AHD: The 'Kushan' dynastic cycle/ The Other Lords of the Aryans

[John7755 يوحنا]

In history and on the forum, we frequently discuss topics in alternate history related to empires who through their durable imperial agenda or culture, we see that their empires occur in cycles. That is, what may be interpreted as a single empire, appears as numerous polities that succeed each other in what we may call as periods or dynasties. This is most famously observed in the following cyclical empires:

Ancient Egypt, perhaps the most enduring of history, its schematic lasted with only minor setbacks until the Roman empire, a period of time of at around 3000 years.

China, the famous example of the dynastic cycle, most firmly in motion in the transition of Zhou-Qing-Han(E/W)-Sui-Tang-Song.

Roman imperial complex, that empire which has over the years remained a spectre over the face of Europe. It was as follows, the Roman Principate-Roman Dominate-East/West split-Eastern Empire or Byzantium and the Papacy (successors and the Eastern half)-Holy Roman Empire via Translatio imperii-Contested phase-end in 1807 (generally, we could extend it perhaps to the Ottoman period, but this to be is pushing it and this is not the place to be arguing this point).

Assyria, flowing in several periods, we may say these extended for around 1500 years. they are as follows, roughly, Assyria I (Old Kingdom)-Assyria II ('Erabanid Dynasty')-Assyria III ('Assurian Dyansty')-Assyria IV (Sargonid Dynasty)

The final example that I give, is that of the Erenshahr imperial complex and dynastic cycle. This one in its traditional sense, existed for 1400 years or so, with later rebellions and attempts to restore and was restored in name by the Safavid empire under Is'mail I. We could say its transition is as so; Median (Medes)- Achaemenid (Persians)-Seleucid (Greeks-Babylonians-Medes)(the Arsacid saw these as partly their predecessors)-Arsacids (Dahae-Parthian)-Sassanids (Persian II)-Islamic interregnum (Arab-Turkish)-Safavids (Kurdo-Azerbaijani) (1400 years roughly if we discount the removed Safavid entity).

These are some of the most famous examples of the dynastic imperial cycle in action. However, my intention with this brief post, was to call the board's attention to the existence of a less known imperial cycle or civilization complex.

The mentioned complex, is what for a lack of better terms, I will refer to as the Kushan imperial message/cycle/complex. Here, we will briefly discuss the following:

I.The formation of the Kushan empire, from what we currently know and its origins.
II. The Kushan empire in its first stage, its extent of power, constituents and so forth
III. Kushan culture, coinage, religion and imperial message
IV. Kushan imperial decline in its first period
V. The Indo-Sassanid interregnum
VI. The revival: The Kidarite Empire (Kushan II)
VII. The Hepthalite Empire and the Huns (Kushan III)
VIII. The End of the cycle and the inheritance

I. The formation of the Kushan empire, from what we currently know and its origins.

The Kushan empire and its dynastic cycle, we may say begins with the Alexandrine era, that era which saw the fall of the Achaemenid empire or the Eranshahr II to the conqueror Alexander of Macedon. Following this climatic conquest by Alexander, his empire fractured as we know. Without delving into the wars of the successors, we will focus upon the Seleucid empire, which became the most worthwhile successor to our topic.

For the past four centuries, the Achaemenid empire, had waged wars on its eastern front against a wide collection of of Iranic or otherwise Indo-European steppe peoples, who had inhabited the steppe for centuries prior. Achaemenid policy towards these were consistently harsh, invading periodically to smash steppe peoples and steal their horses. This aggression was most firmly placed upon the laps of the Saka and the Dahae, two major steppe folk who inhabited the areas north and east of the Achaemenid region of Kwarezm, Sogdiana, Ariana and Bactria, the primary eastern fringes of Eranshahr. This Achaemenid empire, had through its invasions and warring had set in motion movements eastward of many of the Saka. Equally, the rising imperial order in China, had been over several centuries under the Zhou, been pushing the steppe nomads from their pastures north and west in its effort to both tame these people and acquire new lands for farming. this would have dire consequences for our target peoples.

As the Achaemenid empire fell, we find that the Seleucid empire, alongside its vassals, became the inheritors of defending Eranshahr. Many of the local Eranian elites, especially the Medes supported the Seleucids in this endeavor, as the people form the north and east were to them, the destroyers of civilization. Seleucid goals in defending the east are known to us, when the Seleucids permitted massive autonomy to the Greco-Bactrian lords, so long as they tame the east, while the Seleucids battle once more for the legacy of Alexander with the Ptolemies. In fact, Seleucid responses to the issue in the east and across its empire, was an alliance with so-called free cities, which were Seleucid designated cities that were free from restrictions and taxes and in gifted great autonomy. this system we may say, built large cities in the far east and in Iraq, which became bastions of imperial power and enemies of the steppe nomads; these cities too were powered by a strong slave trading elite which promoted Seleucid imperial perogative.

Ultimately, the Seleucid trust in Bactria would be a critical error, as was its foolhardy attempts to expand westward, leaving herself exposed in the far east. Bactria in 172 BCE, had aligned itself to one of the Dahae tribes, who we would later refer to as the Arsacids and these two powers would push southward in the vacuum left by the Mauryan empire and the overextended Seleucid empire. Bactrians took all leands east of Ariana and Sistan, while the Arsacids conquered Media, Persia, Iraq, Mazandran and so forth in a flurry of movements that rocked the Seluecid empire to her core. Arsacids, a steppe people in their own, closely related to the Scythian-Saka claimed for themselves Eranshahr and began a new dynastic cycle of their own and began to solidify their position. Meanwhile, the steppe was rumbling.

The movements of old by the Achaemenids and Alexander had caused the movement of Saka eastward into ever smaller pockets of grazing land east of Alexandria-Eschate. At the same time, the Zhou-Qing had produced the same effect with Saka near them and the proto-Mongol Xianbei fleeing westward also into the same tiny grazing lands north of the Tarim Basin. The result was the formation of the first true steppe empire (aside form the Scythians during the late Sargonid Assyrian period), often referred to as the Xiognu empire. This empire, was one of a different breed than the Scythian hordes that were often warring on another and unable to gather massive armies year-round. Rather, the Xiongu were an empire of the steppe that due to the loss of grazing lands, had coalesced into a conglomeration of tribute-loot gathering armies, which removed grazing as its primary economic stance and replaced it with tribute and loot.

The Tocharians were among the people who had not been pushed into any which way by the movement of the Eranshahr and Chinese imperial complexes and had remained more or less within their limits. A mixture of urban and semi-nomadic peoples, the Kushan had inhabited the Tarim Basin for at least 2800 years via a western movement of people through the steppe, which proceeded that movement associated with the Aryan movement into Hindustan, Ariana, Bactria and so forth; thus a non-Iranic Indo-European people in the far east. The first victims of the Xioggnu, a collection of Saka/Scythian and proto mongol nomads was not the sedentary peoples, but the steppe peoples or urban people nearby. Scythians who did not conjoin into their empire were crushed and fled in all direction away from the east of this empire.

