Roman gold and chinese silk changed hands in the kushan empire, at a very tidy profit for the middlemen. Feb 15, 2016 from this central location, the kushan empire became a wealthy trading hub between the peoples of han china, sassanid persia and the roman empire. Therefore, the predecessor of the kushan dynasty is undoubtedly the xihou of guishuang, one of the five xihou of the da yuezhi. The kushan dynasty had diplomatic contacts with the roman empire, sassanid persia, aksumite empire, and han china. From this central location, the kushan empire became a wealthy trading hub between the peoples of han china, sassanid persia and the roman empire. Kushan control fragmented into semiindependent kingdoms as the sassanians attacked from the west and the guptas attacked from the east, collapsing the kushan empire around 375 ce. During the first to midthird centuries ce, the empire of the kushans mid. Vasudeva i was the last great king of the dynasty when kushana empire was at its height of splendor and prosperity. History of india, indian history, kamasutra about the wives of other people chapter 1. The kushan rulers, a nomadic people residing in the steppes northwest of china, were a branch of the yuezhi confederation. The most extensive in northern india is the dynasty known as gurjarapratihara. Answer the following questions based on the reading and on your prior knowledge.
The very fact of the existence of a huge kushan empire was realized by historians in the middle of the xix century. The establishment of ancient nakhshab oasis and its centre, the town of erkurgan, was completed. It is generally accepted that qiujiuque, the founder of the guishuang dynasty, is identical with the kujula kadphises shown on the coins and inscriptions of the kushans. Kushan empire had started its decline soon after vasudevas death. The fact remains, however, that the kushans fell to the sassanians. A undermined the hellenistic influences in central asia. Map showing the kushan empire with capital cities and current country boundaries. The use of the greek language in kushan inscriptions is rare and probably ceased. Kushan dynasty was another dynasty which came to power after the mauryan empire. All efforts have been made to make this image accurate. This diversity in the divinities appearing on the kushan coins is a very important link that hints to the wide cultural connections of this dynasty. Speaking in general about the achievement of the kushans, the first is the economic prosperity. Chapteriii kushana coins and inscriptions the greatest testimony of kushana power in india is in the form of abundant kushana coins and a large number of inscriptions which are retrieved from all quarters of their empire.
Indian history kushans and kanishkas,iasips free study. Amidst hectic and shifting political equations of postmauryan era, central asia and northwestern india witnessed a major upheaval, great yuehichi driven out of fertile land in western china migrated towards the aral sea. They moved southwest and settled in ancient bactria. Roman gold and chinese silk changed hands in the kushan empire, at a very. The kushanas defeated the shakas and the pahlavasparthinians and went on to create a big empire in afganistan, pakistan and northern parts of india. The name kushan derives from the chinese term guishang, used in historical writings to describe one branch of the yuezhia loose confederation of indoeuropean people who had been living in northwestern china until they were driven west. Pdf role of kushana empire in buddhism and hinduism. Under the rule of the kushans, northwest india and adjoining regions participated both in seagoing trade and in commerce along the silk road to china. The yuezhi conquered bactria in the 2nd century bce and divided the country into five chiefdoms, one of. The kushan empire began in the early 1st century as a branch of the yuezhi, a confederation of ethnically indoeuropeans nomads who lived in eastern central asia. The art of mathura both precedes and postdates kushan art over a total span of about 1,000 years, but the mathura workshops were most active and productive during the rule of the kushan emperors.
Moreover, the very area covered by the kushan empire helped the flow of trade between the east and the west. After overthrowing the sakas, they settled in the valley of oxus,after occupying the bactrian lands, the. Koshano shao in bactrian, or indosassanians is a historiographic term used by modern scholars to refer to a branch of the sassanid persians who established their rule in bactria and in northwestern indian subcontinent present day pakistan during the 3rd and 4th centuries at the expense of the declining kushans. Bodiao according to named inscriptions dating from year 64 to. 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 brahmi or kharohi script.
During the period of the kushan empire, great progress was made in the social ande. Kushan period were constructed in the vicinity of these canals, especially in the third and fourth centuries a. The kushana empire learn with flashcards, games, and more for free. A brief overview the kushan or kushano of the epigraphical and numismatic sources of india and central asia, and kueishauang of the chinese sources1 2 was the name of a tribe which together with other tribes formed a tribal confederacy of rather mixed origin. Kusan, bactrian kosano of the 1st3rd centuries ce i. The kushans spread from the kabul river valley to defeat other central asian tribes that had previously conquered parts of the northern central iranian. These notes will also be useful for other competitive exams like banking po, ssc, state civil services exams and so on. Explore the history of kushan empire which was a part of immense cultural, economic, political and geographical growth. The kushanas had originally belonged to the regions of western china. Koves, margit 2001, stein the hungarian scholar pdf, himalayan and central asian studies.
