Top Answer. "The Kushan Empire." Art of the Kushans. By his conquests, by religious activities and by patronizing the Indian culture, he made the Kushan period eminently distinguished. Kushan empire (Archaeology), Kushan art and architecture, Buddha Stupa, Buddhism in Pakistan ; ... controlled the lands that were understood in antiquity to play a special role in the formation of Iranian identity and religion . The Kushan empire even adapted Buddhism with artistic depictions and stories to attract followers from other religions and with different cultural histories. Given all their contacts with the great empires of the day, it is hardly surprising that the Kushan people developed a culture with significant elements borrowed from many sources. Kanishka personally seems to have embraced both Buddhism and the Persian attributes but he favored Buddhism more as it can be proven by his devotion to the Buddhist teachings and prayer styles depicted in various books related to kushan empire. The eastern Kushan Empire fell at an unknown date, likely between 335 and 350 CE, to the Gupta king, Samudragupta. Kushan ruler Kanishka (flourished c. 78-c. 103 A.D.) controlled an empire covering most of India, Iran, and central Asia in the first and second centuries. Kushan Empire – Ruler Kujula Kadphises or Kadphises I [AD 30-AD 80) Kujula Kadphises was the first Yuezhi chief to lay the foundation of the Kushana Empire in India. Gandhara was a strategic location, which had access to the silk routes as well as to the rich ports of the Arabian Sea. Source: collections.dma.org. Tag Archives: are witness to the toleration and to the syncretism in religion and art that prevailed in the Kushan empire. Some religions that the people of the Kushan empire practiced were Zoroastrianism and Buddhism. The foundation of the Kushan Empire in Bactria and India was the result of a long series of ethnic migrations. During the reign of Kushans in Jammu Kashmir the influence of Buddhism was at its peak. Predominantly Zoroastrian, the Kushans also incorporated Buddhist and Hellenistic beliefs into their own syncretic religious practices. Szczepanski, Kallie. The Kushan empire was a syncretic empire formed by Yuezhi, a confederation of nomadic pastoralists, who migrated from the arid grassland area in the northwestern part of the modern Chinese province of Gansu and settled in the territories of ancient Bactria. The identification of the objects in the bowl as coins is speculative, and the precise scene in the life of the Buddha that is represented is therefore unclear. Szczepanski, Kallie. Kushan emperors represented a wide variety of faiths, including Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and possibly Saivism, a sect of Hinduism. The chapter of Kushan Empire is truly a glorious one in the Jammu & Kashmir history. So the ‘Kushan pantheon’ appearing on the coins represents only a selection of the religious cults of their empire. From Afghanistan's Hadda region, circa 300 - 500 CE. The Kushan Empire (Sanskrit: कुषाण राजवंश (Kuṣāṇ Rājavaṃśa), BHS: Guṣāṇa-vaṃśa, Parthian: Kušanxšaθr) was first formed in the early 1st century AD. The Gandahara region at the core of the Kushan empire was home to a multiethic society tolerant of religious difference. But he had deep love for India. The Kushans became affluent through trade, particularly with Rome, as their large issues of gold coins show. The coins with depictions of Buddha are said to be the first pictures of the Buddha. The Guptas, Mauryans, and Kushans practiced Hinduism and Buddhism. The Kushans were influenced by the Hellenistic kingdoms and maintained a wide variety of faiths, including Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. In fact, some scholars believe that Kanishka's forays into the Tarim were China's first experiences with Buddhism. He was succeeded by his son Vima Taktu or Sadashkana (AD 80 -AD 95) who expanded the empire into northwest India. With his conversion to and official support of Mahayana Buddhism, the religion underwent a period of substantial growth, gaining converts throughout the Kushan realm, including parts of China. His reign saw emergence of Kushan empire when he conquored north-western India (modern Punjab). [31] Extract from the book: Religion Blog The Kushans. The Kushan Empire began in the early 1st century as a branch of the Yuezhi, a confederation of ethnically Indo-Europeans nomads who lived in eastern Central Asia. Pakistan, ancient region of Gandhara Emperor Kanishka had […] Ardashir I's son Shapur I continued the expansion of the empire, conquering Bactria and the western portion of the Kushan Empire, while leading several campaigns against Rome. Kushan Empire is one of the most interesting Dynasties which ruled over the land of Jammu & Kashmir. to A.D. 250 Published by UNESCO - 1994 The spread of Indian religions also began under Graeco-Bactrian rulers at this period. He was a foreigner by birth. The Kushan Empire was very unique in regards to it’s cultural identity, and their many surprising external influences. The Kushans practiced an ecumenical rule, supporting many deities of different religions in their multi-racial empire. The Kushans were influenced by the Hellenistic kingdoms, and maintained a wide variety of faiths, including Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. By J. Harmatta, B. N. Puri, L. Lelekov, S. Humayun and D. C. Sircar No direct relationship has been established between Kanishka and his predecessor Kadphises II. "The Kushan Empire." Around the years A.D. 20 or 30, the Kushans were driven westward by the Xiongnu, a fierce people who likely were the ancestors of the Huns. The presence at the far left of the figure holding a waterpot suggests that a gift is about to be made, as a donor traditionally poured water over the hands of a recipient to seal a gift. Kushan coins depict deities including Helios and Heracles, Buddha and Shakyamuni Buddha, and Ahura Mazda, Mithra and the Zoroastrian fire god Atar. A direct road from the