Kushan Empire

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See Kushan (Homeworld) for the "Homeworld" exiles.

Kushan Empire

Territories (full line) and expansion (dotted line, according to the Rabatak inscription) of the Kushan Empire at its greatest extent.
Languages	Bactrian (Greek script) Greek (Greek script) Pali (Kharoshthi script) Sanskrit, Prakrit (Brahmi script) Possibly Aramaic
Religions	Iranian religions Buddhism Ancient Greek religion Hinduism Zoroastrianism
Capitals	Begram Taxila Mathura
Area	Central Asia Northwestern Indian subcontinent
Existed	60 – 375 CE

The Kushan Empire (c. 1st–3rd centuries) was a state that at its height, about 105–250, stretched from what is now Tajikistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan and down into the Ganges river valley in northern India. The empire was created by the Kushan tribe of the Yuezhi confederation, an Indo-European people from the eastern Tarim Basin and Gansu, China, possibly related to the Tocharians. They had diplomatic contacts with Rome, Persia and China, and for several centuries were at the center of exchange between the East and the West.

[edit] Origins

Chinese sources describe the Guishuang (Ch: 貴霜), i.e. the "Kushans", as one of the five aristocratic tribes of the Yuezhi (Ch: 月氏), a loose confederation of Indo-European peoples. The Yuezhi are also generally considered as the easternmost speakers of Indo-European languages, who had been living in the arid grasslands of eastern Central Asia, in modern-day Xinjiang and Gansu, possibly speaking versions of the Tocharian language, until they were driven west by the Xiongnu in 176–160 BCE. The five tribes constituting the Yuezhi are known in Chinese history as Xiūmì (Ch: 休密), Guishuang (Ch: 貴霜), Shuangmi (Ch: 雙靡), Xidun (Ch: 肸頓), and Dūmì (Ch: 都密).

The Yuezhi reached the Hellenic kingdom of Greco-Bactria, in the Bactrian territory (northernmost Afghanistan and Uzbekistan) around 135 BCE, and displaced the Greek dynasties there, who resettled in Indus basin (in present day Pakistan) in the western part of the Indo-Greek Kingdom.

[edit] A multi-cultural Empire

In the following century, 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.

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").

Gradually wresting control of the area from the Scythian tribes, the Kushans expanded south into the region traditionally known as Gandhara (An area lying primarily in Pakistan's Pothowar, and NWFP region but going in an arc to include Kabul valley and part of Qandahar in Afghanistan) and established twin capitals near present-day Kabul and Peshawar then known as Kapisa and Pushklavati respectively.

The Kushan writing system used the Greek alphabet, with the addition of the letter Sho (here in majuscule and minuscule), used to represent the Kushan sound "Sh".

The Kushans adopted elements of the Hellenistic culture of Bactria. They adapted the Greek alphabet (often corrupted) 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, they used Kushan language legends (in an adapted Greek script), combined with legends in Greek (Greek script) and legends in Pali (Kharoshthi script).

The Kushans are believed to have been predominantly Zoroastrian and later Buddhist as well. However, from the time of Wima Takto, many Kushans started adopting aspects of Indian culture like the other nomadic groups who had invaded India, principally the Royal clans of Gujjars. Like the Macedonians and Egyptians they absorbed the strong remnants of the Greek Culture of the Hellenistic Kingdoms, becoming at least partly Hellenised. The first great Kushan emperor Wima Kadphises may have embraced Saivism, 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 oversaw 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.

[edit] Territorial expansion

The Kushan ruled in Bactria and parts of Sogdiana, and had monuments built, such as the religious complex of Surkh Kotal. On the ruins of ancient Hellenistic cities such as Ai-Khanoum, they are known to have built fortresses. Their summer capital is thought to have been at Begram, in the Hindu Kush.

In heartland India, Kushan rule extended along the valley of the Ganges, with their winter capital being in Mathura. The lines 4 to 7 of the Rabatak inscription describe the cities which were under the rule of Kanishka, among which five names are identifiable: Kundina, Saketa, Kausambi, Pataliputra, and Champa (although the text is not clear whether Champa was a possession of Kanishka or just beyond it).^[1]

Northward, the Kushan made various forays into the Tarim Basin, seemingly the original ground of their ancestors the Yuezhi, where they had various contacts with the Chinese.

