Indo-Parthians

Religion of the Indo-Parthians

The religion of the House of Suren is unknown although it is known to have been in conflict with the Zoroastrian Arsacid dynasty. Unlike the Indo-Greeks or Indo-Scythians, there are no explicit records of Indo-Parthian rulers supporting Buddhism, such as religious dedications, inscriptions or even legendary accounts. Also, although Indo-Parthian coins generally closely follow Greek numismatics, they never display the Buddhist triratna symbol (apart from the later Sases), and they never use depictions of the elephant or the bull, possible religious symbols that were profusely used by their predecessors. They are thought to have retained Zoroastrianism since they were of Iranian extraction themselves. This Iranian mythological system was inherited from them by the later Kushans who ruled from Peshawar in Gandhara.