The KUSHANS (78-200 c. e.) are also best documented on the basis of the coinage of their kings, which followed earlier forms by having an image of the king on one side and an inscription in Bactrian, employing the Greek script, on the other. kujula kadphises copied the coins of the areas he conquered, but in due course the Kushan currency was standardized across the empire. The Kushans issued the first gold coins in India, and their currency provides a unique opportunity to learn about the appearance of the kings and their adoption of Hindu deities. This applies in particular to Vima Kadphises, who ruled from about 90 to 100 C. E. In head and shoulder view is a powerful warrior king wearing a high helmet, while in full view he wears in addition a tunic, overcoat, and felt boots. The reverse of one of his gold coins shows SIVA and his sacred mount Nandi with a Sanskrit inscription that states, “emperor, king of kings, devotee of the great god Siva, the savior Vima Kadphises.” His son, kanishka i, was responsible for a series of remarkable gold coins as well as copper issues. One of the latter shows him sacrificing at an altar, wearing the Saka peaked helmet, trousers, and a coat. He holds a spear in his left hand and has a halo. He is described on some of his inscriptions as devaputra (the son of god). A gold coin describes him as “king of kings, Kanishka the Kushan.” Siva is often to be found on his coins, but Kanishka was renowned for his interest in buddhism, and on very rare occasions, the Buddha appears on his coins, either standing or seated. His successor, Huvishka (126-64), issued outstanding gold coins over a long reign; the portraits of the king begin by showing him as a young bearded warrior with the typical Kushan dress, but they end with a mature sovereign with a halo, crown, scepter, and jeweled tunic. On occasion he is seen riding a magnificent elephant, holding a spear and an elephant goad. On others, he is seen holding a scepter and seated crosslegged on a cushion. He also displayed a wide choice of Greek, Zoroastrian, and Hindu deities as associates on his coins—Hephaestus, Greek god of crafts and metals; Siva holding a trident and a gourd; Skanda, son of Siva and god of war; a male lunar deity, Mao, with the crescent moon behind his shoulders; the Sun god; and the wind god. By the reign of Vasudeva (164-200), the Kushan empire had lost much territory in bactria and was becoming increasingly assimilated into Indian culture. This king’s capital was probably in mathura, and the deities on his coins are entirely Indian, for example, Siva with a trident, accompanied by the bull Nandi, and Siva represented with five heads. The king himself is portrayed still with a peaked helmet, wearing chain-mail armor and undertaking a sacrifice before an altar. Kanishka II (200-222) ruled an empire further attenuated by Sassanian expansion and now governed only land east of the Indus, including mints at Taxila and Mathura. His coins show further Indian cultural penetration with inscriptions in the Brahmi script and Siva linked with Nandi the god most commonly represented.
World History
