νανα, Ναναια, Ναναϸαο (variations of pan-Asiatic ''nana'', Sogdian ''nny'', [[Nana (Kushan goddess)|Nana]]) *Οαδο (''oado'' [[Vata-Vayu|Vata]]) *Oαxþo (''oaxsho'', "Oxus") *Ooρoμoζδο (''ooromozdo'', [[Ahura Mazda]]) *Οραλαγνο (''orlagno'', [[Verethragna]]) *Τιερο (''tiero'', [[Tishtrya|Tir]]) Representation of entities from Greek mythology and Hellenistic syncretism are: *Ηλιος ([[Helios]]), Ηφαηστος ([[Hephaistos]]), Σαληνη ([[Selene]]), Ανημος ([[Anemos]]). Further, the coins of Huvishka also portray the demi-god ''erakilo'' [[Heracles]], and the Egyptian god ''sarapo'' [[Sarapis]] The Indic entities represented on coinage include: *Βοδδο (''boddo'', [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]]) *Μετραγο Βοδδο (''metrago boddo'', bodhisattava [[Maitreya]]) *Mαασηνo (''maaseno'', [[Kartikeya|Mahasena]]) *Σκανδo koμαρo (''skando komaro'', [[Murugan|Skanda]] Kumara) *þακαμανο Βοδδο (''shakamano boddho'', [[Shakyamuni Buddha]]) *Οηϸο (''oesho''), long considered to represent Indic [[Shiva]],<ref>Sivaramamurti, p. 56-59.</ref><ref name="sino-platonic.org">Loeschner, Hans (2012) [http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp227_kanishka_stupa_casket.pdf The Stūpa of the Kushan Emperor Kanishka the Great] Sino-Platonic Papers, No. 227 (July 2012); page 11</ref><ref name="Bopearachchi, O. 2007">Bopearachchi, O. (2007). Some observations on the chronology of the early Kushans. Res Orientales, 17, 41-53</ref> but also identified as [[Avestan]] [[Vayu-Vata|Vayu]] conflated with Shiva.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sims-Williams|first=Nicolas|chapter=Bactrian Language|title=Encyclopaedia Iranica|volume=3|location=London|publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul|postscript=<!--None-->}}</ref><ref>H. Humbach, 1975, p.402-408. K.Tanabe, 1997, p.277, M.Carter, 1995, p.152. J.Cribb, 1997, p.40. References cited in "De l'Indus à l'Oxus".</ref> *Two copper coins of Huvishka bear a 'Ganesa' legend, but instead of depicting the typical [[theriomorphic]] figure of [[Ganesha]], have a figure of an archer holding a full-length bow with string inwards and an arrow. This is typically a depiction of [[Rudra]], but in the case of these two coins is generally assumed to represent Shiva. {{Gallery|align=center |title= Images of Kushan worshippers |lines= 4 |width= 160 |height= 140 |File:ZeusSerapisOhrmazdWithWorshipperBactria3rdCenturyCE.jpg|Kushan worshipper with Zeus/Serapis/Ohrmazd, Bactria, 3rd century CE.<ref name="ReferenceA">Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition</ref> |File:PharroAndWorshipperBactria3rdCenturyCE.jpg|Kushan worshipper with [[Pharro]], Bactria, 3rd century AD.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> |File:ShivaOeshoBactria3rdCenturyCE.jpg|Kushan worshipper with Shiva/Oesho, Bactria, 3rd century CE.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> }} {{Gallery|align=center |title= Deities on Kushan coinage |lines= 4 |width= 160 |height= 140 |File:MahasenaHuvishka.jpg|Mahasena on a coin of Huvishka |File:CoinOfHuvishkaWithOisho.JPG|Four-faced Oesho |File:CoinOfHuvishkaWithRishtiAsRoma.JPG|Rishti |File:Manaobago.JPG|Manaobago |File:CoinOfHuvishkaWithPharro.JPG|Pharro |File:CoinOfHuvishkaWithArdochsho.JPG|Ardochsho |File:KanihkaIOishoShiva.jpg|Oesho or Shiva |File:KanihkaIOishoShivaCoin2.jpg|Oesho or Shiva with bull |File:SkandaAndVisakhaHuvishkaCoin.jpg|Skanda and Visakha |File:Coin of Kanishka I.jpg|Gold coin of Kanishka the Great, with a depiction of the Buddha, with the legend "Boddo" in Greek script;[[Ahin Posh]] |File:Dinar, Kushan