Kushan Empire and China, as well as the security offered by the Kushan Empire, facilitated trade with the Roman Empire, Sassanid Persia, Aksumite Empire, and Han China. The Kushans encouraged Greco-Buddhism which involved Buddhism with Greek deities. Image: 1 General Information 2 Decisions 2.1 Eastern Technology Reform 2.2 Form Mughal Empire 2.3 Form Persian Nation 2.4 Muslim Technology Reform Kushan is a Mahayana Pashtun autocracy located in the Khorasan region of the Persia subcontinent and Central Asia region of the Tartary subcontinent, both in the Asia continent. They also used the Greek alphabet that they altered to suit spoken Kushan. Asked by Wiki User. ... Before we explore the numerous deities on Kushan coins let us first try to understand the nature of religion, the origin of the gods, and their respective roles and significance in human life. By the rule of the fifth emperor, Kanishka the Great from 127 to 140 the Kushan Empire had pushed into all of northern India and expanded east again as far as the Tarim Basin—the original homeland of the Kushans. The identification of the subject of this relief as the Gift of Anathapindada is by no means certain. Thanks a lot RBSI for highlighting kushan empire & its religious era, Heliodorus Pillar of 113 BCE at Besnagar, Vidisha, M.P., with a fisher folk crowd doing "Khambaba" worship, 2 months back. As seen in The Questions of King Milinda, Menander prior to the Kushan Empire played a role in converting Buddha from a sage to a god and in his conversation with Nāgasena justified the giving of jewels and tribute to Buddha. ROMAN. See more here ( http://archaeologyonline.net/artifacts/heliodorus-column ), other site artefacts - roman wine leaf motif + tribal motif, The Grand Mughals - Babur to Bahadur Shah Zafar (1526-1857), Indian Life and Landscapes by Western Artists, Literature, Music and Dance of Ancient India, Museums, Libraries and Archives of the World, India - Its People, Culture, Professions and Languages, The Honourable East India Company (1600-1858), The Dutch, French and Portuguese in India, History of India's Trade, Industry and Finance, Astronomy, Ayurveda, Yoga, Science and Mathematics in Ancient India, The History of India - By its various Historians, http://archaeologyonline.net/artifacts/heliodorus-column. The chapter of Kushan Empire is truly a glorious one in the Jammu & Kashmir history. For these reasons, it had undergone numerous invasions in its history. Kushan worshipper with Zeus/Serapis/Ohrmazd, 3rd century CE: The Kushans were influenced by the Hellenistic kingdoms and maintained a wide variety of faiths, including Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. The Kushans ruled from first to second century AD, extending its reach to each and every corner of the valley. Read more: Predominantly Zoroastrian, the Kushans also incorporated Buddhist and Hellenistic beliefs into their own syncretic religious practices. Still, the influence of the Kushan Empire helped spread Buddhism across much of Southern and Eastern Asia. Soon he came under influence of Hinduism (most likley embraced it for good) and took opportunity to proclaim himself Mahishwara, another name for Lord Shiva, on … Insta - https://www.instagram.com/hrsht.dwivediHindi Version - https://youtu.be/k4qkxMCcL6gIn this video I have talked about the Kushana Empire. References to the stupa have since been discovered among the Buddhist scrolls at Dunhuang, China, as well. : 11 Silk11Road: Religion in the Kushan Empire: Vol II; J. HARMATTA, B. N. PURI, L. LELEKOV, S. HUMAYUN AND D. C. SIRCAR Another Shaivite deity 'Skando-Kumaro' appears on the coins of Huvishka. The name Kushan derives from the chinese term Guishang. The Gift of Anathapindada, Kushan period, 2nd�3rd century The Rabatak inscription uses a Greek script, to write a language described as Arya (αρια) – most likely a form of Bactrian native to Ariana, which was an Eastern Iranian language of the Middle Iranian period. At the time of Kanishka I the empire was established as a secular kingdom, where all religion could flourish. The Kushans fled to the borderlands of what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, where they established an independent empire in the region known as Bactria. Brisk trade prevailed as the area covered by the Kushan Empire helped the flow of trade between the east and the west. ThoughtCo. The Kushan empire lasted through the mid-first century and the third century. � The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Furthermore, the Saka and Kushan tribes arrived in this region with their own distinctive religions and divinities, and the conquest of India by the Kushan ruler, Vima Kadphises, introduced new religious influences, most … It was also a period of great wealth marked by extensive mercantile activities and a flourishing of urban life, Buddhist thought, and the visual arts. Religions in the Kushan Empire By J. Harmatta, B. N. Puri, L. Lelekov, S. Humayun and D. C. Sircar Extract from the book: History of Civilizations of Central Asia The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizations: 700 B.C. Gandharan, under the syncretic Kushan Empire. The Kushan Empire (Sanskrit: कुषाण राजवंश (Kuṣāṇ Rājavaṃśa), BHS: Guṣāṇa-vaṃśa, Parthian: Kušanxšaθr) was first formed in the early 1st century AD. He was succeeded by his son Vima Taktu or Sadashkana (AD 80 -AD 95) who expanded the empire into northwest India. He met the Buddha at Rajagriha and proposed to donate money in order to buy land for a monastery in Shravasti. in honour of Vishnu at Besnagar. The Kushan empire lasted through the mid-first century and the third century. Kanishka was a devout Buddhist and has been compared to the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka the Great in that regard. This was a time when gold flowed into India in large quantities. Some of the coins of Huvishka also featured Maaseno on his coins, the Kushan incarnation of the Hindu god Karttikeya, or Skanda, whose epithet was "Mahasena".