Kanishka II (

Brahmi Brahmi (; ; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such ...

''Kā-ṇi-ṣka'') was one of the emperors of the

Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...

from around 225–245 CE. He succeeded

Vasudeva I Vāsudeva I ( Kushano Bactrian: Βαζοδηο ''Bazodeo''; Middle Brahmi script: ''Vā-su-de-va'', Chinese: 波調 ''Bodiao''; fl. 200 CE) was a Kushan emperor, last of the "Great Kushans." Named inscriptions dating from year 64 to 98 of Kan ...

who is considered to be the last great Kushan emperor.

Rule

While he upheld Kushan rule in northern India, it is likely that Kanishka II lost the western part of his empire, namely

Bactria Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, southwe ...

Tokharistan Tokharistan (formed from "Tokhara" and the suffix ''-stan'' meaning "place of" in Persian) is an ancient Early Middle Ages name given to the area which was known as Bactria in Ancient Greek sources. In the 7th and 8th century CE, Tokharistan c ...

to the Sasanian

Shapur I Shapur I (also spelled Shabuhr I; pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩, Šābuhr ) was the second Sasanian King of Kings of Iran. The dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his father Ardas ...

(240-272 CE), whose conquests would be consolidated by the Kushano-Sassanians. In his inscriptions at

Naqsh-e Rostam Naqsh-e Rostam ( lit. mural of Rostam, fa, نقش رستم ) is an ancient archeological site and necropolis located about 12 km northwest of Persepolis, in Fars Province, Iran. A collection of ancient Iranian rock reliefs are cut into the ...

Shapur now claimed that he controlled the realm of the Kushans (Kūšān šahr) "up to Purushapura" (

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

), suggesting that he may have expanding even beyond the

Hindu-Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Province ...

at the expense of the Kushans. The rock inscription at

Rag-i-Bibi Rag-i-Bibi (''Veins of the Lady'') refers to a Sassanian rock relief on a cliff in modern Afghanistan. It first became known to western scholarship in 2002. It is located about a kilometre south of Shamarq and 10 km south of Puli Khumri. Rag-i-Bib ...

further support this view. Several overstrikes by the

Kushano-Sasanian Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom (also called Kushanshahs, KΟÞANΟ ÞAΟ ''or Koshano Shao'' in Bactrian, or Indo-Sasanians) is a historiographic term used by modern scholars to refer to a branch of the Sasanian Persians who established their rule in ...

Peroz I Kushanshah Peroz I Kushanshah (Bactrian script: ''Πιρωςο Κοϸανο ϸαηο'') was Kushanshah of the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom from 245 to 275. He was the successor of Ardashir I Kushanshah. He was an energetic ruler, who minted coins in Balkh, H ...

over coins of Kanishka II are known, and it is from the time of Peroz that the first

coins were issued south of the

. Kanishka II may have retaken control of Gandhara at one point, as well as

Kapiśa The Kingdom of Kapisa (known in contemporary Chinese sources as and ) was a state located in what is now Afghanistan during the late 1st millennium CE. Its capital was the city of Kapisa. The kingdom stretched from the Hindu Kush in the north to ...

, and there are suggestions that following these successes he may have created a second Era of Kanishka in celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the original one.

Coinage and dated statuary

Image:Coin of KanishkaII.jpg, Coin of Kanishka II with

Oesho Oesho ( xbc, Οηϸο) is a deity found on coins of 2nd to 6th-century, particularly the 2nd-century Kushan era. He was apparently one of the titular deities of the Kushan dynasty. Oesho is an early Kushan deity that is regarded as an amalgamation ...

. Image:KanishkaIIWithArdoksho.JPG, Kanishka II with

Ardoksho Ardoksho (Bactrian script Αρδοχϸο), also Romanised as Ardochsho, Ardokhsho and Ardoxsho, the Iranic goddess of wealth was a female deity of the Kushan Empire, in Central and South Asia during the early part of the 1st millennium CE. She is ...

. File:Hariti (Gandhara).jpg, Statue of

Hariti Hārītī (Sanskrit), also known as , ja, text=鬼子母神, translit=Kishimojin, is both a revered goddess and demon, depending on the Buddhist tradition. She is one of the Twenty-Four Protective Deities of Mahayana Buddhism. In her posit ...

from Skarah Dheri,

Gandhara Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Vall ...

, with the inscription "Year 399", probably in the

Yavana era The Yavana Era, or Yona (Prakrit: ''Yoṇaṇa vaṣaye'') was a computational era used in the Indian subcontinent from the 2nd century BCE for several centuries thereafter, probably starting in 174 BCE.Des Indo-Grecs aux Sassanides: données pour ...

, hence 244 CE.

Notes

References

Sources

External links

Online catalogue of coins of Kanishka II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanishka 02 Kushan emperors 3rd-century Indian monarchs