Kushan Empire | |||||||||||||
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30–375 | |||||||||||||
![]() Kushan territories (full line) and maximum extent of Kushan dominions under Kanishka (dotted line), according to the Rabatak inscription.[1] | |||||||||||||
Capital | Peshawar Begram Taxila Mathura | ||||||||||||
Common languages | Pali Prakrit Bactrian Sanskrit Greek | ||||||||||||
Religion | Hinduism Buddhism Zoroastrianism Greco-Buddhism Ancient Greek religion | ||||||||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||||
Emperor | |||||||||||||
• c. 60-c. 80 | Kujula Kadphises | ||||||||||||
• 350–375 | Kipunada | ||||||||||||
Historical era | Classical Antiquity | ||||||||||||
• Kujula Kadphises unites Yuezhi tribes into a confederation. | 30 | ||||||||||||
• Subjugated by the Gupta Empire. | 375 | ||||||||||||
Currency | Kushan Drachm | ||||||||||||
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Today part of | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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.[2][3]
The Kushan were a branch of the Yuezhi confederation.[4][5] Previously a nomadic people living in eastern Central Asia, the Yuezhi moved southwest and settled in ancient Bactria.[5]