Post by AP Singh on Jan 14, 2010 13:12:55 GMT 5.5
The foundation of the Kushan state in the last years of the BC era and the first years of the AD era was an important development in the history of Central Asia and India. Sitting on the central nexus of the Silk Road, the Kushans were the primary vehicle of contact between East and West.
The Yuezhi migration and the chaos in which they came provided the backdrop for these events. In 130 – 126 BC the Indo-European Yuezhi arrived in the former Hellenic eastern frontier and overran the region, absorbing the last remnants of the Baktrian Kingdom and putting themselves in place as the new power brokers. The five separate kingdoms of the Yuezhi formed from the leading clans of the confederation then went their own way. Gaofu, the westernmost kingdom, began to raid into Ashkanian Iran (Parthia) around 124.
But this did not go on long before the Ashkanians struck back. Shahanshah Mithridates II fought back against the Yuezhi after the death of his predecessor (Artabanus I) at their hands. In 80 BC he successfully fought them off, and Gaofu fell under on and off Parthian influence for the next several decades. Meanwhile the other kingdoms were trying to advance south but where held back by the Indo-Saka. The descendants of the same Saka the Yuezhi had driven before them on their way west.
Nevertheless they still made inroads. In 70 BC Hermaios, the Indo-Hellene king of the Paropamisadai (modern eastern Afghanistan) died and control passed to the Yuezhi. Hinting at the possibility a marriage alliance had been made between the two powers. After this the record becomes confused and fuzzy between the warring states. However starting with the reign of Phraates IV in 38 BC in Parthia the Parthians became involved in the power struggle in India and pushed the Indo-Saka out. Gaofu now became a Parthian satellite state so thoroughly the historians of Han China cut them out of the list of Yuezhi states, and replaced them with another clan kingdom that had risen in that time.
In the first years of the new century the first move to unification was made. At the beginning of the 1st Century AD a new ruler arose in the kingdom of the Guishuang, Heraios. His greatest fame in the historical record is his claim to descend from the Indo-Hellene King Hermaios. We do not know much more about Heraios other than this. However it is certain that Heraios would have been witness to the loss of the Indian territories to the Parthian forces of the Ashkanian prince Gondophares around AD 20. Gondophares then broke off from Parthia to create his own kingdom in India. We are also aware the Guishuang had become the chief clan kingdom among the Yuezhi by this time. Whether or not Heraios was responsible for this or if he inherited this status is unknown. Heraios died around AD 30 and control passed to a man known as Kujula Kadphises, probably his son.
Kujula was the father of the Kushan Empire. Coming to power amid such circumstances, Kujula Kadphises was the outstanding figure of the times. While not much is known of him for certain we do know that Kujula was ambitious and not content to merely be the prince of one of five kingdoms. He desired a more centralized state and embarked on a campaign of unification. From the coinage record and other evidence it appears that this campaign covered about ten years, from 30 to 40. In the course of this war the Yuezhi under Kujula became embroiled in a conflict with Parthia over Gaofu. This ended with the conquest of the wayward kingdom. His new empire was named ‘Kushan’ by its Hellenic subjects as Kujula called himself Kushana on his coins in the Greek script. To which he added a new letter, Sho, to produce the ‘Sh’ in Kushana.
Like his father, Kujula made extensive efforts to tie himself to Hermaios, which endeared him to the Hellenes who lived under his rule. In AD 45 the Indo-Parthian king Gondophares died and Kujula Kadphises took advantage of the incompetence of his sons to seize Gondophares’ kingdom. This provided an effective launching board for future invasions.
As a result of these conquests Kujula added steadily more grandiose titles to his name. In new coinage modeled after the Roman silver standards of Caesar Augustus, Kujula Kadphises took the Iranian title of Shahanshah (Great King) and the Greek title of Megas Basileos (the same but in Koine Greek). Later kings following Kujula added a third form of the title in Kharosthi (a writing script derived from Aramaic used for several Indian languages), Maharajasa. When he died in AD 80 at over 80 years old the first Kushan Emperor had already created a strong state poised to control ‘the crossroads of the world’.
