The Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom (or Indo-Sasanians) was a polity established by the
Sasanian Empire in
Bactria during the 3rd and 4th centuries. The Sasanian Empire captured the provinces of
Sogdia,
Bactria and
Gandhara from the declining
Kushan Empirefollowing a series of wars in 225 CE.[1] The local Sasanian governors then went on to take the title of
Kushanshah (KΟÞANΟ ÞAΟ or Koshano Shao in the
Bactrian language[2]) or "King of the Kushans", and to mint coins.[1] They are sometimes considered as forming a "sub-kingdom" inside the Sasanian Empire.[3]
This administration continued until 360–370,[1] when the Kushano-Sasanians lost much of their domains to the invading
Kidarites; the remainder was incorporated into the Sasanian Empire proper.[4] Later, the Kidarites were in turn displaced by the
Hephthalites.[5]
The Kushanshahs are mainly known through their coins. Their coins were minted at
Kabul,
Balkh,
Herat, and
Merv, attesting the extent of their realm.[6]
A rebellion of
Hormizd I Kushanshah (277–286 CE), who issued coins with the title Kushan-shahanshah ("King of kings of the Kushans"), seems to have occurred against contemporary emperor
Bahram II (276–293 CE) of the Sasanian Empire, but failed.[1]
History
The Sassanids, shortly after victory over the
Parthians, extended their dominion into
Bactria during the reign of
Ardashir I around 230 CE, then further to the eastern parts of their empire in western
Pakistan during the reign of his son
Shapur I (240–270). Thus the Kushans lost their western territory (including
Bactria and
Gandhara) to the rule of Sassanid nobles named
Kushanshahs or "Kings of the Kushans". The farthest extent of the Kushano-Sasanians to the east appears to have been Gandhara, and they apparently did not cross the
Indus river, since almost none of their coinage has been found in the city of
Taxila just beyond the Indus.[7]
The Kushano-Sasanians under
Hormizd I Kushanshah seem to have led a rebellion against contemporary emperor
Bahram II (276-293 CE) of the Sasanian Empire, but failed.[1] According to the Panegyrici Latini (3rd-4th century CE), there was a rebellion of a certain Ormis (Ormisdas) against his brother
Bahram II, and Ormis was supported by the people of Saccis (
Sakastan).[6] Hormizd I Kushanshah issued coins with the title Kushanshahanshah ("King of kings of the Kushans"),[8] probably in defiance of imperial Sasanian rule.[1]
Around 325,
Shapur II was directly in charge of the southern part of the territory, while in the north the Kushanshahs maintained their rule. Important finds of Sasanian coinage beyond the Indus in the city of
Taxila only start with the reigns of
Shapur II (r.309-379) and
Shapur III (r.383-388), suggesting that the expansion of Sasanian control beyond the Indus was the result of the wars of Shapur II "with the Chionites and Kushans" in 350-358 as described by
Ammianus Marcellinus.[7] They probably maintained control until the rise of the
Kidarites under their ruler
Kidara.[7]
The decline of the Kushans and their defeat by the Kushano-Sasanians and the Sasanians, was followed by the rise of the
Kidarites and then the
Hephthalites (
Alchon Huns) who in turn conquered Bactria and Gandhara and went as far as central India. They were later followed by
Turk Shahi and then the
Hindu Shahi, until the arrival of Muslims to north-western parts of India.
The prophet
Mani (210–276), founder of
Manichaeism, followed the Sasanian expansion to the east, which exposed him to the thriving
Buddhist culture of
Gandhara. He is said to have visited
Bamiyan, where several religious paintings are attributed to him, and is believed to have lived and taught for some time. He is also related to have sailed to the
Indus Valley area (now in
Pakistan) in 240 or 241 and converted a Buddhist king, the
Turan Shah of India.[9]
On that occasion, various Buddhist influences seem to have permeated Manichaeism: "Buddhist influences were significant in the formation of Mani's religious thought. The transmigration of souls became a Manichaean belief, and the quadripartite structure of the Manichaean community, divided between male and female monks (the 'elect') and lay follower (the 'hearers') who supported them, appears to be based on that of the Buddhist
sangha".[9]
Coinage
The Kushano-Sassanids created an extensive coinage with legend in
Brahmi,
Pahlavi or
Bactrian, sometimes inspired from Kushan coinage, and sometimes more clearly Sassanid.
The obverse of the coin usually depicts the ruler with elaborate headdress and on the reverse either a
fire temple or Shiva with Nandi.
Terracotta head of a male figure, Kushano-Sasanian period, Gandhara region, 4th-5th century CE
A probable Kushano-Sasanian plate with hunting scene, found in the 504 CE tomb of
Feng Hetu in
China.
Shanxi Museum. It is dated the 3rd-4th century CE, and was probably manufactured in northern Afghanistan.[15][16][17]
Artistic influences
The example of Sassanid art was influential on
Kushan art, and this influence remained active for several centuries in the northwest South Asia. Plates seemingly belonging to the art of the Kushano-Sasanians have also been found in
Northern Wei tombs in
China, such as
a plate depicting a boar hunt found in the 504 CE tomb of
Feng Hetu.[21]
^Carter, M.L.
"Encyclopaedia Iranica". iranicaonline.org. A gilt silver plate depicting a princely boar hunt, excavated from a tomb near Datong dated to 504 CE, is close to early Sasanian royal hunting plates in style and technical aspects, but diverges enough to suggest a Bactrian origin dating from the era of the Kushano-Sasanian rule (ca. 275-350 CE)
^"a Sasanian prince is represented adoring before the Indian god Vishnu" in Herzfeld, Ernst (1930).
Kushano-Sasanian Coins. Government of India central publication branch. p. 16.
^"South Asia Bulletin: Volume 27, Issue 2". South Asia Bulletin. University of California, Los Angeles. 2007. p. 478: A seal inscribed in Bactrian , fourth to fifth century AD , shows a Kushano - Sasanian or Kidarite official worshipping Vishnu : Pierfrancesco Callieri , Seals and Sealings from the North - West of the Indian Subcontinent and Afghanistan.
^Carter, M.L.
"Encyclopaedia Iranica". iranicaonline.org. A gilt silver plate depicting a princely boar hunt, excavated from a tomb near Datong dated to 504 CE, is close to early Sasanian royal hunting plates in style and technical aspects, but diverges enough to suggest a Bactrian origin dating from the era of the Kushano-Sasanian rule (ca. 275-350 CE)
Daryaee, Touraj; Rezakhani, Khodadad (2017a).
"The Sasanian Empire". In Daryaee, Touraj (ed.). King of the Seven Climes: A History of the Ancient Iranian World (3000 BCE - 651 CE). UCI Jordan Center for Persian Studies. pp. 1–236.
ISBN978-0-692-86440-1.