In Bactria and Eranshahr, it must of seemed to be an apocalypse, for beginning in the years of 160-147 BCE, large hordes of Iranic nomads poured into Bactria and Parthia invading all that they could and defeating kings and emperors alike. In Bactria, we find the last Greek kings fall in the years of 147-144 BCE to the weight of the Scythian invaders, who conquered deep into Hindustan reaching across the subcontinent into Bengal and as far south as the Deccan, forming kingdoms throughout. Scythian hordes also dealt grievous blows to the Arsacid empire, conquering Baluchistan, Makran, Khursan and other realms on the eastern fringes of the Arsacid realm. At the same time, the Xiognu confederation, having destroyed its western steppe enemies, such as the Wusun and Sai (words used to describe non-Xiognu Saka), turned south. The southern movement crushed the varied Tochari city states and gained from them tributes, while the far eastern Tocharians, under a group called the Yuezhi, a semi-nomadic folk, were invaded and destroyed; causing their folk to uproot from their living space in the corridor of Tsaidam and Yumen, to flee west as the many others had begun to do.

These Yuezhi then appear moving through Sogdia-Ferghana and power their way into the Scythian lands and remaining Greek-Bactrian cities and conquer most of these around 143-139 BCE. This Yuezhi dominion, was based principally at Alexandria-Upon-the-Oxus and Alexandria-Eschate (Alexandria-the-furthest). Under Yuezhi rule, we find that the local Greek and Bactrian peoples remained significant through the century of decentralized Yuezhi-Saka rule and would become important members of their realm.

As time would progress, the Yuezhi, split among clans, would find itself in a growing existential crisis. To the north, the rise of a new menace in the Kangju (the Saka-Sogdians) had began to enforce their will upon northern Yuezhi held lands in the Ferghana and Kwarezm. however, more distressing was a turning tide in the west, wherein the Arsacid empire countered the Saka states which ruled its eastern sections and those Yuezhi which strayed near the Arsacid held lands. This counter would see the hordes which had slowed their pace and weakened through intra-Saka/Yuezhi war defeated by the response from Eranshahr. The result was the Arsacids extending her rule over Sistan-Ariana, Makran, Baluchistan, Indus and other realms in what would be known as the Indo-Pahalvi. Only the Saka-Yuezhi who ruled to the far north in either Kwarezm, Bactria or deep to the south in Hindustan, had been spared the wrath of the Arsacid counter. The Yuezhi in Bactria experienced this crisis and this crisis alongside the westward expansion of the Han dynasty, would create what we would call the Kushan empire.


Thank you for reading this piece. I will write the II part in another day, and fill this thread with posts regarding this topic and will answer questions and delve into discussion and speculation on matters. Additionally, after all parts are finished, we may discuss the scenario of alternate routes of this empire and its continued dynastic cycle and how this relates to what we see in other sectors of the world.

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

To clear some points:

Aryans = the people that the Eranshahr and varied Hindu states claimed rulership over.

Saka = Scythian, co-equal terms.

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

The Yuezhi rule on the eastern Oxus River

The Yuezhi from what we understand, ruled the areas of Bactria under a sort of confederation where different tribes and sectors ruled what was essentially open spaces, farmlands and remnant Greek-Bactrian cities. According to what evidence has been gathered, the notion that the Greeks had been totally wiped out and sent fleeing southward by the Scytho-Yuezhi, is a point that has generally been refuted. Rather, what we discover is that the cities such as Ai-Khanoum or Alexandria-Upon-The-Oxus (we will refer to it as Alexandria-Oxus), is a co-mingling between the Yuezhi rulers and continued inhabitance from both Greek and Bactrian citizenry. Chinese sources corroborate this status, wherein the Chinese claim was that the Yuezhi lived in tents outside of the cities of Bactria (Anxi) while the locals lived within the city and were ruled directly by their nomadic lords, who were encamped upon their cities. Likely, this is not too divergent from the Yuezhi's style of life in their homeland of Tocharia. Therein, we may imagine that the Yuezhi a semi-nomadic folk interacted closely with the urbanized Tocharians who lived in walled cities and traded across the vast desert. In this capacity, semi-nomadic peoples could have formed a intermediate point between urban centres in vast steppe-desert terrains. In otl, we have examples of this, within the Kushan empire, from the Kangju-Sogdians, who coalesced into a semi-nomadic long-distance trading folk who otherwise practiced little agriculture. Nevertheless, what we may say, is that the rule of the Yuezhi in Bactria, at least ont eh eastern edges of the Oxus, was one that began to coalesce the different sections of local Bactrian and Greek society into its Yuezhi semi-nomadic customs. What we receive, is that the Yuezhi were combining many different elements into a new type of civilization and cultural complex, that differed from any other at the world at the time.

Within the eastern Oxus river valley, the Yuezhi bands that we are most concerned with, ruled primarily four different types of people in this very early stage. These four can be classified as follows, a nomadic, a semi-nomadic and two settled elements. The first one, the purely pastoral nomadic entity, was the Scytho-Saka element within the Oxus valley under the Yuezhi. From evidences of trade and descriptions from China, the Scythians continued their great trade and hoarding of gold in their southern migrations. This trade of gold and other precious metals would become a major part of the Kushan imperial economy as well as the early Yuezhi confederation on the Oxus river. These Scythians would likely we would say, moved across the land freely to and fro, trading, pillaging and otherwise migrating. Semi-nomadic constituents have already generally been described, these are the Yuezhi, who would periodically migrate or move places, encamp near cities or encamp their tents within cities. Seasonal nomadism remains/remained a common facet of Tajikistan lifestyle, wherein families will farm for a portion of the year or live in urban centres for a portion and then in certain months travel to the steppe and tend to horses and flocks as nomads do. We may expect the same from the Yuezhi, who possibly practiced this lifestyle in their homelands in Tocharia. The last two, who have briefly been mentioned, are the Bactrian and Greek inhabitants.

An Iranic people, the Bactrians were a people who practiced agriculture and lived in large cities in what is modern northern Afghanistan and Tajikstan, a land known in antiquity as Bactria. These people were speakers of their own tongue and held in common with the Persians, Medes and so forth patterns of Iranian paganism, with some of their own distinct religious symbols. Chinese sources claim that these Bactrians were both made up of farmers and merchants, but less likely to be soldiers and were under protection from the Yuezhi who lived outside their fortified cities. Bactrian peoples, situated on the far eastern fringes of the ancient Achaemenid Empire, would have likely had the greatest relation with the Tocharian and steppe peoples to the east and possibly had commonalities of sorts with the Yuezhi. This trade relation with the Tocharians is exemplified by Chinese sources exclaiming that the Bactrian and Greek peoples of the area wore silks made from the chroniclers' home region in central China and when asked as to how they acquired, they said they traded for these items. The second settled ensemble worth mentioning, is that of the Greek element. Successors of Alexander's conquest and settlement policy by the Achaemenids, the populace was settled most heavily in cities. The centuries prior to the Yuezhi rule, had been one in which their rule had been absolute in the Oxus valley and we suspect that there had been massive intermingling and assimilation between the Bactrians and Greeks, to the point that we are nearly unable to tell the two apart aside from inscriptions within the cities or on coinage. In essence, the sedentary populace was one of a cosmopolitan nature, that had for over the past 200 years, been coalescing into a unique truly Greco-Bactrian culture. The Yuezhi did not create this cultural combination and situation, rather, they entered upon it. Their existence and custodianship, would be one where the Yuezhi would mold themselves to this culture and create an empire from this remaining Greco-Bactrian cultural synthesis and with the legacy of the great Saka-Yuezhi migration in the previous century.

