The Rise & Fall of the Kushan Empire: Gatekeepers of the Silk Road
Kushan Prince making a donation to a boddhisattva (Francesco “Sailko” Bini, 2010)
Abstract
Assembling an accurate history of the Kushan Empire is difficult. The very characteristics that distinguished the empire from its contemporaries, are the same characteristics that complicate the precise retelling of the empire’s geographically diverse journey. Wedged between Chinese, Indian and Persian trade routes, the Kushans and their territories have been subjected to a deluge of different names. For the sake of simplicity, Persian proper names will be given preference over their Chinese, Indian or occasional Greek alternatives.
This article aims to provide a detailed chronology of the Kushan Empire’s rise from a vanquished confederation of nomadic East Asian tribes, to one of the Silk Road’s most important kingdoms from the 2nd century BCE until around the 5th century CE. Across the various sources that were referenced in the drafting of this article, none put forward well-defined periods through which to separate the empire’s over 500-year history. Herein, I will propose the division of four distinct eras of Kushan rule: (1) The Yuezhi Migration, (2) the Rise of the Kushans, (3) Kanishka’s Golden Age, and finally, (4) the East Kushan Empire & the Arrival of the Kushanshahs. The last section can itself be understood in two parts; the legacy of the Kushanshahs in the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom to the west, and the reigns of the final Kushan kings in what I have called the East Kushan Kingdom, who attempted to keep the empire alive in its eastern territories around Mathura.
Yuezhi Migration (200 BCE - 30 CE)
The Kushan story begins in the Gansu Province of modern-China, where the Yuezhi maintained status as valuable trading partners of the Chinese (particularly the Qin during this period, but possibly as far back as the Zhou). Little is known about the political structure of the original Yuezhi other than that they were a group of semi-nomadic herders and traders led by a monarch. Eurasian-history expert Xinru Liu references the Shiji (Eng: “Records of the Grand Historian”), a Han Dynasty historical compilation by Sima Qian from the first century BCE which claimed that the Yuezhi were led by a chieftain named Lou. The Yuezhi seem to have been originally recorded during the first millennium BCE as long-distance jade and cattle traders. By ca. 300 BCE, the Yuezhi had established themselves as masterful horse traders whose horses were famous for “sweating blood,” a trait which modern historians like Liu attribute to a common form of sore on the Yuezhi breeds that caused a blood-sweat effect.
The Yuezhi occupied a highly lucrative and sought-after position as the primary horse exporters to the Chinese. As a result of this relationship, the Yuezhi found themselves in constant conflict with other nearby nomadic factions, most notably, the Xiongnu. After successfully nullifying Xiongnu aggression for decades with the help of Chinese allies, the Yuezhi began quickly losing territory to Xiongnu Prince Modu around 200 BCE. The overwhelming attacks of Modu pushed the Yuezhi further and further west of their ancestral homeland, along the Tianmenshan Mountain Range. By the middle of the second century BCE, the Yuezhi had migrated as far west as the Partho-Sogdian territories north of the Amu Darya.
Upon arriving in the vicinity of Greco-Bactria, the Yuezhi found themselves neighboring the Parthians and two branches of the Sogdians (also: Saka or Scythians), the Haumavarga and Tigraxauda. Caught-out by the sudden appearance of tens of thousands of Yuezhi horse archers and heavy cavalry, the Sogdians were progressively pushed southwards into the Parthian satrapies. As the Yuezhi continued their pursuit, Parthian King Artabanus staged an offensive to dampen their advancement, but died in the ensuing battle.
By about 100 BCE, the Yuezhi borderlands stretched from south of the Zarafshan Range to just north of the Amu Darya (essentially what is today, the western half of Tajikistan). As a result of this rapid resettlement and conquest, the Yuezhi experienced a wealth of different ethnic, cultural and religious influences. Captured areas were divided between these five Yuezhi tribes: Hiu-mi, Shuang-mi, Kuei-Shang, Hi-tun and Tu-mi. Across these tribal territories, a myriad of languages (Sanskrit, Prakit, Tocharian, and more) and religions (Zoroastrianism, Hellenic Paganism, Jainism and more) could already be observed.
Each Yuezhi tribe was governed by a chieftain called a yabgu (Chinese: xihou). As the yabghus carved their places in the region, the confederation was supported by ongoing trade with China and the establishment of new trade routes with Persia and India. The Silk Road is often referred to as having truly begun after Han diplomat Zhang Qian established western trade routes for the Han empire, in Central Asia, during the late second century BCE. Pivotal to these trade agreements were the Yuezhi who grew rich in their new surroundings acting as intermediaries for silk trade between the east, west and south. Silk would be purchased from the Chinese in return for horses, cattle and jade.
Rise of the Kushans (30 CE - 127 CE)
Around 30CE, the leader of the Kuei-Shang tribe, Kujula Kadphises, conquered the other tribes of the Yuezhi and established himself as their unifying, autocratic leader. This event is considered by most to be the formal start of the Kushan Empire, with minted coins labeling Kujula Kadphises as the koşana for the first time.