The second Kushan ruler was the son the first, Vima Takto. Much is still unclear about Vima Takto and his reign. In fact until the discovery of the Rabatak Inscription in modern Afghanistan not even his name was known. Just his two most popular titles: Shahanshah Megas Sotiros (The Great King, great Savior). Nevertheless we do know several important happenings that occurred under Vima Takto’s reign. The Chinese provide the most information about these happenings.
According to the Book of Later Han the son of Kujula Kadphises, whom they called Yan Gaozhen, conquered Tianzhu. This name was the title used by the Han by which they referred to the Indian northwest. This indicates that Vima Takto completed the conquest of the Indo-Parthian remnants, expanding beyond Gandhara. The Indo-Saka Western Satraps were possibly an invention of Vima Takto, to expand his control even further. This is considered because the Book of Later Han records the use of governor-generals in Tianzhu by the Kushans, and the Iranian satrapal institution could have been what they saw.
We are also aware from Chinese sources that in AD 84 the Han Court sent forth their general, Ban Chao to subdue the rebellion of the Han client king of Kashgar in the Tarim Basin. The Kushans, and before them the Yuezhi, had always maintained ties with China. Vima Takto provided both military and material aid to Ban Chao in his operations. Their greatest contribution was in checking the kingdoms of Sogdiana from interfering in the Tarim with the aid of their old allies, the city-state of Kangju. By 86 all of the Tarim Basin was under Han control, which provided much needed stability to the region and great benefits to the Kushans by trade.
In AD 90 Vima Takto died, and was succeeded by his son (or nephew) in turn, Vima Kadphises. Right off from the start of his reign the new Kushan ruler intended to capitalize on his father’s good relations with the Han by asking for a Han princess to wife under the heqin system of political peace marriages. When the Han refused Vima Kadphises turned on them and attacked Ban Chao. While the Kushans were defeated by the Han general they began to contest Han control of the Tarim Basin. Vima Kadphises’ actions began a long struggle for control between the empires that ended only with the eventual victory of the Kushans, but that is outside the scope of this article. Other military exploits under Vima Kadphises involve the Kushan conquest of Ferghana, bringing the Saka-Hellenic city-states of the region under his control. In India, Vima Kadphises expanded further south and west into the subcontinent and possibly went as far as Mathura, but this is unclear.
But Vima Kadphises’ most impressive accomplishments were civil, not military. In Central Asian and Indian history the reign of Vima Kadphises stands out for its economic prosperity and that it marks the beginning of the great melting pot of cultures that made the Kushan Empire what it was. Gold coinage, brought to the Kushans by Roman traders, first appeared under Vima Kadphises. These coins present a true to life portrait of the Kushan ruler, depicting him as a man with a face dominated by a large nose and a mole on one cheek. The Romans came to trade primarily by sea to the Indian ports of Barygaza and Barbarikon. This trade was vital to the Kushans as it sustained their predominantly Hellene urban population, which continued to produce exquisite artwork and other artifacts. This is turn fed into the already flourishing Silk Road trade from Han China, of which the Kushan Empire was the central hub.
This in turn led to the remarkable religious toleration of the Kushans. Ruling a large multi-ethnic empire required a measure of toleration by the Yuezhi nobility, but the Kushan dynasty took it to a new level. Not only were the Kushan Emperors personally tolerant but they encouraged religious diversity. Hinduism, Buddhism (predominately in Greek form), traditional Hellenic religion, Zoroastrianism and other older Iranian faiths all found fertile ground under the Kushans. This blending of religions contributed the Kushans’ great cultural wealth, which is still being unearthed in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and modern India.
In conclusion the founding years of the Kushan Empire are, while still mostly unknown, a fascinating time in Central Asian and Indian history. Vima Kadphises’ reign ended in around AD 100 and on that note we will close the article. The reign and life of his son, Kanishka, is the golden age of the Kushan Empire, marking the end of the first phase of its existence.