As a conclusion to the section of what would constitute the Yuezhi confederation on the eastern Oxus and how this related to the rise of the Kushan empire; we say that all empires and imperial complexes have an origin story and one that encompasses or endeavors to unite the people along a message and common strand of time. The Kushan empire, building from it Yuezhi roots, would be one based upon the following in order:

1. Life in Tocharia, semi-nomadism and trade relations with urban centres along the desert in the Tarim.
2. Formation of the Xiognu empire, the steppe empire, precedent set for tribute-loot economies
3. The great migration of steppe dissidents, who were not part of the Xiognu steppe empire
4. The adventurism of the Scyhtian peoples and their vast conquests across the former Seleucid and Mauryan empires.
5. Yuezhi participation in the adventurism and exceptionalism and their coexistance with the Oxus valley peoples
6. The Arsacid counterattack and the end of Scytho-Saka adventurism
7. The Yuezhi reform themselves into a true power, free from adventurism

These seven coalesced into the Kushan identity and imperial complex that would form its dynastic cycle. Had this cycle lasted until today, we might imagine great epics and tales of this period of adventure, the terror of the Xiognu, the heroism of great Saka and Yuzhi kings and eventually the coming together of these peoples into a great empire to last for eternity. Kushan imperial notions are that simply, the combination of the great period of adventure with the local Bactro-Greek cultural synthesis.


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The next section will be covered in a secondary post, this thus is part 1.

 

[Gloss]

I'm not sure how relevant this is, but I was wondering when exactly did steppe nomads start really inhabiting the various Steppe regions and being serious political players? Because I see conflicting evidence.

Also I was wondering, were the Central Asian Scythians really that important for the Xiongnu ethnogenesis? Especially considering they themselves pushed other groups towards the very areas were the Greeks and Persians supposedly pushed their nomads.

Another possibly off-topic question, if the Bactrian Greeks, Seleucid and Bosphorus Greeks resisted Sarmatian, Dahae and Yuezhi expansion and pushed back, do you think it's possible for a Steppe empire to have formed in the Caspian-Kazakh steppe?

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

I'm not sure how relevant this is, but I was wondering when exactly did steppe nomads start really inhabiting the various Steppe regions and being serious political players? Because I see conflicting evidence.

Also I was wondering, were the Central Asian Scythians really that important for the Xiongnu ethnogenesis? Especially considering they themselves pushed other groups towards the very areas were the Greeks and Persians supposedly pushed their nomads.

Another possibly off-topic question, if the Bactrian Greeks, Seleucid and Bosphorus Greeks resisted Sarmatian, Dahae and Yuezhi expansion and pushed back, do you think it's possible for a Steppe empire to have formed in the Caspian-Kazakh steppe?

My opinion and the opinion of a large number of the students of recent in studies of the Xiognu, consider at least the rulers of the Xiongu to be Saka, due to the names of the rulers in question; which in Chinese transcribe to Chinese variants of Saka names. Further, we know that they were not the Xianbei, which are most likely the group which we call proto-Mongols and later Rouran as these remained a bit east of where the main sector of Xiongu power came to be settled. There is also an interest in Xiongnu continued practices of the trade in some of these precious metals that exemplified Saka-Scythian cultural transactions. Later Turkic and otherwise Altaic arrivals would end these practices, the Gokturk Empire would be the end of these transfers of gold and precious metals north to the south, reaching Hindustan and Eran, whose principle trading constituents were the Saka, Sogdians, Bactrians, Parthians, Hindu and Arachosians. This transit, as I mentioned, only ended when we are assured that nature of the nomadic entities were from a more northern eastern origin, that being Turko-Mongol steppe conglomerates. Regarding the movements, it is as I described, a push of the Saka from the west and east at relatively similar times, for around three centuries, caused the creation of the Xiongnu, certain Saka bands and likely a portion of non-Saka nomads in that region at the time, formed into the steppe empire and spread both east, west and south, pushing out bands and tribes that did not join their confederation. This had occurred in the past at a small scale, different Scythian bands warring against a more eastern, southern or western version of the Saka. The case example is that the Scythians according to Herodotus were constantly pushing each other to and fro across the steppe. However, this situation changed when large sedentary empires such as the Achaemenids spread into their realm forcing the bands further and further outside of grazing lands.

My point was not that the Greeks pushed their nomads into Bactria or Sogdia. Rather, this is where these nomads where prior and the Seleucids, Achaemenids, Greco-Bactrians caused a shift pushing many of these bands eastward, at the same time as the Zhou-Qin were seeing the pushing northeastward of their bands of nomads aside from the Yuezhi at the edge of Tocharia and the Xianbei, whom the Chinese referred to as eastern nomads. In fact, the Xiongnu coalesced in areas that were known to be Saka lands of travel and the Xiongnu would conquer their eastern neighbors, the Xianbei and others.

We should note, while there are possibly many distinctions between the Xiongu and what is mainstream Saka, some of these differences may be seen as similar to that of the general differences between different bands of Saka. The Xionfnu, if we assume, spoke or bore Eastern Iranian names and had extremely close relations to the Yuezhi, Tocharians, general Saka and the sedentary Bactrians, it would be best assumed that they either were Saka or a related group to the Saka whose true relation is lost to time. The first time that it is agreed that an Altaic-Mongol steppe empire is the Rouran Khaganate.

A short point on names of rulers, the Xiongnu frist king, was named Moda, an interesting point is, our records show that there was a major Saka king in Hindustan who conquered sections under the same name and with a variant of 'Moga.' There are other example sof this naming similarity between the Saka and the Xiongnu both in Chinese and otherwise western-Hindu sources.

Steppe nomads became important players at least into the 8th century BCE, that is during the Sargonid period of Assyria. Scythian and Cimmerian hordes had already a level of sophistication that we could call a steppe nomadic army and 'horde.' In the 4th and 3rd century BCE, is when the first steppe empire forms, that being the Xiongnu, to the northwest of the Han Dynasty. Presumably, the Saka had migrated across the steppe and grazed lands and periodically due to various reasons invaded west, south and east.

Yes, it would be possible if the Seleucids had remained an eastern focus state and pushed the Scytho-Yuezhi expansion northward, they would most likely expand westward into the Pontic Steppe forming a steppe empire there and impact Bospora, Greece, Dacia, Germania, etc,,, similar to the Hunnic empire in later times.

 

[Deleted member 123260]

@John7755 يوحنا

This is probably far too early but what will become of Islam?

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

@John7755 يوحنا

This is probably far too early but what will become of Islam?

Unfortunately, the Kushan dynastic cycle would be essentially defunct by the time of the rise of Islam. Its last breath, might possibly have been various Iranic rulers who either were conquered by Islam or submitted to Islam without war, such as the state of Sogdiana, which submitted to the Abbasid caliphate after the Abbasids defeated the Tang Dynasty at Talas.

 

[Gloss]

My opinion and the opinion of a large number of the students of recent in studies of the Xiognu, consider at least the rulers of the Xiongu to be Saka...

Interesting, from what I've heard, other than Turkic and Mongol, is that the core elite of the Xiongnu were Yeniseian speaking.

a push of the Saka from the west and east at relatively similar times, for around three centuries, caused the creation of the Xiongnu, certain Saka bands and likely a portion of non-Saka nomads in that region at the time, formed into the steppe empire and spread both east, west and south, pushing out bands and tribes that did not join their confederation. This had occurred in the past at a small scale, different Scythian bands warring against a more eastern, southern or western version of the Saka. The case example is that the Scythians according to Herodotus were constantly pushing each other to and fro across the steppe. However, this situation changed when large sedentary empires such as the Achaemenids spread into their realm forcing the bands further and further outside of grazing lands.