[edit] Main Kushan rulers

Silver tetradrachm of Kushan king Heraios (1–30).

[edit] Heraios (1-30)

Heraios was probably the first of the Kushan kings. He may have been an ally of the Greeks, and he shared the same style of coinage. Heraios was probably the father of Kujula Kadphises.

[edit] Kujula Kadphises (30-80)

According to the Hou Hanshu: "the prince (xihou) of Guishuang (Badakhshan and the adjoining territories north of the Oxus), named Kujula Kadphises (Ch:丘就却, "Qiujiuque") attacked and exterminated the four other princes (xihou). He set himself up as king of a kingdom called Guishuang."^[2]

Tetradrachm of Kujula Kadphises (30-80 CE) in the style of Hermaeus.

He invaded Anxi (Parthia) and took the Gaofu (Kabul) region. He also defeated the whole of the kingdoms of Puda, and Jibin (Kapisha-Gandhara). Qiujiuque (Kujula Kadphises) was more than eighty years old when he died."

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, Sadaṣkaṇa (who is known from only two inscriptions, especially the Rabatak inscription, and apparently never have ruled), and seemingly Vima Taktu.

Kujula Kadphises was the great grandfather of Kanishka.

[edit] Vima Taktu (80-105)

Bronze coin of Vima Takto. Corrupted Greek legend ΒΑϹΙΛΕΥ ΒΑϹΙΛΕΥΩΝ ϹΩΤΗΡ [ΓΗΕ.] "Basileu[s] Basileuōn Sōtēr [Megas?]": "The King of Kings, [Great?] Saviour".

Vima Takt[u] (or Tak[to]) is not mentioned in the Rabatak inscription (Sadashkana is instead. See also the reference to Sims-William's article below). He was the predecessor of Vima Kadphises, and Kanishka I. He expanded the Kushan Empire into the northwest of the Indian subcontinent. The Hou Hanshu says:

"His [Kujula Kadphises'] son, Yangaozhen (Vima Taktu), became king in his place. He conquered Tianzhu (Northwestern India) and installed a General 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."^[3]

[edit] Vima Kadphises (105-127)

Vima Kadphises.

Vima Kadphises (Kushan language:ΟΟΗΜΟ ΚΑΔΦΙϹΗϹ, Ancient Chinese:阎膏珍) was a Kushan emperor from around 90-100 CE, the son of Sadashkana 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 India. He issued an extensive series of coins and inscriptions. He was the first to introduce gold coinage in India, in addition to the existing copper and silver coinage.

[edit] Kanishka I (127-147)

Kanishka I.

The rule of Kanishka I (कनिश्क), the second great Kushan emperor, fifth Kushan king, who flourished for at least 28 years from c. 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:

"In the year one, it has been proclaimed unto India, unto the whole realm of the governing class, including Koonadeano (Kaundinya< 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.

The Qila Mubarak fort at Bathinda was built by Kanishka.

His territory was administered from two capitals: Purushapura (now Peshawar in northern 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.

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.^[4][5] Kanishka's era was used as a calendar reference by the Kushans for about a century, until the decline of the Kushan realm.

[edit] Vāsishka

Vāsishka was a Kushan emperor, who seems to have a short 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.

[edit] Huvishka (140-183)

Huvishka (Kushan: ΟΟΗϷΚΙ, "Ooishki") was a Kushan emperor from the death of Kanishka (assumed on the best evidence available to be in 140 CE) until the succession of Vasudeva I about forty 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.

[edit] Vasudeva I (191-225)

Gold coin of Vasudeva I.

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 CE. He was the last great Kushan emperor, and the end of his rule coincides with the invasion of the Sassanids as far as northwestern India, and the establishment of the Indo-Sassanids or Kushanshahs from around 240 CE.

[edit] The Kushans and Buddhism

Kushan devotee in the traditional costume with tunic and boots, 2nd century, Gandhara.

Stupas under the Kushan became less decorative and were rather roughly built compared to their predecessors (see Indo-Scythian stupas). They were modified so as to allow circambulation around roughly positionned narrative Buddhist friezes. Butkara stupa, Swat.^[6]

Cultural exchanges also flourished, encouraging the development of Greco-Buddhism, a fusion of Hellenistic and Buddhist cultural elements, that was to expand into central and northern Asia as Mahayana Buddhism.