The Yuezhi migration and the chaos in which they came provided the backdrop for these events. In 130 – 126 BC the Indo-European Yuezhi arrived in the former Hellenic eastern frontier and overran the region, absorbing the last remnants of the Baktrian Kingdom and putting themselves in place as the new power brokers. The five separate kingdoms of the Yuezhi formed from the leading clans of the confederation then went their own way. Gaofu, the westernmost kingdom, began to raid into Ashkanian Iran (Parthia) around 124.
But this did not go on long before the Ashkanians struck back. Shahanshah Mithridates II fought back against the Yuezhi after the death of his predecessor (Artabanus I) at their hands. In 80 BC he successfully fought them off, and Gaofu fell under on and off Parthian influence for the next several decades. Meanwhile the other kingdoms were trying to advance south but where held back by the Indo-Saka. The descendants of the same Saka the Yuezhi had driven before them on their way west.
Nevertheless they still made inroads. In 70 BC Hermaios, the Indo-Hellene king of the Paropamisadai (modern eastern Afghanistan) died and control passed to the Yuezhi. Hinting at the possibility a marriage alliance had been made between the two powers. After this the record becomes confused and fuzzy between the warring states. However starting with the reign of Phraates IV in 38 BC in Parthia the Parthians became involved in the power struggle in India and pushed the Indo-Saka out. Gaofu now became a Parthian satellite state so thoroughly the historians of Han China cut them out of the list of Yuezhi states, and replaced them with another clan kingdom that had risen in that time.
In the first years of the new century the first move to unification was made. At the beginning of the 1st Century AD a new ruler arose in the kingdom of the Guishuang, Heraios. His greatest fame in the historical record is his claim to descend from the Indo-Hellene King Hermaios. We do not know much more about Heraios other than this. However it is certain that Heraios would have been witness to the loss of the Indian territories to the Parthian forces of the Ashkanian prince Gondophares around AD 20. Gondophares then broke off from Parthia to create his own kingdom in India. We are also aware the Guishuang had become the chief clan kingdom among the Yuezhi by this time. Whether or not Heraios was responsible for this or if he inherited this status is unknown. Heraios died around AD 30 and control passed to a man known as Kujula Kadphises, probably his son.
Kujula was the father of the Kushan Empire. Coming to power amid such circumstances, Kujula Kadphises was the outstanding figure of the times. While not much is known of him for certain we do know that Kujula was ambitious and not content to merely be the prince of one of five kingdoms. He desired a more centralized state and embarked on a campaign of unification. From the coinage record and other evidence it appears that this campaign covered about ten years, from 30 to 40. In the course of this war the Yuezhi under Kujula became embroiled in a conflict with Parthia over Gaofu. This ended with the conquest of the wayward kingdom. His new empire was named ‘Kushan’ by its Hellenic subjects as Kujula called himself Kushana on his coins in the Greek script. To which he added a new letter, Sho, to produce the ‘Sh’ in Kushana.
Like his father, Kujula made extensive efforts to tie himself to Hermaios, which endeared him to the Hellenes who lived under his rule. In AD 45 the Indo-Parthian king Gondophares died and Kujula Kadphises took advantage of the incompetence of his sons to seize Gondophares’ kingdom. This provided an effective launching board for future invasions.
As a result of these conquests Kujula added steadily more grandiose titles to his name. In new coinage modeled after the Roman silver standards of Caesar Augustus, Kujula Kadphises took the Iranian title of Shahanshah (Great King) and the Greek title of Megas Basileos (the same but in Koine Greek). Later kings following Kujula added a third form of the title in Kharosthi (a writing script derived from Aramaic used for several Indian languages), Maharajasa. When he died in AD 80 at over 80 years old the first Kushan Emperor had already created a strong state poised to control ‘the crossroads of the world’.