Empire, Depiction of Hercules, 152-192 AD.jpg|Herakles. |File:AdshoCarnelianSeal.jpg|Kushan [[Carnelian]] seal representing the "ΑΔϷΟ" (''adsho'' Atar), with [[triratana]] symbol left, and Kanishka the Great's dynastic mark right |File:Coin of Kujula Kadphises.jpg|Buddha }} [[File:Four sets of Gold Coins of Vima Kadphises.jpg|thumb|none|510px|Kushan coins showing half-length bust of Vima Kadphises in various poses, holding mace-scepter or laurel branch in right hand; flames at shoulder, tamgha to right or left. On the other side of coin is a deity with a bull. Some consider the deity as Shiva because he is in ithyphallic state, holds a [[Trishula|trident]], and the [[Nandi (bull)|Nandi]] bull is his mount, as in Hindu mythology.<ref name="sino-platonic.org"/><ref name="Bopearachchi, O. 2007"/><ref>Perkins, J. (2007). Three-headed Śiva on the Reverse of Vima Kadphises's Copper Coinage. South Asian Studies, 23(1), 31-37</ref> Others suggest him as [[Oesho]], Zoroastrian [[Vayu-Vata|Vayu]].]] ==Kushans and Buddhism== [[File:Kanishka-Inaugurates-Mahyana-Buddhism.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Kanishka the Great]] inaugurates [[Mahayana Buddhism]].'' Illustration from 1910]] [[File:BuddhistTriad.JPG|thumb|Early Mahayana Buddhist triad. From left to right, a Kushan devotee, [[Maitreya]], the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]], [[Avalokitesvara]], and a Buddhist monk. 2nd–3rd century, Gandhara]] The Kushans inherited the [[Greco-Buddhist]] traditions of the [[Indo-Greek Kingdom]] they replaced, and their patronage of Buddhist institutions allowed them to grow as a commercial power.<ref>Xinru Liu, ''The Silk Road in World History'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), 42.</ref> Between the mid-1st century and the mid-3rd century, Buddhism, patronized by the Kushans, extended to China and other Asian countries through the [[Silk Road]]. Kanishka is renowned in Buddhist tradition for having convened a [[Buddhist Councils#The fourth Buddhist council|great Buddhist council]] in [[Kashmir]]. Along with his predecessors in the region, the Indo-Greek king [[Menander I]] (Milinda) and the Indian emperors [[Ashoka]] and [[Harsha|Harsha Vardhana]], Kanishka is considered by Buddhism as one of its greatest benefactors. During the 1st century AD, Buddhist books were being produced and carried by monks, and their trader patrons. Also, monasteries were being established along these land routes that went from China and other parts of Asia. With the development of Buddhist books, it caused a new written language called Gandhara. Gandhara consists of eastern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan. Scholars are said to have found many Buddhist scrolls that contained the Gandhari language.<ref>Xinru Liu, ''The Silk Road in World History'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), 58.</ref> The reign of Huvishka corresponds to the first known epigraphic evidence of the Buddha [[Amitabha]], on the bottom part of a 2nd-century statue which has been found in Govindo-Nagar, and now at the [[Mathura, Uttar Pradesh|Mathura]] Museum. The statue is dated to "the 28th year of the reign of Huvishka", and dedicated to "Amitabha Buddha" by a family of merchants. There is also some evidence that Huvishka himself was a follower of [[Mahayana Buddhism|Mahāyāna Buddhism]]. A [[Sanskrit]] manuscript fragment in the [[Schoyen Collection|Schøyen Collection]] describes Huvishka as one who has "set forth in the Mahāyāna."