Were the Sarmatians pushed by the Persian from Central Asia too?

In fact, the Xiongnu coalesced in areas that were known to be Saka lands of travel and the Xiongnu would conquer their eastern neighbors, the Xianbei and others.

At the same time I think the Turkic homeland is the Orkhon valley, close to the core Xiongnu territory and would make sense considering the Huns and others seemed to have been Turkic, so I imagine there must have been a shift to Oghur Turkic during the decline and migration of the Xiongnu.

A short point on names of rulers, the Xiongnu frist king, was named Moda, an interesting point is, our records show that there was a major Saka king in Hindustan who conquered sections under the same name and with a variant of 'Moga.' There are other example sof this naming similarity between the Saka and the Xiongnu both in Chinese and otherwise western-Hindu sources.

Can early steppe terminology such as "chanyu" be explained through Eastern Iranian too?

Steppe nomads became important players at least into the 8th century BCE, that is during the Sargonid period of Assyria. Scythian and Cimmerian hordes had already a level of sophistication that we could call a steppe nomadic army and 'horde.' In the 4th and 3rd century BCE, is when the first steppe empire forms, that being the Xiongnu, to the northwest of the Han Dynasty. Presumably, the Saka had migrated across the steppe and grazed lands and periodically due to various reasons invaded west, south and east.

BTW is there a reason why it seems most of the early steppe migration in the Western half go east-to-west? Is it because geography, internal infighting or is it just specific historical circumstances?

Yes, it would be possible if the Seleucids had remained an eastern focus state and pushed the Scytho-Yuezhi expansion northward, they would most likely expand westward into the Pontic Steppe forming a steppe empire there and impact Bospora, Greece, Dacia, Germania, etc,,, similar to the Hunnic empire in later times.

Why west? OTL plenty of groups were pushed West by other groups, but they didn't really form steppe empires, if I understood you correctly shouldn't those nomadic groups be pushed to a resourceless periphery? If that's the case I imagine the Kazakh steppe fullfills that more than pushing groups to Ukraine and Russia.

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

@Skallagrim @Gloss

1. The reason is, the are of the Kazakh steppe was a point in which the sedentary peoples were pushing towards. The Achaemenid empire, without ruling lands, would launch punitive invasions far to the north. Seleucid imperial powers did the same. Hence why the Kazakh steppe was somewhat unstable and why this was a staging group for chaotic movements for the Saka in this period. Once the Dahae push southward and defeat the threats imposed upon them from the Hellenistic kingdom of Parthava-Parthia and then into Media-Persia, the situation changed.

2. The reason in my opinion, is that there was no hegemonic empire that was pressing the grazing lands from the western end, causing fleeing steppe nomads and formation of steppe empires. In my in process tl of the Assyrian empire, part of the eventual experiment is to create an empire which forces a west-to-east steppe migration route.

3. Chanyu is a difficult term, some draw connections to Yenisien languages. While others say that it has similarities to a Sogdian word for banner which corresponds to the eventual Turkish 'tarkhan.' The Sogdian language is by relation, the closest perhaps that we have regarding the eastern Saka language. Sogdiana itself was formed by a nomadic group who fled from the east and north and were called the Kangju and beginning as steppe nomads, developed into long distance merchants, while the Yuezhi became empire builders.

4. The idea that the Turkic peoples might have in the Xiongnu decline, overthrew the Saka ruling class and made a Turkish ruling class, is a possibility. The issue we have is, the Hepthalites, Sveta Huna and so forth, those Huns and related groups that expanded southward are generally seen as a people with Iranic names but with unknown exact language. The Hepthalites utilized Bactrian, Sogdian and Tocharian and called themselves Emperors of the Arya, Kings of the Kushans. The Kidarites are similar, they themselves were referred to as a branch of Saka-Yuezhi by the Chinese sources. However, we cannot deny that according to most scholars, the western Hunnic hordes, were of an Altaic or otherwise non-Iranic identity in terms of their names. The solution, is that this Xiongnu empire, was a truly polyglot empire and constituted many different steppe folk.

5. Sarmatians, I am not sure. They are ultimately a branch of the wider Saka-Scythians. From what I understand, they inhabited the lands ultra Kazakhstan to the north. Therein, for reasons most likely related to the Achaemenid and Alexandrine empire, expanded westward after bands were pushed northward. Later, the Dahae would reclaim some of these lands but would continually be at striking distance from the Hellenistic states to its south.

 

[Skallagrim]

I much enjoy watching this thread, @John7755 يوحنا , but it seems you have accidentally tagged me where you meant to tag @Gloss.

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

I much enjoy watching this thread, @John7755 يوحنا , but it seems you have accidentally tagged me where you meant to tag @Gloss.

Yes, do forgive the mistake! Though, perhaps that is a sign that you should give a contribution, no? Just kidding ahah

 

[Gloss]

The reason is, the are of the Kazakh steppe was a point in which the sedentary peoples were pushing towards. The Achaemenid empire, without ruling lands, would launch punitive invasions far to the north. Seleucid imperial powers did the same. Hence why the Kazakh steppe was somewhat unstable and why this was a staging group for chaotic movements for the Saka in this period. Once the Dahae push southward and defeat the threats imposed upon them from the Hellenistic kingdom of Parthava-Parthia and then into Media-Persia, the situation changed.

I wonder, ultimately is it this push from sedentary states toward nomad territories necessarily going to work against the sedentary states by virtue of fostering nomadic political arrangements? The Chinese eventually drove off the Xiongnu but was the endeavour worth the land taken?

The reason in my opinion, is that there was no hegemonic empire that was pressing the grazing lands from the western end, causing fleeing steppe nomads and formation of steppe empires. In my in process tl of the Assyrian empire, part of the eventual experiment is to create an empire which forces a west-to-east steppe migration route.

Is it going to be Assyria itself or some Balkan, Pontic or Caucasian nation?

Sogdiana itself was formed by a nomadic group who fled from the east and north and were called the Kangju and beginning as steppe nomads, developed into long distance merchants, while the Yuezhi became empire builders.

Sogdians were originally nomad too? I've hard time following were the line between nomads and agriculturalist was in Central Asia at any point in time. What forced them to move?

The issue we have is, the Hepthalites, Sveta Huna and so forth, those Huns and related groups that expanded southward are generally seen as a people with Iranic names but with unknown exact language. The Hepthalites utilized Bactrian, Sogdian and Tocharian and called themselves Emperors of the Arya, Kings of the Kushans. The Kidarites are similar, they themselves were referred to as a branch of Saka-Yuezhi by the Chinese sources.

Well I don't think it would be surprising even if the Xiongnu were a 100% Altaic certified group, they would have assimilated or joined up with existing Eastern Iranian nomads, then they would have conquered a very Iranic region, all those factors would compound into the original language and pecularities becoming relative obscure. Though some practices such as cranial deformation seem to have been common to both Huns in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, I wonder if that supports the former also having some sizeable Altaic element or maybe it was just a general practice(i find it weird though, I don't recall earlier steppe groups or the xiongnu having those practices)
I think there are some other differences, the Xiongnu I think were described as bearded while later Huns as shaved(and I don't think genetics would play much of a role, we would be talking of generally mixed population even at an individual level let alone when speaking about groups as a whole), I do think that quite some changes must have happened, not just linguistics, between the early Xiongnu and later groups.

