Kushan Empire

Lore & Background

The Kushan Empire was formed by the Yuezhi, who were described in Chinese sources as one of five aristocratic tribes of the Yuezhi confederation. The Yuezhi migrated from the grasslands of eastern Xinjiang and northwestern Gansu after their king was beheaded by the Xiongnu, eventually reaching Greco-Bactria around 135 BC. The founder of the dynasty, Kujula Kadphises, followed Iranian and Greek cultural ideas and iconography after the Greco-Bactrian tradition. Kujula was also a follower of the Shaivite sect of Hinduism, as were two later Kushan kings Vima Kadphises and Vasudeva II. The Kushans initially used the Greek language for administrative purposes but soon began to use the Eastern Iranian Bactrian language. Kanishka sent his armies north of the Karakoram mountains. A direct road from Gandhara to China remained under Kushan control for more than a century, encouraged travel across the Karakoram, and facilitated the spread of Mahayana Buddhism to China.

Reader's Guide

The Kushan Empire was significant as a syncretic state that blended Greek, Iranian, Indian, and Central Asian elements. It was at the center of trade relations between the Roman Empire and China: according to Alain Daniélou, 'for a time, the Kushana Empire was the centerpoint of the major civilizations'. The Kushans in general were also great patrons of Buddhism, and, starting with emperor Kanishka, they employed elements of Zoroastrianism in their pantheon. The Kushan dynasty had diplomatic contacts with the Roman Empire, Sasanian Persia, the Aksumite Empire, and the Han dynasty of China. The empire fragmented into semi-independent kingdoms in the 3rd century AD, which fell to the Sasanians invading from the west and establishing the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom in the areas of Sogdiana, Bactria, and Gandhara. In the 4th century, the Guptas, another 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 later the Hephthalites.

Did You Know?

• Kushan territory in India extended at least as far as Saketa and Sarnath near Varanasi, where inscriptions have been found dating to the era of the Kushan emperor Kanishka the Great.
• The founder Kujula Kadphises was a follower of the Shaivite sect of Hinduism, as were two later Kushan kings Vima Kadphises and Vasudeva II.
• A direct road from Gandhara to China remained under Kushan control for more than a century, facilitating the spread of Mahayana Buddhism to China.
• The Kushan dynasty had diplomatic contacts with the Roman Empire, Sasanian Persia, the Aksumite Empire, and the Han dynasty of China.
• The Kushans initially used the Greek language for administrative purposes but soon began to use the Eastern Iranian Bactrian language.