By unifying the Yuezhi tribes, Kujula Kadphises had created one of the wealthiest and militarily imposing states in the world only a couple centuries after its people had been forced out of eastern Asia. With his emboldened force, Kujula Kadphises led the Kushans on conquests of Jalalabad, Kabul, Begram, Gandhara and many other major cities. Kujula advanced as far as Kashmir, but was unable to overcome the city’s defenders. Ongoing conflicts with the Indo-Parthian Kingdom are also present in the eras coinage. After Kujula Kadphises minted a coin of himself on horseback supported by the Greek goddess of victory (coin a/b), Nike, the Indo-Parthian King Gondophares minted his own version with his horse facing in the opposite direction, so as to make it seem like the two leaders were engaging in battle when held parallel (coin f). Despite the resistance of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom, Gandhara was under Kushan control by the end of Kujula’s reign.
1st-2nd century coins of Kushan and Indo-Parthian origin (Harry Falk, 2014)
Following Kujula’s death at the impressive age of 80, his son, Vima Taktu, ascended to power. Kujula would have been proud of his son’s accomplishments, as Vima Taktu essentially succeeded in achieving his father’s aspirations of further conquest. He did so through a series of quick and overwhelming victories in Kashmir that allowed him to control swathes of land south of the Hindu Kush. Captured cities like Peshawar and Mathura would serve as capitals of the Kushan Empire on many occasions in the future, benefiting greatly from their access to the Indus River trade routes. The only major blunder of Vima Taktu’s rule came in 88 CE as he attacked Han commander Ban Chao’s army in Xinjiang in retaliation for the Chinese emperor’s refusal of a royal wedding between the Kushans and Han. Ultimately, the Kushans were unable to breach Chinese lines, but the battle did little to harm trade between the two, and it proved that the Kushans were formidable and ambitious enough to challenge the Han.
Multiple authors have also discussed Vima Taktu’s decision to change his empire’s calendrical reckoning from the Azes era of the Sogdians (47 BCE) to the Yavana era (175 BCE) of the Indo-Greeks. I believe that this transition shows an affinity of Vima Taktu for the Greek and Seleucid communities of his empire who assisted in administration and trade with the Mediterranean. This relationship was likely bolstered by a mutual disdain for the Parthians.
Vima Taktu passed the dynasty onto his son, Vima Kadphises, around 113 CE. While Vima Kadphises has rarely garnered much attention for his rule, his policies and reforms were vital to ensuring future success for the rapidly growing empire. Vima Kadphises realized that for the Kushans to have sustained power, they needed to sedentarize some of their protracted nomadic tendencies. Paramount to this shift was the positioning of Kushan governors as overseers of conquered cities which were formerly treated as semi-autonomous tributaries.
Vima Kadphises was also a sponsor of many religious buildings across the empire, especially Buddhist ventures which were growing in prominence as Indian Buddhist influence drifted northwest. These projects helped legitimize his rule in an astonishingly diverse empire. The Kushan pantheon of gods is loosely understood by historians at this point, but it seems to have featured about 20 deities of mainly Persian background.
The Golden Age of Kanishka the Great (127 CE - 230 CE)
Kanishka I the Great rose to prominence with an expansive, wealthy and stable Kushan Empire at his fingertips, thanks to the three kings who set the stage for his rule. Kanishka envisioned his empire as the most important in the known world, with major ambitions of city-building and border expansion. Over the course of his 23-years of kingship, Kanishka grew Kushan borders to their furthest extent, spanning beyond the Hindu Kush and the southern reaches of the Indus River, to the far west into Persia.
The empire was so expansive during Kanishka’s period that different coinage needed to be produced for the western and eastern ends of the empire. Of his coinage, Kushan expert A.D.H. Bivar claimed, “It is indeed iconographically one of the richest coinages of any historic period.” In the Indian regions of the empire, coins often featured a bull and camel; while in western regions, Greco-Persian style depictions of the Kushan kings alongside deities were preferred. The abandonment of Greek as a lingua franca was also made official during Kanishka’s rule. Instead, Bactrian and Prakit became standard, written with Greek and Brahmi alphabets respectively.
Basing his capital in the city of Peshawar, Kanishka greatly extended trade routes eastward to the Bay of Bengal. Heightened relations in India led to a boom of Buddhist influence in the empire. Kanishka himself trusted his Buddhist teacher Ashvagosha as one of his closest advisors. It may, or may not be, important to note that Ashvagosha’s name literally meant “Neigh of Horses” because his lessons were so inspirational that even horses would neigh. In Peshawar, Kanishka also solidified his fame by constructing a massive stupa and vihara temple complex named Shahji-ki Dheri, whose stupa was one of the largest to have ever existed (until near complete destruction in the following centuries due to severe weather damage).
The astounding success that the Kushans tasted under Kanishka was recognized by his successor, Huvishka. Huvishka began a Kushan calendrical reckoning with the year of Kanishka’s enthronement marking year one. The Rabatak Temple was also constructed to honor the lineage of Kanishka I, and the empire’s deities. An inscription from the Rabatak listing Kanishka’s family history, the history of the empire, and the roles of various gods, is one of the best surviving documents from contemporary Kushan sources.
