How the Kushan Empire Ended.

In 1911, outside Mathura, archaeologists in an excavation recovered an important site that belonged to the Kushana period. When they analyzed the various inscriptions that was found in this site, they realized that this was a Devakula or deity house. Now the Devakula of the Kushana period was a place in which the Kushana kings were worshipped as divine beings. And this practice of worshipping Kushana kings as divine beings were introduced by the Kushana emperors and they actively promoted this practice. And from this Devakula of Mathura, archaeologists also recovered several statues that belonged to the Kushana kings. Now these statues were in a pretty bad condition and the destruction that these statues had experienced, according to scholars, were not a random act of destruction. Instead, these statues were deliberately destroyed. In the initial stages of this excavation, archaeologists believed that these statues were destroyed by the Hunas who had invaded India in the 5th and 6th century. But with a detailed analysis of these statues, archaeologists found that these statues were not destroyed by the Hunas. Instead, they were destroyed probably in the end of Kushana rule or just after it. According to some scholars, the fact that these statues were destroyed in the end of Kushana rule means that those who had destroyed these statues wanted to give a political message that the Kushana rule in this area had come to an end. The Devakula being a place where the Kushana royalty were worshipped as divine beings was also the symbol of Kushana power. And the fact that these Devakulas were attacked and destroyed meant that those who had destroyed these Devakula were also attacking the power of the Kushana. So, our question which we have to discuss is how did an empire like that of the Kushana, which at its peak ruled an area that stretched from the Central Asia region to the heart of Ganga valley, had become so weak that they could not protect one of the most important symbols of their power. And we should also keep in mind that these Devakulas were situated not in a far away place. Instead, they were situated close to the center of Kushana power which was Mathura. Now in order to understand how the Kushana rule had declined, we have to start with the reign of Huvishk. Huvishk, whose father was the famous Kushana king Kanishk ascended the Kushana throne in 152 AD. Now during the reign of his father Kanishk, the Kushana rule had reached its zenith and we find that in the reign of Huvishk, no new conquest took place. Instead, this was a period where the consolidation of the Kushana power took place. And according to most scholars, this period was the golden period of Kushana history. Now in 192 AD, Huvishk dies and it was his son Vasudev who becomes the next Kushana king. Now here it is important to mention the name Vasudev itself because as most of you would know that this was an Indian name and according to some scholars, this was because Vasudev's mother was an Indian. The fact that a Kushana emperor had an Indian name is also significant because it also shows that the Indianization of the Kushanas had begun earnestly. This process of Indianization can also be seen in the coins of Vasudev. We find that in the coins of his grandfather Kanishk, we see Kanishk holding a spear. Now when we look at the coins of Vasudev, we find that he is holding a trident and not a spear. And some scholars believe that the fact that Vasudev is holding a trident means that the sacrifice which he is offering in these coins is meant for Shiv. And this devotion of Vasudev towards Shiv can also be seen in his coins where we find that Shiv is depicted standing beside his bull Nandi. Now these coins tell us something even more interesting because the legend that is inscribed on these coins mention the name of an Iranian god Oesho, not Shiv. So this means that the Kushanas of this period had not forgotten their Iranian religion but the process of Indianization has also begun. The reign of Vasudev ends around 225 AD, marking the end of the period of the great Kushanas. With the death of Vasudev, the period of Kushana decline also begins. And we find that one of the major threats that the Kushana faced came from the founder of the Sassanian dynasty, Ardashir I, who had recently destroyed the Parthians and was now ready to face the Kushanas. Now it appears from the period of Ardashir that it was probably in the later half of Vasudev's reign that Ardashir had began threatening the western half of Kushana empire and from the Chinese sources we find that it was probably Vasudev who had asked for help from the Chinese kingdom of Wei. These Chinese sources tell us that a Kushana emperor had sent an embassy to the king of the Wei kingdom in order to secure an alliance against the Sassanians. But this request was not accepted and from Ardashir's inscription it appears that Ardashir was able to successfully conquer the homeland of the Kushanas which was Bactria. With their homeland now gone, the Kushanas also lost their culture which had its root in the soil of Bactria. Since the Kushanas only controlled the territories in which Indian religion and Indian culture prevailed, they were now becoming more and more Indianized. These later Kushanas who had lost their homeland of Bactria also could not protect their remaining territory because we find that it was the successor of Ardashir, Shahpur I who tells us in his inscription that he had conquered the Sindh region and the Kushana country up to the city of Peshawar. Although after Shahpur I it appears from some coins that the Kushanas gained independence but ultimately they were subsumed by the Sassanian empire. Thus the later Kushanas lost most of their western territories to the Sassanians. Now in the Indian territories that was controlled by the Kushanas, we find that several Indian powers rose and took advantage of the decline of the Kushanas and they were able to successfully conquer territories that were earlier part of the Kushana empire. Now some of these powers who emerged during the decline of the Kushana empire were republics and we find that in the region that roughly belongs to the modern day Punjab and some parts of Haryana, the Yodahas took control. These Yodahas were and the south of the Yodaha territory we find that another republic emerged. These were the Arjunayanas who controlled the territory which roughly corresponds to the present day Alwar and Bharatpur area. Apart from the Arjunayanas and the Yodahas, another republic took advantage of the decline of the Kushanas. These were the Malawas and we find that initially the Malawas controlled the area around Jaipur region but with the decline of the Kushanas, they were able to extend their power up to the region of Udaipur and Kota. In the region of Mathura which was one of the most prominent center of Kushana power, the Nagas became prominent. Thus the later Kushanas having lost most of their territories only controlled some parts between the Punjab and Kabul. Now as you have noticed I have not mentioned the name of later Kushana kings and how long they ruled. That is because there is still debate about the chronology of these later Kushana kings and the reason why there is a debate about the chronology of these later Kushana kings is because we know about most of these later Kushana kings only because of their coins. We do not have any other sources that tells us about these later Kushana kings and when they ruled. Now by the end of 3rd century AD, the Kushana rule had declined significantly but what is interesting is that from the inscription of the great Gupta king Samudra Gupta, it appears that the region between Kabul and Punjab was controlled by someone who has the title of Daivaputra Shahi Shahanu Shahi. Now most of you would know that this was the title that was used by the Kushanas. So, it appears that in this region the Kushana rule had survived up to the reign of Samudra Gupta. Now if you want to know about the history of the Kushanas before their decline, please click on this playlist. Thank you for watching.