Edit: Sorry for moving the discussion toward the Steppes, I have some questions about the Pakistan-Eastern Eranshar too, but I need to formulate them well.

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

@Gloss No no, I enjoy this conversation and it is very important for the Kushan empire, these questions as ultimately, the Kushan Empire derives from the later Saka adventurism.

I personally do not see it as reasonable for the Xiongnu to be anything other than at least partly East Iranian or for lack of better terms, Saka. One point, there could be a link ultimately between the the Saka and the Tocharians that is less understood and lost, and this could be ultimately what the early Xiongnu rulers and sector of the great confederation was.

Regarding the cranial deformation, this is certainly something different and not known among the Saka or Iranic folk, Aryans in Hindustan or the distant Scythian relations among the Thracians or Celts. The first mentions of cranial deformation in the steppe begin with the Huns, especially those moving westward. The supposed Huns of the south, the Sveta Huna and Hepthalites do not appear to have had these practices. From what we understand, the Sveta Huna may not be exactly co-equal to the Hepthalites. One may imagine the distinction wherein the Sveta Huna were subjects of the Hepthalites who were tasked with invasions into Hindustan and otherwise a subject people. Meanwhile, the Hepthalites were Lords of the Aryans and Kings of the Kushans; therein they were the final destination of the Kushan dynastic cycle and were among a cultural complex that was both Eastern Iranic and also fundamentally 'Kushan.' Regarding the shaved beards, from what we understand of coins, the Eastern Iranian peoples favored figures that were not bearded. The only Kushan era coins that depict a bearded figure are from the reign of Kanishka, the rest were shaved figures. Later Hepthalite and Kidarite coinage followed this trend, as did Scythian coinage in the Western Satraps. Bearded coinage was the common practice for the Eranshahr emperors, both Sassanian and Arsacid (originally the Arsacids depicted themselves shaved and either in Greek or steppe nomad attire/ later Arsacid era coinage saw the entry of the beard) and varied among the Greek coinage. I am not familiar with Turkish coinage before Islam, only that the golden coinage used by the Kushan empire and later empires, of the cycle, was gathered through trade from the Saka-Scythians to the north. Once the Huns push westward, this golden trade declines rapidly, presumably that the Hunnic invasion may be the first time in thousands of years, that an invasion westward occurred by a non-Saka/Iranic people. Prior to the so-called Hunnic invasion, it would seem that the Xiongnu were actively supported the transfer of gold trade across the region and that trade of trinkets that exemplified the Saka and according to the Han, was one of the primary items that the Xiongnu gathered from the Tocharian states which the Xiongnu ruled over in a very intimate way.

The Sogdians derived from the Kangju who arrived a short time after the Yuezhi. During the Kushan empire, the Kangju would enter a mutual relation with the Kushan that would basically amount to a vassalage system that was of the Kangju that would be akin to Roman relations with some of its nearby Latin ally states, that is extremely intimate partners in empire. As some scholars have described, the relation was where the Kushan were the empire builders and the Kangju were the merchants who resonated this empire.

The Assyria question may be for another time or in a private chat.

No, it probably was not something that provided benefits to the empires who expanded in their expense, especially in the long term. The Kushan method of transforming steppe nomads was much more effective and draws possibility to a third way regarding sedentary-nomadic synthesis often unexplored.

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

A List of Kushan Emperors Roughly

Yuezhi kings (basileus)

Sapadizes 30 BCE-1CE (King of the Yuezhi, Sanav of the Kushan [Sanav is unknown, however, it most likely refers to chief of some kind])
Heraios Soter 1-30 CE (King of the Yuezhi, Sanav of the Kushan)

----
Kushan I

Kujula Khadphises 30-87 CE (King of Kings, King of the Kushans, Lord Salvation, Steadfast in Dharma), sanav is removed from this point onward
Vima I (Vima Takto) 87-99 CE (King of the Kushans, King of Kings, Lord Salvation, Great Savior) -it would appear Vima I used Soter Megas (Great Savior) as his primary title
Vima II (Vima Khadphises) 99-100 CE (King of the Kushans, King of Kings, Great Savior)
Kanishka I 100-147 CE (King of Kings, King of the Kushans, Great Savior, Magnificent with no fear)
Vashishka I 147-155 CE (King of Kings, King of the Kushans, Great Savior)
Huvishka 155-187 CE (King of Kings, King of the Kushans,)
Vasudeva I 187-230 CE (King of Kings, King of the Kushans, Servant of Shiva)
Kanishka II 230-240 CE (King of Kings, King of the Kushans) (Nominal empire, 75% of empire conquered by the Sassanids, Kushan rump state in western Tocharia, Sogdia and Punjab)
Vashishka II 240-249 CE (King of the Kushans) (Kushan rump state in Punjab)
Kanishka III 249-275 CE (King of Kings, King of the Kushans) (Kushan rump state in Punjab)
Vasudeva II 275-310 CE (King of Kings, King of the Kushan) (Kushan rump state in Punjab)
----
Vasudeva III 310-312 CE (no coins listed) (Returned Kushan power in Kabul and Peshawar, revolt success against the Sassanids)
Vasudeva IV 312-325 CE (King of Kings)
Shakra 325-345 CE (Bactria lost once more and for the final time)
Kipunada 350-? CE (Punjabi rump state, final Kushan ruler)

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Kidarite Rulers ---- Kushan II

Kidara I 350-386 CE (King of Kings, King of the Kushan)
Kidara II (assumed name) 386-420 CE (King of Kings, King of the Kushans) coin mimics the Sassanid era coins but with Kushan-like reverse
Vihran I 420-450 CE (King of Kings, King of the Kushan)
???
Kungas ?-470 or so (Kidarite empire [Kushan II] is destroyed by Hepthalite-Sassanid alliance and pressure from the Gupta empire under Skandragupta)

Kidarites continued to rule Kashmir, Jammu and sections of far north Punjab as vassals of the Hepthalites
-------

Hepthalite-Sveta Huna Empire or Kushan III

Khushnavaz 449-490 CE
???? Hepthalshah I
???? Hepthalshah II
???? Hepthalshah III
Ghadfar ???-560 CE
Faghanish 560-598 CE (broke into several independent feudatories of the Sassanids or the Celestial Turks in the region of Bactria and the Indus Valley)


440/467-587 CE or 710/850 CE

Though their coins are abundant, the coinage does not usually depict names of rulers and thus we are unable to decipher a chronology for these rulers. What is known, is that these rulers used Sogdian on their coins and claimed the titles of (King of Kings and King of the Kushan) and for a time had in effect reestablished the Kushan Empire. This situation would last until the Sassanian-Turkish alliance of 550 and by 567, the Hepthalites ruled only a rump state in Kabul and some sectors of the Punjab. The Hepthalites however remained powerful in Arachosia and resisted Sassanid power until the 8th century. Many scholars hold, that the Zabul state in Arachosia-Zwambinar, was a rump state of the Hepthalites and as such, the last and final remnant of the Kushan Empire; which was conquered by the Abbasid caliphate in the 850s.