<ref>Neelis, Jason. ''Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks.'' 2010. p. 141</ref> ===Kushan art=== [[File:Taxila. Standing Female. 88.194.jpg|thumbnail|left|Standing Female, 1st century CE Terracotta. This lively female figure comes from an area of Pakistan where merchants from around the Mediterranean had long maintained trading posts. The area, known in antiquity as Gandhara, developed an unusual hybrid style of art and culture that was at once Hellenic and Indic. [[Brooklyn Museum]]]] The art and culture of Gandhara, at the crossroads of the Kushan hegemony, continued the traditions of [[Greco-Buddhist art]] and are the best known expressions of Kushan influences to Westerners. Several direct depictions of Kushans are known from Gandhara, where they are represented with a tunic, belt and trousers and play the role of devotees to the Buddha, as well as the [[Bodhisattva]] and future Buddha Maitreya. During the Kushan Empire, many images of [[Gandhara]] share a strong resemblance to the features of Greek, Syrian, Persian and Indian figures. These Western-looking stylistic signatures often include heavy drapery and curly hair,<ref name=BMA>{{cite book|last=[[Birmingham Museum of Art]]|title=Birmingham Museum of Art: guide to the collection|year=2010|publisher=Birmingham Museum of Art|location=[Birmingham, Ala]|isbn=978-1-904832-77-5|pages=51|url=http://artsbma.org}}</ref> representing a composite (the Greeks, for example, often possessed curly hair). In the iconography, they are never associated however with the very Hellenistic "Standing Buddha" statues, which might therefore correspond to an earlier historical period. ==Contacts with Rome== {{Main|Roman trade with India}} [[File:BegramGladiator.JPG|thumb|150px|Greco-Roman [[gladiator]] on a glass vessel, Begram, 2nd century]] Several Roman sources describe the visit of ambassadors from the Kings of Bactria and India during the 2nd century, probably referring to the Kushans. [[File:TrajanCoinAhinposhBuddhistMonasteryAfghanistan.jpg|thumb|left|130px|Coin of the Roman Emperor [[Trajan]], found together with coins of Kanishka the Great at the [[Ahin Posh]] Monastery]] [[Historia Augusta]], speaking of [[Hadrian|Emperor Hadrian]] (117–138) tells: {{quote|''Reges Bactrianorum legatos ad eum, amicitiae petendae causa, supplices miserunt'' "The kings of the Bactrians sent supplicant ambassadors to him, to seek his friendship."}} Also in 138, according to [[Aurelius Victor]] (''Epitome''‚ XV, 4), and [[Appian]] (''Praef.'', 7), [[Antoninus Pius]], successor to Hadrian, received some Indian, Bactrian, and [[Hyrcanian]] ambassadors. {{quote|"Precious things from ''Da Qin'' [the Roman Empire] can be found there [in Tianzhu or Northwestern India], as well as fine [[cotton]] cloths, fine wool carpets, perfumes of all sorts, [[sugar candy]], [[Black pepper|pepper]], [[ginger]], and black salt."|Hou Hanshu<ref>Hill (2009), p. 31.</ref>}} The summer capital of the Kushan Empire in Begram has yielded a considerable amount of goods imported from the Roman Empire--in particular, various types of glassware. ==Contacts with China== [[File:Eurasia in 2nd Century.png|thumb|Map showing the four empires of Eurasia in 2nd Century AD. Kushan shared a border with the Chinese empire of Han.]] [[File:KanishkaICoinFoundInKhotan.jpg|thumb|A bronze coin of Kanishka the Great found in [[Kingdom of Khotan|Khotan]], [[Tarim Basin]]]] During the 1st and 2nd century, the Kushan Empire expanded militarily to the north and occupied parts of the Tarim Basin, their original grounds, putting them at the center of the profitable Central Asian commerce with the Roman Empire. They are related to have collaborated militarily with the Chinese against nomadic incursion, particularly when they collaborated with the [[Han Dynasty]] general [[Ban Chao]] against the Sogdians in 84, when the latter were trying to support a revolt by the king of Kashgar.