Indus valley civilization early vedic civilization later vedic civilization buddhism jainism 16 mahajanapadas rise of magadha haryankadynasty sisunaga dynasty nandas alexander invasions on india mauryan empire sungas kanvas indogreeks guptas harshavardhana satavahanas sangam age kushanskanishka badami chalukyas kalyani chalukyas pallavas. Kusansahr represented a major world power in central asia and northern india. Kushanas are considered to be one of the five branches of the yuezhi tribe who. Propecia cost per pill fda approved pharmacy canada. C stabilized the trading routes through central asia. Oct 10, 2015 the art of mathura both precedes and postdates kushan art over a total span of about 1,000 years, but the mathura workshops were most active and productive during the rule of the kushan emperors. Kushans became middlemen for this trade, and kushan coins were used all along the silk roads. This area, a crossroads between east and west, had long been traveled by many different people and had been also been. E destroyed the religious shrines of zoroastrian, vedic, and buddhist cults. It was in eastern and northern afghanistan and the northwest of india.
The first mention of the yuchi the tribal confederacy the kushans came to dominate is in the second century bc, under pressure from the nomadic hsiungnu they are pushed westwards into the greek kingdom of bactria, which they conquer before 129 bc. Naturally enough, the bactrian inscriptions are mostly found in bactria and the indian inscriptions in the kushan territories to the south and east of the hindu. The name guishang 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 scythian tribes. Ncert notes on important topics for the ias aspirants.
According to wang yue, the curator of the exhibition and a researcher at the shanghai museum, the kushan dynasty existed only for a couple of centuries, and didnt. The kushan dynasty had diplomatic contacts with the roman empire, sasanian persia, the aksumite empire and the han dynasty of china. Expansion and decline of the kushan empire the kushan empire was an empire in south asia. The construction of the salarkarasudzhun irrigation system in the second and. Mar 24, 2018 the kushan empire survived for about 90 years after kanishkas death. Classical civilization and the age of empires 46, foreign rule in india ap world history learn with flashcards, games, and more for free.
Indus valley civilization early vedic civilization later vedic civilization buddhism jainism 16 mahajanapadas rise of magadha haryanka dynasty sisunaga dynasty nandas alexander invasions on india mauryan empire sungas kanvas indogreeks guptas harshavardhana satavahanas sangam age kushanskanishka badami chalukyas kalyani chalukyas pallavas. Ancient nepal prachin nepal, department of archaeology created date. Pdf the mint cities of the kushan empire robert bracey. Kushan dynasty, kushan also spelled kusana, ruling line descended from the yuezhi, a people that ruled over most of the northern indian subcontinent, afghanistan, and parts of central asia during the first three centuries of the common era. The great yuehichi driven out of fertile land in western china migrated towards the aral sea. This testifies the prosperity of the kushana empire. A highlight from power of monarch is the display of 12 ancient coins from the kushan dynasty, which reveals the continuous cultural integration of the empire with other regions.
The yuezhi conquered bactria in the 2nd century bce and divided the country into five chiefdoms, one of which was that of the kushans guishuang. In my opinion, the claim that da yuezhi established the five xihou after they had destroyed the state of daxia in the hou hanshu, ch. As the kushan empire was situated in a crucial geographical region. During these unsettled centuries many kingdoms, large and small, struggle against each other, merge, grow and decline. In the postmauryan era central asia and northwestern india witnessed hectic and shifting political scenes. Formation of kushana empire in 176 bc, the yuezhi were driven from tarim. The kushan empire was at the center of trade relations between the roman empire and china. Expansion and decline of the kushan empire directions. Kushan dynasty, history of kushanas, post mauryan india. Kabul city, was probably a summer palace of the kushan empire after the. These granules are halfmelted, maybe because of a poor control of the joining process. Purushapura presentday peshawar adn the summer capital complex at begram kapisa, which rivalled the pleasure palaces created by the emperors in rome or han dynasty china. Another inscription combining these two languages is the. Jan 09, 2012 this testifies the prosperity of the kushana empire.
