Kushan Empire | |
---|---|
30–375 | |
![]() | |
Capital | Puruṣapura Takṣaśilā |
Common languages | Greek (official until c. 127)[note 1] Bactrian[note 1] (official from c. 127)[note 2] Gandhari Prakrit[5] |
Religion | Buddhism[6] Hinduism[7] Zoroastrianism[8] |
Demonym(s) | Kushanas |
Government | Monarchy |
Emperor | |
• 30–80 | Kujula Kadphises (first) |
• 350–375 | Kipunada (last) |
Historical era | Classical Antiquity |
• Kujula Kadphises unites Yuezhi tribes into a confederation | 30 |
375 | |
Area | |
200 (low-end estimate of peak area)[10] | 2,000,000 km2 (770,000 sq mi) |
200 (high-end estimate of peak area)[11] | 3.5–4,000,000 km2 (1.4–1,544,408.6 sq mi) |
Currency | Kushan drachma |
The Kushan Empire was first formed in the early 1st century AD. It was located in Afghanistan, most of Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and parts of northwest India.[12][13]
The Kushan were a branch of the Yuezhi confederation.[14][15] Previously a nomadic people living in eastern Central Asia, the Yuezhi moved southwest and settled in ancient Bactria.[15]
The Yuezhi people conquered Bactria in the second century B.C.E. and divided the country into five chiefdoms, one of which would become the Kushan Empire. Recognizing the importance of unification, these five tribes combined under the one dominate Kushan tribe, and the primary rulers descended from the Yuezhi.
<ref group=note>
tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}}
template (see the help page).