![[Media/Map_of_the_Kushan_Empire.png]] At precisely the same time that Octavian was becoming Augustus, a new empire was forming out of the nomadic tribes that the Han had interacted with in Central Asia. The Kushan were one of five member tribes of the Yuezhi confederation with whom Emperor Han Wu had tried to ally. A leader named Kujula Kadphises, living near the Oxus River, united the five Yuezhi tribes and extended his kingdom over the Hindu Kush, Kabul Valley, and Gandhara (modern Pakistan and Afghanistan). Kujula used Bactrian as a court language, wrote inscriptions in Greek, and coined silver and gold currency that blended Greek, Zoroastrian, and Buddhist images with Greek script. ![[Media/Coin_of_the_Kushan_king_Kujula_Kadphises.jpg]] *Kushan coin with Kujula Kadphises on the face and Herakles on the back.* Kushan dominated the Silk Road, controlling territory stretching from the Ganges River in northeastern India to the Tarim Basin in western China and westward into Parthia. This allowed them to protect and tax a growing trade in spices, silks, ivory, and horses. Kushan emperors commanded armies of hundreds of thousands and ruled over multiethnic populations tolerantly. The were patrons of Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and Hinduism, which they blended with Greek artistic traditions and philosophy. The Kushan legacy includes the expansion of Silk Road trade and cultural contacts, including the introduction of Buddhism into China. At its height, the empire had a population of about 15 million and produced wealth similar to that of Rome at the same time. ![[Media/Kanishka_I_Greek_legend_and_Helios.jpg]] *Kanishka the Great (r. 127-150 CE), emperor of Kushan at its peak, with the Greek god Helios on the back* ![[Media/Coin_of_Kanishka_I.jpg]] *Kanishka the Great again, with the Buddha on the back* ----- Next: [[7.12 - Aksum]] Back: [[7.10 - Teutoburg Forest]]