Kushanskanishkamcqstitlestribekushan dynasty established by. Kushan coins do not have mint names on them so the attribution of coins to particular mints is difficult. These coins became the model for the kushan dynasty succesive dynasties in. Malavas, arjunayanas, kunindas and madras provide a. They have been edited so that only sections dealing with kushan history are preserved here. Mauryan empire, kushan dynasty is one among many which came to power in india kushan dynasty descended from yuezhi who ruled most of northern indian subcontinent and parts of central asia. Such openness nurtured a distinctive kushan culture and helped the diverse civilizations in asia and europe to influence and merge. This paper examines some of the strands of evidence that are available to do so. The only textual record we have of the empires history today comes from inscriptions and accounts in other languages, particularly chinese. Culture and art of the kushan kingdom eas publisher.
Kadphises, as well as for their dynasty as a whole and the. Especially kanishka, huvishka and vasudeva second and third centuries a. Ninety years may be a short period of time in the grand scale of all things historical but it isnt so for me. The kushan dynasty was an empire formed by the yuezhi in the bactrian territories in the early first century. While coins float, travel and circulate even outside the political boundaries of an empire, reflecting its. Notes on the yuezhi kushan relationship and kushan chronology by hans loeschner professor michael fedorov provided a rejoinder1 with respect to several statements in the article2 a new oeshoshiva image of sasanian peroz taking power in the northern part of the kushan empire. Vima is also known to have maintained the silk route and trade with all sides including the china, alexandria, and roman empire. The kushan empire survived for about 90 years after kanishkas death. Firstthird centuries reached its cultural zenith circa 105 250, extended from tajikistan to afghanistan, pakistan and into the ganges river valley in northernindia. Reisner believed that during the rule of the twentysecond libyan dynasty in egypt 945730 b. While this may well be so, it is a contested point and, as usual, there is no proof or references given.
Pdf kushan coins do not have mint names on them so the attribution of coins to particular mints is difficult. And it was open and tolerant of cultures and art pouring in from all directions, he says. Expansion and decline of the kushan empire the kushan empire was an empire in south asia originally formed in the early 1st century ce in the territories of ancient bactria around the oxus river. The kushan were a branch of the yuezhi confederation. How did yuezhi tribes able to build a strong kushan empire. Although philosophy, art, and science was created within its borders, the. Notes on the yuezhi kushan relationship and kushan chronology.
Kushanosasanian kingdom also called kushanshas kan. The yuchi undergo a number of changes in the next century or so and come to be dominated by one tribe, the. A total of 34 deities appear on the coins of the entire kushan empire. Number 75, april may 1983 \2040\, pages 2029 keywords.
Pdf the mint cities of the kushan empire researchgate. In the following century, the yuezhi tribe of the guishiang ch. Kanishkai was the most power ruler of the kushana empire and is known for his military prowess. Some scholars connect the kushans with the tocharians of the tarim basin in china, caucasian people whose blonde or redhaired mummies have long puzzled observers. In the reign of vasudeva i the sasanian empire under ardashir and lat. B undermined the local cultural traditions in central asia. On the breakup of egypt into a number of semiindependent principalities soon after the death of. There they encountered the sakas and overthrew them. At the height of its power, it covered central and southern asia. Analytical study of the manufacturing techniques of kushan gold. From their capital at kannauj, the rulers of this kingdom control a territory stretching across the subcontinent, in the 9th and 10th century, from. On the breakup of egypt into a number of semiindependent principalities soon after the death of shoshenlc i, nubia too, according to reisner, became indepen.
Notes on the yuezhi kushan relationship and kushan. The kushanas defeated the shakas and the pahlavasparthinians and went on to create a big empire in. The rule of kanishka, the third kushan emperor, who flourished from the late first to the earlymid2nd century ad, was administered from two capitals. The kushan dynasty had been totally assimilated in indian culture. One of five branches of the yuezhi, who invaded bactria in 5 bce, and spread southeast to form the kushan empire around 30 ce. You find coins depicting the gods and goddesses with the mesopotamian, zoroastrian, greek, roman and indian connections.
Nubia remained a province of that land ruled by one of the kings sons. The establishment of the imperial gupta dynasty by candragupta in a. D adopted urban life and abandoned nomadic symbols such as equestrian culture. At mintage world get a clear overview about kushan empire history which was known for the trade relations with powerful countries like china and greece.
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