Kushan Coins and History

The Kushans were a dynasty of thirteen kings who ruled from approximately AD 50 to AD 350. At the height of their power they ruled from their original centre around the upper Amu Darya river (south-western Tajikistan, northern Afghanistan, south-eastern Uzbekistan) through Pakistan and into northern India. The coinage of the Kushan kings and of their immediate successors the Sasanian Kushanshahs and the Kidarite Hun Kushanshahs are a key component of our understanding of the history of ancient Afghanistan, Pakistan, northern India, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan during the first four centuries AD. Modern knowledge of each of these kingdoms began with the discovery of their coins which continue to reveal new aspects of the political structure of these states, their geographical extent, the religious system of their rulers and the development of scripts and languages in the region.The Kushans were the first dynasty to introduce a regular gold coinage in South Asia and ruled at a time of major social and religious change. Both they and their coins have received more attention than any other Central or South Asian dynasty of the early first millennium. This landmark publication will give a comprehensive account of the British Museum's extensive collection of coins from this period as well as place them into a wider historical and cultural context. 2 volumes in slipcase.