Kanishka is renowned in Buddhist tradition for having convened a great Buddhist council in Kashmir. Kanishka also had the original Gandhari vernacular, or Prakrit, Buddhist texts translated into the language of Sanskrit. Along with the Indian emperors Ashoka and Harsha Vardhana and the Indo-Greek king Menander I (Milinda), Kanishka is considered by Buddhism as one of its greatest benefactors.

An early Mahayana Buddhist triad. From left to right, a Kushan devotee, the Bodhisattva Maitreya, the Buddha, the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, and a Buddhist monk. 2nd-3rd century, Gandhara.

[edit] Depiction of Kushan devotees in the art of Gandhara

The art and culture of Gandhara, at the crossroads of the Kushan hegemony, 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.

In the iconography, they are never associated however with the very Hellenistic "Standing Buddha" statues (See image), which might therefore correspond to an earlier historical period. The style of these friezes incorporating Kushan devotees is already strongly Indianized, quite remote from earlier Hellenistic depictions of the Buddha:

Gold coin of Kanishka I, with a depiction of the Buddha, with the legend "Boddo" in Greek script.	Kushan costume.	Detail of the face of a Kushan devotee.	Flaming Buddha with Kushan devotees around Maitreya.
Maitreya, with Kushan devotee couple. 2nd century Gandhara.	Detail of Kushan devotee.	Maitreya, with Kushan devotees, left and right. 2nd century Gandhara.	Maitreya, with Indian (left) and Kushan (right) devotees.
Kushans worshipping the Buddha's bowl. 2nd century Gandhara.	The "Kanishka casket", with the Buddha surrounded by Brahma and Indra, and Kanishka on the lower part, 127.	Buddha triad and kneeling Kushan devotee couple. 3rd century.	Depictions of the Buddha in the coinage of Kanishka.
Stucco head of a Kushan man. Gandhara.

[edit] Contacts with Rome

A 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.

Historia Augusta, speaking of Emperor Hadrian (117–138) tells:

"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 (Kushan) and Hyrcanian ambassadors.

The Chinese Historical Chronicle of the Hou Hanshu also describes the exchange of goods between northwestern India and the Roman Empire at that time: "To the west (Tiazhu, northwestern India) communicates with Da Qin (the Roman Empire). Precious things from Da Qin can be found there, as well as fine cotton cloths, excellent wool carpets, perfumes of all sorts, sugar loaves, pepper, ginger, and black salt."

The summer capital of the Kushan in Begram has yielded a considerable amount of goods imported from the Roman Empire, in particular various types of glassware.

[edit] Contacts with China

The Kushan Buddhist monk Lokaksema, first known translator of Buddhist Mahayana scriptures into Chinese, circa 170.

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 Chinese general Ban Chao against the Sogdians in 84, when the latter were trying to support a revolt by the king of Kashgar. Around 85, they also assisted the Chinese general in an attack on Turfan, east of the Tarim Basin.

In recognition for their support to the Chinese, the Kushans requested, but were denied, a Han princess, 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, exhausted by the expedition, were finally defeated by the smaller Chinese force. The Yuezhi retreated and paid tribute to the Chinese Empire during the reign of the Chinese emperor Han He (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 Brahmi script, the Indian Prakrit language for administration, and expanded the influence of Greco-Buddhist art which developed into Serindian art.

The Kushans are again recorded to have sent presents to the Chinese court in 158–159 during the reign of the Chinese emperor Han Huan.

Following these interactions, cultural exhanges further increased, and Kushan Buddhist missionaries, such as 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.

[edit] Decline

Gold dinar of Kushan king Kanishka II (200–220)

Late Kushan ruler Shaka I (325-345).

From the 3rd century the Kushan empire began to fragment.

Around 225 Vasudeva I died and the Kushan empire was divided into western and eastern halves. Around 224–240, the Sassanids invaded Bactria and Northern India, where they are known as the Indo-Sassanids.

Around 270, the Kushans lost their territories on the Gangetic plain, where the Gupta Empire was established around 320 and to the Sassanids during Shapur II's reign, notably the area that comprises Afghanistan.

