Impact of the Kushan Kingdom on ancient Indian history, highlighting contributions to art and culture, and the legacy of Indo-Greek rulers

Overview of the Kushan Empire

• The Kushan Empire (c. First–Third Centuries) reached its cultural zenith circa 105 – 250 C.E., expanding from Tajikistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan into the Ganges River valley in northern India.
• The Kushan tribe, part of the Yuezhi confederation, consisted of Indo-European peoples from the eastern Tarim Basin in China, potentially linked to the Tocharians, establishing the empire.
• The emergence of the expansive Kushan Empire from the first century AD until its decline in the third century saw significant political unification across Central Asia, encompassing regions from modern-day India and Pakistan to the Iranian borders.

• Kushana Dynasty and Kanishka's Rise:
  • Kanishka's Conquests:
    • Kanishka, under the Kushana dynasty, conquered regions in north-western India, including areas as far as Champa in the middle Ganges Plain.
    • He issued an edict in Greek, followed by a version in Aryan (most likely Prakrit), marking his conquest.
    • The king’s Central Asian roots were confirmed through a headless statue found near Mathura, identified by an inscription.
    • The exact date of Kanishka's accession is debated, ranging between AD 78 and 144. The era beginning in AD 78 is known as the Shaka era, possibly linked to Kanishka’s rise.

    

  • Kushana Kingdom's Extent and Importance:
    • The Kushana kingdom included key cities like Purushapura (near modern Peshawar) and Mathura.
    • Kushana inscriptions have been found across India, even in the middle Ganges Plain, though the presence of artefacts like coins in places such as Chirand doesn’t confirm conquest.
    • The kingdom extended into Central Asia, reaching areas like Kashgar, enhancing its geopolitical significance.
  • Trade and Cultural Influence:
    • The Kushana empire bridged India and China through their Central Asian territory, facilitating trade and cultural exchanges.
    • Inscribed coins and other artefacts along Kushana frontiers point to extensive interactions within the region.
    • Kushana artifacts found at Khalchayan in Central Asia, with inscriptions in Brahmi and Kharoshthi, suggest Prakrit-speaking groups beyond India.
• Connectivity and Early Trade Routes:
  • The Karakorum Highway:
    • Modern construction of the Karakorum Highway links the north-western routes to Central Asia, confirming the existence of earlier trade routes connecting India to regions like Samarkand and Yarkand.
    • These routes, part of the Silk Route, were already in use around the start of the Christian era, evidenced by inscriptions in Kharoshthi, Brahmi, and Bactrian.
  • Influence of Central Asian Trade on India:
    • Central Asian trade routes facilitated cultural exchanges, including the introduction of prized horses, improved horse trappings, and advancements in cavalry technology in India.
    • The trade routes also brought new religious and cultural ideas, influencing Indian practices.
• Religious Patronage and Cultural Influence:
  • Royal Patronage of Various Religions:
    • The Kushanas, under Kanishka, extended royal patronage to various religions, including Buddhism, Jainism, and Zoroastrianism.
    • The Fourth Buddhist Council, supported by Kanishka, clarified Buddhist doctrine, paralleling Ashoka's Third Council in Pataliputra.
  • Kanishka's Divine Associations:
    • Kanishka’s title "daivaputra" (son of heaven) may have been influenced by Chinese usage and Roman emperor titles like "diva filius" (son of god).
    • After his death, sanctuaries (devakula) were built to deify Kanishka, a rare practice in India, symbolizing his royal status and divine association.
  • Exalted Titles and Royal Propaganda:
    • The Kushanas, like the Indo-Greeks, used exalted titles like "maharajati-raja" (king of kings) and "soter" (saviour), which were part of royal propaganda to create an imperial image.
    • Such titles, along with the use of halos in Kushana portraits, may have been influenced by Mediterranean royal practices.
• Kushana Governance and Decline:
  • Regional Administration:
    • The Kushana empire wasn’t uniformly governed; some regions were directly administered, others under local satraps, and some under suzerainty of existing rulers.
    • The title "mahakshatrapa" (great satrap) was often a precursor to independent kingship.
  • Decline of the Kushanas:
    • The Kushana dynasty weakened due to confrontations with the rising Iranian Sassanid Empire and local challenges from the gana-sanghas in Punjab and Rajasthan.
    • By AD 226, the Sassanid king Ardashir overthrew the Parthians and established Sassanian control, eventually subordinating the Kushanas in the mid-third century.
• Cultural Exchange and Integration:
  • Cross-Cultural Interaction:
    • Central Asian influences led to cultural mutations in India, as Greek and other foreign deities were integrated into the Indian pantheon (e.g., Ardochsho becoming Shri).
    • Coins from the Kushanas occasionally featured Zoroastrian deities, reflecting cultural syncretism.
  • The Influence on Shakas:
    • The arrival of the Kushanas pushed the Shakas further south into regions like Kutch, Kathiawar, and Malwa, where they ruled until the late fourth century AD.