<ref name="de crespigny 2007 5-6">de Crespigny, Rafe. (2007). ''A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220&nbsp;AD)''. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill. page 5-6. {{ISBN|90-04-15605-4}}.</ref> Around 85, they also assisted the Chinese general in an attack on [[Turpan]], east of the Tarim Basin. [[File:Lokaksema.jpg|thumb|140px|left|The Kushan Buddhist monk [[Lokaksema (Buddhist monk)|Lokaksema]], first known translator of Buddhist [[Mahayana]] scriptures into Chinese, c. 170]] In recognition for their support to the Chinese, the Kushans requested a Han princess, but were denied,<ref name="de crespigny 2007 5-6"/><ref name=torday1997-393>Torday, Laszlo. (1997). ''Mounted Archers: The Beginnings of Central Asian History''. Durham: The Durham Academic Press. page 393. {{ISBN|1-900838-03-6}}.</ref> even after they had sent presents to the Chinese court. In retaliation, they marched on Ban Chao in 86 with a force of 70,000, but were defeated by a smaller Chinese force.<ref name="de crespigny 2007 5-6"/><ref name=torday1997-393/> The Yuezhi retreated and paid tribute to the Chinese Empire during the reign of emperor [[Emperor He of Han China|He of Han]] (89–106). Later, around 116, the Kushans under Kanishka established a kingdom centered on Kashgar, also taking control of Khotan and Yarkand, which were Chinese dependencies in the Tarim Basin, modern Xinjiang. They introduced the [[Brāhmī script|Brahmi]] script, the Indian Prakrit language for administration, and expanded the influence of [[Greco-Buddhist art]] which developed into [[Serindian art]]. [[File:Eastern Han ingot imprints with barbarous Greek inscriptions.jpg|thumb|[[Eastern Han]] inscriptions on lead ingot, using barbarous Greek alphabet in the style of the [[Kushans]], excavated in [[Shaanxi]], 1st-2nd century CE.<ref>Joe Cribb, 1974, "Chinese lead ingots with barbarous Greek inscriptions in Coin Hoards" pp.76-8 [https://www.academia.edu/33859218/Chinese_lead_ingots_with_barbarous_Greek_inscriptions_in_Coin_Hoards_vol.IV_London_1978_pp.76-8?auto=download]</ref>]] The Kushans are again recorded to have sent presents to the Chinese court in 158–159 during the reign of emperor [[Emperor Huan of Han China|Huan of Han]]. Following these interactions, cultural exchanges further increased, and Kushan Buddhist missionaries, such as [[Lokaksema (Buddhist monk)|Lokaksema]], became active in the Chinese capital cities of [[Loyang]] and sometimes [[Nanjing]], where they particularly distinguished themselves by their translation work. They were the first recorded promoters of Hinayana and Mahayana scriptures in China, greatly contributing to the [[Silk Road transmission of Buddhism]]. ==Decline== [[File:Hormizd I Kushanshah on the Naqsh-e Rustam Bahram II panel.