The second Kushan ruler was the son the first, Vima Takto. Much is still unclear about Vima Takto and his reign. In fact until the discovery of the Rabatak Inscription in modern Afghanistan not even his name was known. Just his two most popular titles: Shahanshah Megas Sotiros (The Great King, great Savior). Nevertheless we do know several important happenings that occurred under Vima Takto’s reign. The Chinese provide the most information about these happenings.
According to the Book of Later Han the son of Kujula Kadphises, whom they called Yan Gaozhen, conquered Tianzhu. This name was the title used by the Han by which they referred to the Indian northwest. This indicates that Vima Takto completed the conquest of the Indo-Parthian remnants, expanding beyond Gandhara. The Indo-Saka Western Satraps were possibly an invention of Vima Takto, to expand his control even further. This is considered because the Book of Later Han records the use of governor-generals in Tianzhu by the Kushans, and the Iranian satrapal institution could have been what they saw.
We are also aware from Chinese sources that in AD 84 the Han Court sent forth their general, Ban Chao to subdue the rebellion of the Han client king of Kashgar in the Tarim Basin. The Kushans, and before them the Yuezhi, had always maintained ties with China. Vima Takto provided both military and material aid to Ban Chao in his operations. Their greatest contribution was in checking the kingdoms of Sogdiana from interfering in the Tarim with the aid of their old allies, the city-state of Kangju. By 86 all of the Tarim Basin was under Han control, which provided much needed stability to the region and great benefits to the Kushans by trade.
In AD 90 Vima Takto died, and was succeeded by his son (or nephew) in turn, Vima Kadphises. Right off from the start of his reign the new Kushan ruler intended to capitalize on his father’s good relations with the Han by asking for a Han princess to wife under the heqin system of political peace marriages. When the Han refused Vima Kadphises turned on them and attacked Ban Chao. While the Kushans were defeated by the Han general they began to contest Han control of the Tarim Basin. Vima Kadphises’ actions began a long struggle for control between the empires that ended only with the eventual victory of the Kushans, but that is outside the scope of this article. Other military exploits under Vima Kadphises involve the Kushan conquest of Ferghana, bringing the Saka-Hellenic city-states of the region under his control. In India, Vima Kadphises expanded further south and west into the subcontinent and possibly went as far as Mathura, but this is unclear.
But Vima Kadphises’ most impressive accomplishments were civil, not military. In Central Asian and Indian history the reign of Vima Kadphises stands out for its economic prosperity and that it marks the beginning of the great melting pot of cultures that made the Kushan Empire what it was. Gold coinage, brought to the Kushans by Roman traders, first appeared under Vima Kadphises. These coins present a true to life portrait of the Kushan ruler, depicting him as a man with a face dominated by a large nose and a mole on one cheek. The Romans came to trade primarily by sea to the Indian ports of Barygaza and Barbarikon. This trade was vital to the Kushans as it sustained their predominantly Hellene urban population, which continued to produce exquisite artwork and other artifacts. This is turn fed into the already flourishing Silk Road trade from Han China, of which the Kushan Empire was the central hub.
This in turn led to the remarkable religious toleration of the Kushans. Ruling a large multi-ethnic empire required a measure of toleration by the Yuezhi nobility, but the Kushan dynasty took it to a new level. Not only were the Kushan Emperors personally tolerant but they encouraged religious diversity. Hinduism, Buddhism (predominately in Greek form), traditional Hellenic religion, Zoroastrianism and other older Iranian faiths all found fertile ground under the Kushans. This blending of religions contributed the Kushans’ great cultural wealth, which is still being unearthed in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and modern India.
In conclusion the founding years of the Kushan Empire are, while still mostly unknown, a fascinating time in Central Asian and Indian history. Vima Kadphises’ reign ended in around AD 100 and on that note we will close the article. The reign and life of his son, Kanishka, is the golden age of the Kushan Empire, marking the end of the first phase of its existence.