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The Yuezhi 'reformation'

As has been described, the Yuezhi in the late 1st century BCE, were one that was a confederation of tribes, with local rulers, whom we may say were called sanavs. The most important of these Yuezhi and the only whom we may say are linked to the Kushan royal dynasty, are the Yuezhi who ruled the far eastern edge of the Oxus river in Bactria. The first of these that we know of, Sapadizes, his reign is not well known, however, his coinage copies almost exactly that of the Greco-Bactrian Eucratides and attests the strong connection between the Kushan founders and their Greek predecessors. The successor of Sapadizes, Heraios Soter, is noted for being the father of Kujula Khadphises, the first emperor of the Kushan and the founder of the dynastic cycle. What is known of Heraios Soter, is that he likely solidified the area of the eastern Oxus before his son Kujula took control and also he is differentiated by having a much different coinage style in terms of his facial depiction that his son or his predecessor. He wears no headpiece, has a head which shows signs of possible cranial deformation, has a moustache and a shirt with with a wide nose in profile. This differs enormously from Kujula's depiction of himself; why this difference occurs, is perhaps something we may speculate over in the comments.

Regardless, in the year of 30 CE, Kujula Khadphises began his reign (an inscription during the reign of Kanishka I refers to his ascendance) and would rule for an astonishing 57 years in what would be a truly magnificent period of conquest and victory. At the time of his ascension, the last vestiges of Scythian Arachosia were lost, the Arsacid dynasty had asserted rule over most of Arachosia up to Kabul and Peshawar and ruled by proxy much of the upper Indus Valley. While the Sindh region remained under various Scythian klings who ruled the Sindh, Gujarat and some lands within the later Rajput lands. The era of adventurism from the steppe was being put to the sword at the hands of the Arsacid counter and seemingly, most of the Scythian realms were too divided and organized to stop the Arsacid wave.

This Arsacid counter, which was against the anarchy and and steppe nomadic powers that had broke through its old ally Bactria, had without intention created the impetus for coalescence among the Yuezhi who ruled Bactria and this would bring to an end the territorial height of the Arsacid empire. According to Chinese sources, Kujula beginning his reign united the Yuezhi under his rule and completed invasions and counters on all of his borders of 47 years. The first counter was his victories and alliance with the Kangju. Chinese sources tell us, how the Kangju became tributaries and vassals of the Kushan in this period. Kushan and Kangju relations became one wherein the Kushan, under Kujula sought to unify his people under the banner of a new empire and system, used the Kangju as a northern buffer and as a mode through which long distance trade could occur.

Kushan martial prowess likely derived from its unique situation, wherein the forces of the Kushan empire, were a mixture of steppe nomadism, sedentary organized planning and royal prerogative that the Kushan learned from their Greek predecessors and their Bactrian locals. As such, we may say that the Kushan empire, was actively a force that was a sedentary empire forming and using a steppe nomadic army to both enforce its empire, maintain it and coalesce said empire into a truly powerful entity. The Scytho-Yuezhio contingent who made up the Kushan founding stock, became warriors of the empire, steppe warriors who maintained their skills at horsemanship, yet solidified under a monarch that molded sedentary Greco-Bactrian royal power with that of the enigmatic Scythian king.

As such, the Kushan represented a different mentality than the Seleucid who pushed the steppe further out or the Dahae-Arsacid who were steppe nomads that adapted to the local sedentary life but with their own steppe original flavors. The Kushan way was to transform the steppe nomads and nomadic peoples into a force for sedentary expansion and creation of a new identity, which would last for 600 years.

Despite this nature, the Kushans under Kujula would challenge the Arsacids and their Surend royal house in the Sindh region and would push the Arsacids out of Arachosia, Sindh and completely from the Indus valley region. In addition, the Kushans would push into the Tocharian states in the east, capturing several to the dismay of the Han Dynasty. Kushan powers in the reign of Kujula further spread to Kwarezm, pushing out Arsacid powers and integrating local Scyhto-Dahae into their realm. Within a period of some 40 years, Kujula had conquered roughly much of Central Asia up to the Indus Valley. Further, during this reign, the Kangju were brought into the empire as vassals and possibly during this period or in the next reign of Vima I, the Scythian states of Gujarat and the Sindh, became vassals of the Kushans, calling themselves, 'Western Satraps,' their coins attest to a vassalage to the Kushan emperor.

As this empire began to coalesce, Kujula Khadphises minted many coins, which are still readily available. The most common coins are depicting Kujula as Augustus Emperor of Rome, with dual writings, with Greek and Bactrian (written in Greek script) calling himself, King of Kings, King of the Kushan, Lord Salvation and Steadfast in Dharma. These titles are important, as unlike the Arsacids who used Shahhanshah, the Kushans used a title that worded king of kings using Basileus, the Greek word for king. Further, while the rest of the text is using Greek terms such as Soter Megas, Basileus, etc,, the King of the Kushans, uses a more Iranic wording, that being Kushanshah. Upon the reverse of these coins, is a myriad of gods depending upon the coins, these coins during the reign of Kujula are as follows:

Nike (Greek)
Mithra-Helio (syncretic)
Apollo (Greek)
Zeus (Greek)
Mao (Iranian) Iranic god of the moon
Hephaestus (Greek/Scythian) personified flames
Atar (Iranian) flames
Hercules (Greek)
Oxus (Bactrian) personified Oxus river
Pharro (Bactrian) God of glory and royal Kushan kingship
Oesho (Bactrian) The family god of the Kushan royalty
Nana (Akkadian-Sumerian) Goddess of the moon
Winshu (Bactrian-Iranic) God of the wind

Also on the reverse of many coins from Kujula, is elephants with a ride or a horse with a Scythian rider and other similar forms, not dissimilar to Indo-Arsacid coinage or Greco-Indian coinage.

------
Next post, we will discuss the territorial extent of the Kushan empire, its trade network and so forth. The base of the Kushan empire was set during the reign of Kujula and his successors would make additional conquests and solidify these lands and this situation of interior Kushan realms in Central Asia would remain stable until the year 226-232, when the majority of Central Asia fell to the Sassanid empire, leaving a segmented Kushan empire ruling Tocharia-Sogdia and yet also at the same time, the Punjab. This will be covered in part 3.

 

[Practical Lobster]

i'm enjoying this - I just wanted to take up one small nitpick:

It's undeniable that the Kidara saw themselves as successors to the Kushan - I mean they literally used the term Kusana Sahi on their coins. The totality of their imperial worldview was that their dynasty were the heirs of Kushan and I think they were consciously attempting to reproduce the Kushan Empire. Still, it's probably best just to think of them as a Hyon/Xyon/Hun force with a focus on gaining legitimacy through the appropriation of Sassanian and Kushan iconography.

The Kidarite state, such as it was, was an extremely short lived dynasty without a clear ethnic origin besides vaguely "Hunnic" and its leaders did very little, from my understanding, to develop or build any long-term basis of power. The Kushan undeniably built a stable regime, but the Kidara by contrast seem to have just gone through the region devastating and pillaging - more of a continued interregnum, in my opinion. To the extent that the Kidarites adopted settled administrative techniques, I'd argue that they were basically simply co-opting these techniques as a revenue gathering mechanism - and states where the government priority is simply wealth extraction are typically unstable and short-lived.

The Kidarites themselves produced almost no lasting artistic or cultural achievements beyond slavishly copying past artistic trends. They made no effort to restore regions devastated by either themselves or the Sasanians before them. They were not really "patrons" of construction projects or (major) urban foundations. Then with remarkable swiftness they were completely overwritten by the sudden arrival of the Hepthalites. This combined with their lack of coherent identity and their rapid incorporation into the Hepthalite empire speaks to, imo, a loosely aligned army of steppe raiders who lacked cultural or social unity.