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Hormizd I Kushanshah]] (277-286 CE), king of the [[Indo-Sasanians]], maintained [[Sasanian]] rule in former Kushan territories of the northwest. [[Naqsh-e Rustam]] [[Bahram II]] panel.]] After the death of Vasudeva I in 225, the Kushan empire split into western and eastern halves. The Western Kushans (in Afghanistan) were soon subjugated by the Persian [[Sasanian Empire]] and lost [[Sogdiana]], [[Bactria]], and [[Gandhara]] to them. The Sasanians deposed the Western dynasty and replaced them with Persian vassals known as the [[Kushansha]]s (also called [[Indo-Sasanians]] or [[Kushano-Sasanians]]). The Eastern Kushan kingdom was based in the Punjab. Around 270 their territories on the Gangetic plain became independent under local dynasties such as the [[Yaudheyas]]. Then in the mid-4th century they were subjugated by the Gupta Empire under [[Samudragupta]]. In 360 a [[Kidarites|Kidarite Hun]] named [[Kidara]] overthrew the [[Indo-Sasanians]] and remnants of the old Kushan dynasty, and established the [[Kidarite Kingdom]]. The Kushan style of Kidarite coins indicates they claimed Kushan heritage. The Kidarite seem to have been rather prosperous, although on a smaller scale than their Kushan predecessors. These remnants of the Kushan empire were ultimately wiped out in the 5th century by the invasions of the [[Hephthalites]], the [[Alchon Huns]] and the [[Nezak Huns]] in the northwest, and the rise of the [[Gupta Empire]] in the east. ==Rulers== [[File:KushanTamgas.gif|upright=1.5|thumb|Listing of Kushan royal [[tamgas]]]] *[[Heraios]] (c. 1 – 30), first Kushan ruler, generally Kushan ruling period is disputed *[[Kujula Kadphises]] (c. 30 – c. 80) *[[Vima Takto]] (c. 80 – c. 95), alias Soter Megas or "Great Saviour." *[[Vima Kadphises]] (c. 95 – c. 127) the first great Kushan emperor *[[Kanishka the Great]] (127 – c. 140) *[[Vāsishka]] (c. 140 – c. 160) *[[Huvishka]] (c. 160 – c. 190) *[[Vasudeva I]] (c. 190 – to at least 230), the last of the great Kushan emperors *[[Kanishka II]] (c. 230 – 240) *[[Vashishka]] (c. 240 – 250) *[[Kanishka III]] (c. 250 – 275) *[[Vasudeva II]] (c. 275 – 310) **[[Vasudeva III]] reported son of Vasudeva II, a King, uncertain.<ref name="Katariya"/> **[[Vasudeva IV]] reported possible child of Vasudeva III, ruling in Kandahar, uncertain.<ref name="Katariya"/> **[[Vasudeva V]], or "Vasudeva of Kabul", reported possible child of Vasudeva IV, ruling in Kabul, uncertain.<ref name="Katariya">[https://books.google.com/books?id=P7TpDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA69 The Glorious History of Kushana Empire, Adesh Katariya, 2012, p.69]</ref> *[[Chhu]] (c. 310? – 325?)<ref name="Katariya"/> *[[Shaka I]] (c. 325 – 345)<ref name="Katariya"/> *[[Kipunada]] (c. 345 – 375)<ref name="Katariya"/> ==See also== *[[Ancient history of Afghanistan]] *[[Indo-Parthian Kingdom]] *[[Kucha]], another Tocharian-speaking kingdom (with [[Kucha#Etymology of Kucha|a related etymology]]) *[[History of Pakistan]] *[[Mathura]] *[[Taxila]] ==Notes== [[File:Kushan devotee Mathura.jpg|thumb|Kushan devotee, Mathura]] {{History of India}} {{History of Afghanistan}} {{History of Tajikistan}} {{Reflist|30em}} ==References== {{Refbegin|40em}} *{{cite book|last=Avari |first=Burjor |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=India: The Ancient Past|year=2007 |publisher=Routledge|location=London |isbn= 978-0-415-35616-9}} *{{cite book |last= Bopearachchi |first= Osmund |authorlink= Bopearachchi |coauthors= |title= De l'Indus à l'Oxus, Archéologie de l'Asie Centrale |year= 2003 |publisher= Association imago-musée de Lattes |location= Lattes |language= French |isbn= 2-9516679-2-2 }} *{{cite book|title=Trois Généraux Chinois de la dynastie des Han Orientaux. Pan Tch'ao (32–102 p.C.); – son fils Pan Yong; – Leang K'in (112 p.C.). Chapitre LXXVII du ''Heou Han chou''.|year=1906|first=Édouard|last=Chavannes|publisher=T'oung pao'' 7}} *Faccenna, Domenico (1980). Butkara I (Swāt, Pakistan) 1956–1962, Volume III 1 (in English). Rome: IsMEO (Istituto Italiano Per Il Medio Ed Estremo Oriente). *{{cite book|title=Les pays d'occident d'après le ''Heou Han chou''|year=1907|first=Édouard|last=Chavannes|publisher=''T'oung pao'' 8. pp. 149–244.