During the middle of the 4th century a Kushan vassal, named Kidara, rose to power and overthrew the old Kushan dynasty. He created a kingdom known as the Kidarite Kingdom, although he probably considered himself a Kushan, as indicated by the Kushan style of his coins. 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 White Huns, and later the expansion of Islam.

[edit] In fiction

The Kushan Empire was used to represent a dystopian demonic empire within the hugely popular Berserk manga. Its culture is based on that of ancient and medieval India, which was the cultural centre of the real Kushan Empire, including Indian weapons such as chakrams, katars and urumis, and martial arts similar to Kalarippayattu, but adapted for the nihilistic setting. In this fictional setting it is ruled by the Emperor Ganishka, a name based upon the real Kushan Emperor Kanishka.

[edit] Main Kushan rulers

• Heraios (c. 1 – 30), first Kushan ruler, generally Kushan ruling period is disputed
• Kujula Kadphises (c. 30 – c. 80)
• Vima Takto, (c. 80 – c. 105) alias Soter Megas or "Great Saviour."
• Vima Kadphises (c. 105 – c. 127) the first great Kushan emperor
• Kanishka I (127 – c. 147)
• Vāsishka (c. 151 – c. 155)
• Huvishka (c. 155 – c. 187)
• Vasudeva I (c. 191 – to at least 230), the last of the great Kushan emperors
• Kanishka II (c. 226 – 240)
• Vashishka (c. 240 – 250)
• Kanishka III (c. 255 – 275)
• Vasudeva II (c. 290 – 310)
  • Vasudeva III reported son of Vasudeva III,a King,uncertain.
    • Vasudeva IV reported possible child of Vasudeva III,ruling in Kandahar,uncertain
      • Vasudeva of Kabul reported Possible child of Vasudeva IV,ruling in Kabul,uncertain.
• Chhu (c. 310? – 325?)
• Shaka I (c. 325 – 345)
• Kipunada (c. 350 – 375)

[edit] See also

• Gujjar
• Yuezhi
• Pre-Islamic period of Afghanistan
• Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
• Indo-Greek Kingdom
• Indo-Scythians
• Indo-Parthian Kingdom
• Indo-Sassanid
• Greco-Buddhism

[edit] External links

• Metropolitan Museum capsule history
• New documents help fix controversial Kushan dating
• Antique Indian Coins
• Brief Guide to Kushan History

[edit] References

• Falk, Harry. 2001. “The yuga of Sphujiddhvaja and the era of the Kuşâņas.” Silk Road Art and Archaeology VII, pp. 121–136.
• Falk, Harry. 2004. "The Kaniṣka era in Gupta records." Harry Falk. Silk Road Art and Archaeology X , pp. 167–176.
• Foucher, M. A. 1901. "Notes sur la geographie ancienne du Gandhâra (commentaire à un chaptaire de Hiuen-Tsang)." BEFEO No. 4, Oct. 1901, pp. 322–369.
• Hargreaves, H. (1910–11): "Excavations at Shāh-jī-kī Dhērī"; Archaeological Survey of India, 1910–11, pp. 25–32.
• Harmatta, János, ed., 1994. History of civilizations of Central Asia, Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizations: 700 B.C. to A.D. 250. Paris, UNESCO Publishing.
• Hill, John E. 2004. The Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu. Draft annotated English translation.[3]
• Hill, John E. 2004. The Peoples of the West from the Weilue 魏略 by Yu Huan 魚豢: A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE. Draft annotated English translation. [4]
• 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.
• 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. 261–292. [5].
• 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. 79-93.
• Spooner, D. B. 1908–9. "Excavations at Shāh-jī-kī Dhērī."; Archaeological Survey of India, 1908–9, pp. 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. 346-393.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ The Rabatak inscription
2. ^ Hill, John E. 2004. The Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu. Draft annotated English translation.[1]
3. ^ Hill, John E. 2004. The Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu. Draft annotated English translation.[2]
4. ^ Falk, Harry. 2001. “The yuga of Sphujiddhvaja and the era of the Kuşâņas.” Silk Road Art and Archaeology VII, pp. 121–136.
5. ^ Falk, Harry. 2004. "The Kaniṣka era in Gupta records." Harry Falk. Silk Road Art and Archaeology X , pp. 167–176.
6. ^ "Butkara I", Faccena