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

i'm enjoying this - I just wanted to take up one small nitpick:

It's undeniable that the Kidara saw themselves as successors to the Kushan - I mean they literally used the term Kusana Sahi on their coins. The totality of their imperial worldview was that their dynasty were the heirs of Kushan and I think they were consciously attempting to reproduce the Kushan Empire. Still, it's probably best just to think of them as a Hyon/Xyon/Hun force with a focus on gaining legitimacy through the appropriation of Sassanian and Kushan iconography.

The Kidarite state, such as it was, was an extremely short lived dynasty without a clear ethnic origin besides vaguely "Hunnic" and its leaders did very little, from my understanding, to develop or build any long-term basis of power. The Kushan undeniably built a stable regime, but the Kidara by contrast seem to have just gone through the region devastating and pillaging - more of a continued interregnum, in my opinion. To the extent that the Kidarites adopted settled administrative techniques, I'd argue that they were basically simply co-opting these techniques as a revenue gathering mechanism - and states where the government priority is simply wealth extraction are typically unstable and short-lived.

The Kidarites themselves produced almost no lasting artistic or cultural achievements beyond slavishly copying past artistic trends. They made no effort to restore regions devastated by either themselves or the Sasanians before them. They were not really "patrons" of construction projects or (major) urban foundations. Then with remarkable swiftness they were completely overwritten by the sudden arrival of the Hepthalites. This combined with their lack of coherent identity and their rapid incorporation into the Hepthalite empire speaks to, imo, a loosely aligned army of steppe raiders who lacked cultural or social unity.

I would tend to agree, the Kidarites seem much less amicable to the Kushan cycle that I described, but they were certainly claimants to the legacy. Had things been different with them, there is a possibility for a restoration in a more meaningful sense than otl. Much of this thread has to do with opening the forum members to potential PODs and scenarios for new timelines that incorporate a non-Turkic or steppe dominated Central Asia and one also not ruled directly by an Eranshahr or Islamic empire. The Kidarites, represent the potentiality for a return to the Kushan empire, through the same methods that the Kushan arose; namely a period of destruction and adventure, followed by a phase of alliance with sedentary cities and utilizing the steppe tradition in martial aspects with a sedentary administrative outlook. The Kushan began much the same way, the Yuezhi-Scythian-Kangju hordes at the time, were seen as destroyers of civilization by their enemies and later forged for themselves an imperial complex, that had not yet been created.

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

II: Territorial Extent of the Kushan Empire

The Kushan Empire throughout its history, both in the first 'cycle' and in later periods, was one with a base area and region and exterior lands either under vassalage or direct control but not necessarily its heartland. All imperial complexes possess a certain heartland fro which their empire finds its primary support base and also its foremost garrison for future conquests and defensive actions. In the case of the Roman Mare Nostrum period, this was most certainly the lands of Italy, Greece, Asia Minor, Egypt, the southern coasts of Gaul and coastal Hispania. During the Neo-Assyrian Empire, its regions of power or its core area, was Assyria, Babylonia and the immediate vicinity of the Akkadian city of Harran in the region west of Assyria; while the Syria, Palestine, Tabal, Quwe, Phoenicia, Canaan, Syria, Egypt, Iranian holdings, were all of less immediate import or had roles of economic zones and tribute zones, instead of core areas to raise armies and distribute hard support.

Kushan imperial situations were of no difference, aside from the unique nature of said empire. Most prominent among these unique features, is the peculiar aspect of how the Kushan while operating a state as a sedentary power, remained in use of an army resembling its steppe origin and thus, as a result, its base of support in terms of martial prowess, could arrive from many directions. In other words, from where the large horse borne armies of the Kushan derived their prowess came from, could be said to be in varied locations, for in all sectors of the empire, there was a steppe component which had arrived in the previous centuries and existed as either local rulers or independent steppe bands who now owed service to the empire of the Kushans. Additionally, the extent to which the Kushan utilized local sedentary soldiers is less known than its continued steppe utilization. For instance, upon coins, we find the Kushan depiction of warriors as of only two major types, either a warrior upon a horse with a drawn bow or a warrior upon an elephant with drawn bow. The case of the elephant is similar to Greco-Bactrian depictions, with the supposed intention that the said king was claiming in the coin that he was not depicting an elephant at war, but symbolizing his rule over the Indus river (The Dahae-Arsacid rulers in the Indus also famously used this depiction). In the case of the man riding upon a horse with drawn bow, it likely depicts the common Kushan warrior archetype or at least the conception that the king upon the reverse commanded the warriors who rode upon the horse. Regardless, we can draw some conclusions on the 'base' lands of the Kushan empire and the likewise exterior lands to it; including vassals.

Kushan Core territories:

Bactria: Already discussed to a large degree, corresponding to most of modern day Northern Afghanistan, its largest settlements would include:

Alexandria-Upon-the-Oxus
Kamboja or Kabhu (Kabul)
Kapisi-Bagram (secondary capitol)
Bactra (Balkh)
Gazaca or Alexandria-in-Opiana (Ghazni)

Sogdiana: That area of land corresponding to the north and extreme northwest of Bactria. During the Kushan Empire, it was an important zone of trade from the north and east. Generally, it was the site for the largest portion of the so-called gold trade from the Saka and other peoples north of the empire carrying gold either from the west or the northeast. It was ruled jointly it seems by the Kushan empire and its close-intimate vassals, the Kangju. The Kangju themselves represent a Saka-Sogdian state that was seemingly subjugated by unknown means during the early reign of Kujula and through the subsequent era of the Kushan empire, would become the most loyal of the Kushan vassals in the northern reaches of the empire and over the years would become long distance merchants, losing their past steppe and sedentary practices. Major cities would include:

Marcanda (Samarkand)
Nautaca-Kesh-Chach (Kangju capitol city)
Chach-Tashkent
Buxarax (Bukhara; the centre of classical Sogdian sedentary civilization)
Taraz/Talas

Chorasmia: Inhabited by a mixture of Saka and the native sedentary-urban Kwarezmian peoples, this areas was quite similar to nearby Sogdia, great urban and sedentary populaces and cultures, mirrored against a steppe nomadic contingent and vast deserts. This area was also a mixture of supposed Kangju and Kushan rule, with the opinion that the Kushan ruled the vast majority directly, while the far north of said region, more corresponding to Scythia was under the rule of the Kangju. Additionally, this area was a staging ground for the vast gold and precious metals trade from the Scytho-Saka from the west. carrying goods from their lands along the Black Sea (either from the Mediterranean or the Caucasian mountains) or directly from even more western or northern sources. It can also be assumed that amber may have arrived in the empire through this route, as in some Kushan era burial sites of either Saka or Tocharian origins, we find the assemblage of amber present; Scythian peoples int he ancient days before the Scythian were known to have carried amber goods from the Baltic to the far eastern edges of their realms, as far east as near the modern Mongolian border. Major cities:

Margiana (Merv)
Urgench (or Gurganj)

Ferghana: The region along the Jaxartes river and is to the east of Sogdiana. This area is the place wherein the trade from east to west and vice versa would have crossed as a chokepoint on the Silk Road. As such, it is covered in oasis and flanked on either side by high mountains, insulating it from the Saka incursions from the north and west. It also is the point at which the eastern Tocharian influence on the Kushan empire begins. Ferghana during the Kushan Empire, is a confusing place, as it seems to have been in a region most closely related to the Kangju and their nearby heartland of Northern Sogdiana, however, sources tell us of Kushan military actions in the area eastward and even an invasion of some 40k soldiers into the Han Dynasty from Kushan Ferghana. Thus, despite the odd placement, we must assume the Kushan imperial direct control extended this far north and east. Major cities:

Alexandria-Eschate
Cyropolis (modern Khujand)

Arachosia: That land corresponding to Sistan-Zwambinar and generally the southern portions of modern Afghanistan. This region was extraordinarily important both as a buffer zone for the capitol regions of the Kushan empire and its fair population base of nomads and sedentary peoples. One may say, it was likened to a southern Bactria, with Saka nomads living outside cities and the local sedentary Arachosians residing in urban centres or in farming villages. In this regard, its affinity to the Kushan capitol areas cannot be discounted. Major cities:

Ariana, Aryana or Arya (Herat)
Alexandria-in-Arachosia or Mundigac
Phrada
Alexandria-in-Drangiana (technically not 'Arachosia,' but for our purposes, we are combining Drangiana with Arachosia)

Gedrosia: This land corresponding to the coastline of modern Balochistan also co-equal to the Achaemenid satrapy of Mazun/Mazen. Though of little import regarding population, its control was taken from the Arsacids in the reign of Kujula and likely played a role as a buffer zone of seemingly impenetrable desert to the Arsacid armies from the west, who might threaten the Indus valley.

Gandhara: The capitol region of the Kushan empire from the reign of Vima I until the fall of Vasudeva I. This area corresponds to a conglomeration of the Kashmir region, parts of modern Wazirastan (Pakistan) and parts of the northern Punjab. It was the primary capitol region for the Kushan empire, nestled between the Kushan's northern empire, that empire of the Oxus-Jaxartes rivers and the Iranic world and the southern sector of the empire, that of the Hindu-Aryan world within the subcontinent. It thus, was the great gateway to Hindustan and also the image that the empire came to display, an empire of the middle way and of synthesis. The area was conquered by Kujula from the Arsacids in his later rule, along with the entirety of the Indus Valley, before the Arsacids were then pushed completely out of Arachosia and Gedrosia. The area must have been overwhelmingly of the Gandharan sedentary peoples, of Aryan-Hindu origin, with a minority composition of Greeks and Saka within the area. Major cities:

Purushapura (Peshawar), the capitol of the Kushan empire


Indus-Sindhu-Hindu: Roughly corresponding to Pakistan and parts of modern India, this is the Indus watershed region and the most lucrative region of the Kushan empire both in terms of population, but also prestige, its crown if you will. Through the entirety of Kushan imperial reign, the region was firmly in Kushan hands and after the end of Vasudeva, would be the region wherein the descendants of the Yuezhi would continue ruling as local lords and Neo-Kushans until the Kidarite, Hepthalite and Gupta periods. This region had been conquered from the Greco-Indian states by the Saka armies and then conquered by the Arsacids and finally then by the Kushan empire under Kujula. It exists in two regions, that northern section, where the Indus splits into five rivers, and the southern section wherein the Indus is whole single river and is connected to the sea. An area such as this, would have been extremely sedentary in nature, with the local Indian and Gandharan peoples existing with only minor Saka or Greek influence (in terms of total population, there was certainly cultural intermingling). Major cities:

Taxila (the old capitol of the Arsacid empire in the region, a major city under the Kushan also)
Alexandria-on-the-Indus (Uch)
Sthanishavara (Thanesar)
Krokola (Karachi)
Roruka (Arorkot)
Bucephala
Alexandria-Niakeia
Sagala (Greco-Indian capitol and capitol of the Northern Satraps of the Saka vassals to the Kushan)
Mathura (holy city and site of the incarnation of Krishna, extremely important Kushan city)
Patala


Kushan exterior regions and vassals:

Tocharia: That area corresponding to the far western regions of China or the Tarim Basin. The homeland of the Yuezhi peoples and a site of a great urban culture and the principle region promoting the transit of goods east-west during this period. The Tocharians are a famed people and thus we do not need to cover them, but the entirety of the area of Tocharia was only under Kushan rule in the western edges and its rule there tended to vary. During the reign of Kanishka I, the region around Kashgar and Khotan, were clearly Kushan, but during the reign of Vasudeva, only Kashgar was within the Kushan empire. It is also noted, that the fact that much of the Tocharian cities were under nominal Han or otherwise Xiongnu hands, the Kushan influence in terms of coinage is still found and often dominates the landscape of said cities. Major cities (not all of Tocharia, only Kushan held Tocharia):

Cascar-Shule-Shrekrerepti (Kashgar) (after the reign of Kanishka, remained under Kushan rule until the 250s)
Gosana-Cotan (Khotan-Hotan) (seemingly independent primarily, usually under Han protection, followed by minority under Kushan and in the past by the Xiongnu)
Chache-Yarkent (mostly under Kushan rule)
Cusan-Kucha-Kushi (tended to move between Kushan, Han and Xiongnu hands)
Agni (Karasahr) (same situation as Cusan)
Cadota (most often under Han rule)


Magadha-Gangetic Valley- A famous area, that was sporadically under Kushan rule or under its vassalage through the Northern Satraps, Kuru kings and Neo-Magadhi states such as in Pataliputra. The Kushan zone of rule extended to the Bengal, but did not amount to a core region. Much of this is due to Kushan inability to subdue states to the south of the Ganges which contested this region. Most especially the Satahvana empire in the Deccan. Kushan rule extends to Pataliputra sporadically and otherwise to the city of Saketa (Ayodhya).

The Great Satraps: These were two of the remaining Saka kings who were ultimately Kushan satraps and vassals from the reign of Vima I until the end of the empire. These were, the Norther Satraps, stationed in the Gangetic plains and up to Sagala in the Indus valley. The second, was the Western satraps, a powerful Saka state ruling the Gujurat, modern Rajputania and the Maratha lands. They were the most powerful of the Kushan vassals most assuredly and were in some ways, the military arm of Kushan imperial ambitions in Hindustan, especially against the Hindu states within the Deccan and Southern Hindustan. This Western Satrap found its capitol on the powerful cities of Ujjain and Barygaza for most of its rule, which outlasted the Kushan Empire until its conquest by the Gupta Empire. The Western Satraps are also called, the Western Kshatrapas or Kshahratas.

 

[Metaverse]

Splendid write up, John! You have explained everything in so much detail and color. Could you explain how the Religious and Social developments look like in the Mid-Kushan period when they are quite strong in the core regions and the vassals/satraps you described? Will they be similar or different? Also would they hold the satraps outside with good stability?

 

[John7755 يوحنا]

Splendid write up, John! You have explained everything in so much detail and color. Could you explain how the Religious and Social developments look like in the Mid-Kushan period when they are quite strong in the core regions and the vassals/satraps you described? Will they be similar or different? Also would they hold the satraps outside with good stability?

I will cover this in the next post!

On the satraps, yes, these remained phenomenally stable through the 330 or so years of Kushan suzerainty over the Western and Northern Satraps. The Kangju-Sogdians became independent after the reign of Kanishka II, not due to rebellion but through territorial loss. Oddly, the Western Satraps in particular, would outlast the Kushan empire until they were conquered by the Gupta empire in the 5th century CE, approximately 10 years years after the end of the reign of Kipunada in the 370s CE.

The Western Satraps in particular seem to have evolved alongside the Kushan Empire and as such must have been a truly close appendage. Western satrap coinage and reliefs even refer constantly to ‘my lord’ commanding this and that, referring to the dictates of the Kushan emperors.