}} *{{cite book |last1=Enoki |first1=K. |author-link1= |last2=Koshelenko |first2=G. A. |author-link2= |last3=Haidary |first3=Z. |author-link3= |chapter=The Yu'eh-chih and their migrations |editor1-last=Harmatta |editor1-first=János |editor1-link=János Harmatta |date=1 January 1994 |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The Development of Sedentary and Nomadic Civilizations, 700 B. C. to A. D. 250 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9U6RlVVjpakC |location= |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |pages=171–191 |isbn=9231028464 |access-date=29 May 2015 |ref=harv}} *Falk, Harry. 1995–1996. ''Silk Road Art and Archaeology IV''. *Falk, Harry. 2001. "The yuga of Sphujiddhvaja and the era of the {{IAST|Kuṣāṇas}}." ''Silk Road Art and Archaeology VII'', pp.&nbsp;121–136. *Falk, Harry. 2004. "The {{IAST|Kaniṣka}} era in Gupta records." Harry Falk. ''Silk Road Art and Archaeology X'', pp.&nbsp;167–176. *{{cite book |first=Peter B. |last=Golden |title=An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples |publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag |year=1992 |ref=harv}} *Goyal, S. R. "Ancient Indian Inscriptions" Kusumanjali Book World, Jodhpur (India), 2005. *Hill, John E. 2004. ''The Peoples of the West from the Weilüe'' 魏略 ''by Yu Huan'' 魚豢'': A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE.'' Draft annotated English translation. [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html] *{{cite book|title=Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, First to Second Centuries CE|year=2009|first=John E.|last=Hill|publisher=BookSurge|isbn=978-1-4392-2134-1}} *{{cite book|last=Lebedynsky |first=Iaroslav|authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Les Saces|year=2006 |publisher=Editions Errance |location=Paris |isbn=2-87772-337-2}} *{{cite book |last1=Loewe |first1=Michael |last2=Shaughnessy |first2=Edward L. |authorlink1=Michael Loewe |authorlink2=Edward L. Shaughnessy |title=The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cHA7Ey0-pbEC |year=1999 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |location= |isbn=0-5214-7030-7 |pages= |accessdate=2013-11-01 |ref=harv}} *{{cite book |last=Mallory |first=J. P. |authorlink=J. P. Mallory |date=1989 |title=In Search of the Indo-Europeans: Language, Archaeology, and Myth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wLeYkgEACAAJ |location= |publisher=[[Thames & Hudson|Thames and Hudson]] |page= |isbn=050005052X |access-date=29 May 2015 |ref=harv}} *{{cite book |last=Mallory |first=J. P. |authorlink=J. P. Mallory |date=1997 |title=Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tzU3RIV2BWIC |location= |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |page= |isbn=1884964982 |access-date=29 May 2015 |ref=harv}} *{{cite journal |last= Mallory |first= J. P. |author-link= J. P. Mallory |last2= Mair |first2= Victor H. |author2-link= Victor H. Mair |year= 2000 |title= The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West |place= London |publisher= Thames & Hudson |isbn= 0-500-05101-1 |ref= harv |postscript= <!--None-->}}. *{{cite book |last=Pulleyblank |first=Edwin G. |authorlink=Edwin G. Pulleyblank |date=1966 |title=Chinese and Indo-Europeans |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EOytGwAACAAJ |location= |publisher=[[UBC Department of Asian Studies|University of British Columbia, Department of Asian Studies]] |page= |isbn= |access-date=February 14, 2015 |ref=harv}} *{{cite book|last=Rosenfield |first=John M.