Huvishka and Vasudeva I were each met with the impossible task of trying to succeed the legacy of Kanishka the Great. While neither made any significant changes, Vasudeva was forced to try and lead the Kushans through the Plague of Marcus Aurelius, a smallpox epidemic that ravaged Kushan populations after traveling eastward from Rome. During the plague, some of Vasudeva’s coinage began displaying Hariti, the Goddess of Smallpox.
The East Kushan Empire & The Arrival of the Kushanshahs (230 CE - 365 CE)
Crippled by the plague and the death of Vasudeva in 225 CE, much of the Kushan Empire’s western territory would be conquered by the rising Sasanian Empire in the following years. The Sasanians then installed a Persian leader to govern the captured Kushan territories. The al-Tabari stated that Ardashir began invading the region in 226 CE, and that by ca. 230 CE, much of the western regions were under the control of Shapur I. In and around the region of Bactria, the Kushans quickly submitted a letter of surrender to Sasanian King Ardashir I.
The Sasanian leaders proceeded to install a Persian governor to oversee the acquired lands. These governors were known as Kushanshahs or “Kings of the Kushan.” The power held by early Kushanshahs such as Ardashir I and Peroz I, was largely overshadowed by the presence of central Sasanian oversight. Later Kushanshahs were given more leeway on governing their regions. Hormozd Kushanshah for example, captured the city of Marv and minted his own coinage in the region which branded him “King of Kings,” clearly showing a decrease in adherence to Sasanian oversight. The Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom also experienced a slight revival in Zoroastrianism as orthodox reformer, Kartir, discouraged Buddhism in the region.
In the late fourth to early fifth centuries, the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom succumbed to a barrage of nomadic incursions, most often by Hunnic invaders. By 365, any mention of a Kushanshah diminished in the era’s inscriptions.
Following the Sasanian conquest of the western Kushan territories, many Kushans fled east and south along the Indus River to consolidate the territories that they still possessed. Succeeding Vasudeva I, Kanishka II and at least four other Kushan Kings attempted to preserve the legacy of Kujula’s empire. Between 230 and 320, the successors of the first five Kushan kings struggled in their highly reduced kingdom. Numismatists have proven that on multiple occasions, Kushan Kings in the east would overstrike the coins of their Kushanshah cousins in the west. The eastern remnant of the empire finally collapsed in 320 following the rise of the Gupta Dynasty and their capture of Mathura which had essentially become the Kushan capital after the Sasanian invasions.
The Kushan Legacy
The Kushan Empire is an incredible example of how adaptive, and influential, nomadic groups throughout Eurasia could be. Following their flight from Gansu, the soon-to-be Kushans immediately established themselves in a foreign land and legitimized their presence by acting oftentimes as neutral intermediaries between China, Persia, Greece, Rome and India. Religious plurality and a regionalized approach to governance allowed the Kushan Empire to thrive as a progenitor of the silk trade from China. This is evidenced by a wealth of diverse artifacts such as multilingual coinage with Bactrian and Prakit, or a mass of Gandharan-style artwork with syncretic imagery such as a hellenized Buddha with flowing Greek hair.
The Kushan Empire has been far too overlooked by archaeologists and historians alike. This issue stems in part from the bias faced by so many influential nomadic peoples whose traditions are often branded, incorrectly, as barbaric or not advanced. The Kushan Empire also suffers from a detachment from any modern people. Migrating so rapidly meant that Kushan identities often were coupled with the numerous other groups that traversed the commercial empire as intermarriage took place. After the dissolution of the East Kushan Empire in 320 and Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom ca. 365, many Kushans likely found themselves assimilated into the local cultures that had existed in their local region, or those that had conquered their territories.
As a Sogdian inscription once said, “While China is famous for its numerous population, and Rome is famous for its numerous treasures, the Yuezhi is famous for its numerous horses.” Maybe it is time that the Yuezhi are known for their successful syncretic empire that stayed stable between three of the ancient world’s greatest powers for nearly 500 years.
References
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Falk, Harry. "Kushan Dynasty III. Chronology of the Kushans," Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, (2014). http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kushan-03-chronology.
Falk, Harry. “The Five Yabghus of the Yuezhi.” Bulletin of the Asia Institute 28, (2014), pgs.1–43. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45154815.
Liu, Xinru. “Migration and Settlement of the Yuezhi-Kushan: Interaction and Interdependence of Nomadic and Sedentary Societies.” University of Hawai’i Press, Journal of World History 12, no. 2 (2001), pgs.261–292. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20078910.
Pons, Jennifer. “Kushan Dynasty VI. Archeology of the Kushans: in India,” Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, (2016). http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kushan-dynasty-06-archeology-india.
Vaissière, Étienne de la. “Kushanshahs I. History.” Encyclopædia Iranica, Online Edition, (2016). http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kushanshahs-01.