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72-634: The Soan River drains much of the water of Pothohar . It starts in the foothills of Patriata in Murree and provides water to the Simly Dam , which is a water reservoir for Islamabad . Near Pharwala Fort, Ling stream , following a relatively long course through Lehtrar and Kahuta , joins the Soan near Sihala on the southern side of Village Gagri . The Soan river is more than 250 kilometres (160 mi) long. The Islamabad Highway crosses this stream near Sihala at

144-570: A Buddhist stupa near the village of Tope Mankiala, in the Pothohar region of Pakistan 's Punjab province. The stupa was built to commemorate the spot, where according to the Jataka tales , an incarnation of the Buddha called Prince Sattva sacrificed himself to feed seven hungry tiger cubs. Mankiala stupa's relic deposits were discovered by Jean-Baptiste Ventura in 1830. The relics were then removed from

216-957: A Kushan rule of long duration is present in an area stretching from Surkh Kotal, Begram , the summer capital of the Kushans, Peshawar , the capital under Kanishka I, Taxila , and Mathura , the winter capital of the Kushans. The Kushans introduced for the first time a form of governance which consisted of Kshatrapas ( Brahmi : [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] , Kṣatrapa , " Satraps ") and Mahakshatrapa ( Brahmi : [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] , Mahakṣatrapa , "Great Satraps "). Other areas of probable rule include Khwarezm and its capital city of Toprak-Kala , Kausambi (excavations of Allahabad University ), Sanchi and Sarnath (inscriptions with names and dates of Kushan kings), Malwa and Maharashtra , and Odisha (imitation of Kushan coins, and large Kushan hoards). Kushan invasions in

288-618: A force of 70,000 but were defeated by the smaller Chinese force. Chinese chronicles relate battles between the Kushans and the Chinese general Ban Chao . The Yuezhi retreated and paid tribute to the Chinese Empire. The regions of the Tarim Basin were all ultimately conquered by Ban Chao . Later, during the Yuánchū period (AD 114–120), the Kushans sent a military force to install Chenpan, who had been

360-582: A hostage among them, as king of Kashgar . Several Kushan fortresses are known, particularly in Bactria , which were often rebuilt on top of Hellenistic fortifications, as in Kampir Tepe . They are often characterised by arrow-shaped loopholes for archers. Kushan rulers are recorded for a period of about three centuries, from circa 30 CE to circa 375 CE, until the invasions of the Kidarites . They ruled around

432-455: A new area for exploitation of hydrocarbon potential (e.g., Meyal Field ). With an estimated production of 5,500 barrels per day, the Ghauri X-1 oil well is expected to be the country’s largest oil-producing well and is likely to start contributing its output to the system by the end of June 2014. Due to low rain fall , extensive deforestation , coal mining , oil and gas exploration, the area

504-577: A period of relative peace for 200 years, sometimes described as " Pax Kushana ". The Kushans possibly used the Greek language initially for administrative purposes but soon began to use the Eastern Iranian Bactrian language . Kanishka sent his armies north of the Karakoram mountains. A direct road from Gandhara to China remained under Kushan control for more than a century, encouraged travel across

576-600: A pond named Katas which is regarded as sacred by Hindus. The temples' pond is said in the Puranas to have been created from the teardrops of Shiva , after he wandered the Earth inconsolable after the death of his wife Sati . The pond occupies an area of two kanals and 15 marlas, with a maximum depth of 20 feet. The temples play a role in the Hindu epic poem, the Mahābhārata , where

648-573: A possession of Kanishka or just beyond it). The Buddhist text Śrīdharmapiṭakanidānasūtra —known via a Chinese translation made in AD 472—refers to the conquest of Pataliputra by Kanishka. A 2nd century stone inscription by a Great Satrap named Rupiamma was discovered in Pauni , south of the Narmada river , suggesting that Kushan control extended this far south, although this could alternatively have been controlled by

720-778: Is a plateau in the northern region of Punjab , Pakistan , located between the Indus and Jhelum rivers. Pothohar Plateau is bounded on the east by the Jhelum River , on the west by the Indus River , on the north by the Kala Chitta Range and the Margalla Hills , and on the south by the Salt Range . The southern end of the plateau is bounded by the Thal desert . The 5000 square miles of