Additional Information: Kshatrapa

• Rudradaman and the Cultural Shift in Western India:
  • Rudradaman's Rule and Patronage:
    • Rudradaman, a Kshatrapa ruler in western India, notably patronized Sanskrit, marking a cultural shift from Prakrit inscriptions.
    • His use of Sanskrit in inscriptions, including a major one at Junagarh, may reflect his desire to align with Brahmanism and gain legitimacy.
  • Rudradaman's Achievements and Cultural Contributions:
    • The inscription from Junagarh (AD 150) also describes Rudradaman's military campaigns, including his victories over the Satavahanas and Yaudheya gana-sanghas.
    • Rudradaman’s inscription is an early example of "prashasti" (royal eulogy), which became a significant literary form in the history of royal biographies.
  • The Role of Sanskrit in Royal Legitimacy:
    • The use of Sanskrit, a language associated with orthodoxy, helped Rudradaman project himself as a legitimate ruler, despite his questionable varna status.
    • This marks the beginning of Sanskrit becoming the language of choice in inscriptions, representing the growing prestige of the language in royal circles.

Kujula Kadphises: Founder of the Kushan Empire
Reign	30–80 C.E.
Notable Achievements	Established the foundation for the Kushan Empire, which was subsequently expanded by his descendants.
Vima Taktu: Expander of the Kushan Territory
Reign	80–105 C.E.
Notable Achievements	Significantly expanded the Kushan Empire into the northwestern regions of the Indian subcontinent.
Vima Kadphises: Innovator of Coinage
Reign	105–127 C.E.
Notable Achievements	Expanded the Kushan territory through conquests in Afghanistan and northwestern India. Introduced gold coinage to India, complementing existing copper and silver currency.
Kanishka I: The Apex of the Kushan Empire
Reign	127–147 C.E.
Notable Achievements	Ruled an extensive territory, including northern India, parts of Ujjain, Kundina, and beyond Pataliputra. Administered the empire from key capitals: Purushapura (modern Peshawar) and Mathura. Initiated the Kushan era (starting in 127 C.E.), which became a calendar reference for nearly a century.
Vāsishka
Reign	Dated to Year 22 and Year 28
Notable Achievements	Short reign following Kanishka, with influence extending as far south as Sanchi.
Huvishka
Reign	140–183 C.E.
Notable Achievements	Focused on consolidating control over Mathura during his reign.
Vasudeva I
Reign	191–225 C.E.
Notable Achievements	Last of the "Great Kushans"; his reign marked the end of the Kushan Empire's dominance with the rise of the Sassanids.

Religion

• Cultural exchanges flourished, encouraging the development of Greco-Buddhism, a fusion of Hellenistic and Buddhist cultural elements, expanding into central and northern Asia as Mahayana Buddhism.
• Kanishka has earned renown in Buddhist tradition for having convened a great Buddhist council in Kashmir, in 72 A.D.
• Kanishka also had the original Gandhari vernacular, or Prakrit, Buddhist texts translated into the language of Sanskrit.

• The art and culture of Gandhara, at the crossroads of the Kushan hegemony, constitute the best-known expressions of Kushan influences to Westerners.
• Several direct depictions of Kushans from Gandhara have been discovered, 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.

Administration

• The vast Kushan Empire, extending from Central Asia to Bihar and from Kashmir to Sind, containing peoples of different nationalities and religions with a heterogeneous socioeconomic background, was governed through an organized administrative system, probably in three tiers, at central, provincial, and local levels.
• The Kushans seem to have followed the earlier existing pattern of the Indo-Greeks and Parthians by appointing ksatrapas and mahaksatrapas for different units of the empire.

Coins

• Kushan kings introduced gold and copper coins, a large number of them have survived till today.
• It was the Kushan emperor, Vima Kadaphises who introduced the first gold coins of India.
• During this period, the main coins issued were of The coin designs usually broadly follow the styles of the preceding Greco-Bactrian rulers in using Hellenistic styles of image, with a deity on one side and the king on the other.

Inscriptions

• The inscriptions issued by the Kushan rulers or in areas under their rule include texts in Bactrian, written in Greek script, and in Prakrit written in Brāhmī or Kharoṣṭhī script.
• The most important of this is the Rabatak Inscription, which established Kanishka’s genealogy, with Kujula Kadphises, Vima Takto (or Takha) and Vima Kadphises being named as his immediate ancestors.

External Contacts

• Several Roman sources describe the visit of ambassadors from the Kings of Bactria and India during the second century, probably referring to the Kushans.
• The Chinese Historical Chronicles also describe the exchange of goods between north-western India and the Roman Empire at that time.

Decline

• After the death of Vasudeva I in 225 A.D., the Kushan empire split into western and eastern halves.
• The Persian Sassanid Empire soon subjugated the Western Kushans (in Afghanistan), losing Bactria and other territories.