|authorlink= |coauthors= |title=The Dynastic Art of the Kushans |year=1993 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal |location=New Delhi |isbn=81-215-0579-8}} *{{cite book|series= |last=Sivaramamurti |first=C. |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Śatarudrīya: Vibhūti of Śiva's Iconography |year=1976 |publisher= Abhinav Publications|location=Delhi|isbn=}} *[[Jean-Paul Roux|Roux, Jean-Paul]], ''L'Asie Centrale, Histoire et Civilization'' (French), Fayard, 1997, {{ISBN|978-2-213-59894-9}} *"Red Sandstone Railing Pillar." ''The British Museum Quarterly'', vol. 30, no. 1/2, 1965, pp.&nbsp;64–64. www.jstor.org/stable/4422925. *Masson, V. M. "The Forgotten Kushan Empire: New Discoveries at Zar-Tepe." ''Archaeology'', vol. 37, no. 1, 1984, pp.&nbsp;32–37. www.jstor.org/stable/41728802. *Hoey, W. "The Word Kozola as Used of Kadphises on Ku͟s͟hān Coins." ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland'', 1902, pp.&nbsp;428–429. www.jstor.org/stable/25208419. *{{cite book |last=West |first=Barbara A. |authorlink= |title=Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania |language= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pCiNqFj3MQsC |date=January 1, 2009 |publisher=[[Infobase Publishing]] |location= |page= |pages= |isbn=1438119135 |accessdate=2015-05-29 |ref=harv}} {{Refend}} ==Further reading== {{Refbegin|40em}} *{{cite book |last=Benjamin |first=Craig |authorlink=Craig Benjamin |date=2007 |title=The Yuezhi: Origin, Migration and the Conquest of Northern Bactria |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VT1uAAAAMAAJ |location= |publisher=ISD |page= |isbn=250352429X |access-date=29 May 2015 |ref=harv}} *Dorn'eich, Chris M. (2008). ''Chinese sources on the History of the Niusi-Wusi-Asi (oi)-Rishi (ka)-Arsi-Arshi-Ruzhi and their Kueishuang-Kushan Dynasty. Shiji 110/Hanshu 94A: The Xiongnu: Synopsis of Chinese original Text and several Western Translations with Extant Annotations''. Berlin. To read or download go to: [http://chrisdorneich.tumblr.com/] *Foucher, M. A. 1901. "Notes sur la geographie ancienne du Gandhâra (commentaire à un chaptaire de Hiuen-Tsang)." ''BEFEO'' No. 4, Oct. 1901, pp.&nbsp;322–369. *Hargreaves, H. (1910–11): "Excavations at Shāh-jī-kī Dhērī"; ''Archaeological Survey of India, 1910–11'', pp.&nbsp;25–32. *Iloliev, A. "King of Men: ῾Ali ibn Abi Talib in Pamiri Folktales." Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies, vol. 8 no. 3, 2015, pp.&nbsp;307–323. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/isl.2015.0036. *[[János Harmatta|Harmatta, János]], ed., 1994. ''History of civilizations of Central Asia, Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizations: 700&nbsp;B.C. to A.D. 250''. Paris, UNESCO Publishing. *Kennedy, J. "The Later Kushans." ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland'', 1913, pp.&nbsp;1054–1064. www.jstor.org/stable/25189078. *Konow, Sten. Editor. 1929. ''Kharoshthī Inscriptions with Exception of those of Asoka''. Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol. II, Part I. Reprint: Indological Book House, Varanasi, 1969. *{{cite book |author= Lerner, Martin |title= ''The flame and the lotus: Indian and Southeast Asian art from the Kronos collections'' |location=New York |publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |year=1984 |url=http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/105494 |isbn=0-87099-374-7}} *Litvinsky, B. A., ed., 1996. ''History of civilizations of Central Asia, Volume III. The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750''. Paris, UNESCO Publishing. *Liu, Xinru 2001 "Migration and Settlement of the Yuezhi-Kushan: Interaction and Interdependence of Nomadic and Sedentary Societies." ''[[Journal of World History]]'', Volume 12, No. 2, Fall 2001. University of Hawaii Press, pp.&nbsp;261–292. [http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/jwh/]. *Rife, J. L. "The Making of Roman India by Grant Parker (review)." American Journal of Philology, vol. 135 no. 4, 2014, pp.&nbsp;672–675. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/ajp.2014.0046. *[[Viktor Sarianidi|Sarianidi, Viktor]]. 1985. ''The Golden Hoard of Bactria: From the Tillya-tepe Excavations in Northern Afghanistan''. [[Harry N. Abrams, Inc.]] New York. *Sims-Williams, Nicholas. 1998. "Further notes on the Bactrian inscription of Rabatak, with an Appendix on the names of Kujula Kadphises and Vima Taktu in Chinese." ''Proceedings of the Third European Conference of Iranian Studies Part 1: Old and Middle Iranian Studies''. Edited by Nicholas Sims-Williams. Wiesbaden. 1998, pp.&nbsp;79–93. *Spooner, D. B. 1908–9. "Excavations at Shāh-jī-kī Dhērī."; ''Archaeological Survey of India'', 1908–9, pp.&nbsp;38–59. *Watson, Burton. Trans. 1993. ''Records of the Grand Historian of China: Han Dynasty II.'' Translated from the ''[[Shiji]]'' of [[Sima Qian]]. Chapter 123: "The Account of [[Dayuan]]", Columbia University Press. Revised Edition. {{ISBN|0-231-08166-9}}; {{ISBN|0-231-08167-7}} (pbk.) *Zürcher, E. (1968). "The Yüeh-chih and Kaniṣka in the Chinese sources." ''Papers on the Date of Kaniṣka''. Basham, A. L., ed., 1968. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp.&nbsp;346–393. {{Refend}} ==External links== {{Commons category|Kushan Empire}} *[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/325483/Kushan-dynasty Kushan dynasty] in [[Encyclopædia Britannica]] *[http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/kush/hd_kush.htm Metropolitan Museum capsule history] *{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050204064550/http://www.grifterrec.com/coins/kushan/kushan.html |title=New documents help fix controversial Kushan dating |date=2005-02-04}} *[http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/indo_scythians/i.html Coins of the Kushans on wildwinds.com] *{{webarchive |url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20130207084302/http://home.comcast.net/~pankajtandon/home.html |title=Antique Indian Coins |date=2013-02-07}} *[http://www.kushan.org/ Brief Guide to Kushan History] *[http://coinindia.com/galleries-kushan.html The CoinIndia Online Catalogue of Kushan Coins] *[http://www.kushan.org/ Dedicated resource to study of Kushan Empire] {{Ancient South Asia and Central Asia}} {{Middle kingdoms of India}} {{Empires}} {{Kushan Empire|state=collapsed}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Ancient history of Afghanistan]] [[Category:Ancient history of Pakistan]] [[Category:Buddhism in Afghanistan]] [[Category:Buddhism in India]] [[Category:Buddhism in Pakistan]] [[Category:Dynasties of India]] [[Category:Empires and kingdoms of India]] [[Category:Former empires in Asia]] [[Category:Iranian empires]] [[Category:History of Buddhism]] [[Category:History of Tajikistan]] [[Category:Lists of monarchs]] [[Category:Nomadic groups in Eurasia]] [[Category:Yuezhi]] [[Category:1st-century establishments in India]] [[Category:375 disestablishments]] [[Category:4th-century disestablishments in India]]'