792-506: Is also credited (along with Raja Dab ) for building the massive, ancient Fort at Bathinda ( Qila Mubarak ), in the modern city of Bathinda , Indian Punjab . The Kushans also had a summer capital in Bagram (then known as Kapisa), where the "Begram Treasure", comprising works of art from Greece to China, has been found. According to the Rabatak inscription, Kanishka was the son of Vima Kadphises,

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864-677: Is an abandoned Hindu temple and monastic complex located on the summit of the Tilla Jogian mountain in the Salt Range of Pakistan 's Punjab province. The complex was the most important centre for Hindu jogis in Punjab prior to 1947, and had housed hundreds of ascetics . The site is also important in Sikhism for its association with the founder of the Sikh faith, Guru Nanak . The Khewra Salt Mine in Khewra

936-438: Is becoming devoid of vegetation. Taxila 's archaeological sites lie near modern Taxila about 35 km (22 mi) northwest of the city of Rawalpindi . The sites were first excavated by John Marshall , who worked at Taxila over a period of twenty years from 1913. The vast archaeological site includes neolithic remains dating to 3360 BCE, and Early Harappan remains dating to 2900–2600 BCE at Sarai Kala . Taxila, however,

1008-502: Is evidence for the collaboration between Greek populations and the Kushans in the 2nd century AD. Apparently the main architect of the Kushan temple at Surkh Kotal was a Greek named Palamedes. A Greek inscription has been found which could be read as: ΔΙΑ ΠΑΛΑΜΕΔΟΥΣ, i.e. dia Palamedous , meaning "through or by Palamedes". This proves that Hellenistic populations still remained in Bactria up into

1080-502: Is found in the Hathial section, which yielded pottery shards that date from as early as the late 2nd millennium BCE to the 6th century BCE. The Bhir Mound ruins at the site date from the 6th century BCE, and are adjacent to Hathial. The ruins of Sirkap date to the 2nd century BCE, and were built by the region's Greco-Bactrian kings who ruled in the region following Alexander the Great's invasion of

1152-485: Is known from only two inscriptions, especially the Rabatak inscription, and apparently never ruled), and seemingly Vima Takto. Kujula Kadphises was the great-grandfather of Kanishka. Vima Takto (Ancient Chinese: 閻膏珍 Yangaozhen ) is mentioned in the Rabatak inscription (another son, Sadashkana, is mentioned in an inscription of Senavarman, the King of Odi). He was the predecessor of Vima Kadphises, and Kanishka I. He expanded

1224-567: Is most famous for ruins of several settlements, the earliest dating from around 1000 BCE. It is also known for its collection of Buddhist religious monuments, including the Dharmarajika stupa , the Jaulian monastery, and the Mohra Muradu monastery. The main ruins of Taxila include four major cities, each belonging to a distinct time period, at three different sites. The earliest settlement at Taxila

1296-707: Is the location of major Pakistani oil fields, the first of which were discovered at Khaur in 1915 and Dhuliān in 1935; the Tut field was discovered in 1968, Missa Keswal was discovered in 1992 and exploration continued in the area in the 1990s. The oil fields are connected by pipeline to the Attock Refinery in Rawalpindi. Major reserves of oil and gas has been discovered at Chak Beli Khan near Rawalpindi in Punjab . A major oil reserve has been discovered near Jhelum in Punjab, opening up

1368-447: Is the second largest salt mine in the world. The mine is famous for its production of pink Khewra salt, often marketed as Himalayan salt , and is a major tourist attraction, drawing up to 250,000 visitors a year. Its history dates back to its discovery by Alexander 's troops in 320 BC, but it started trading in the Mughal era . The Manikyala Stupa ( Urdu : مانكياله اسٹوپ ) is

1440-542: The Greco-Bactrian tradition and was a follower of the Shaivite sect of Hinduism . Two later Kushan kings, Vima Kadphises and Vasudeva II , were also patrons of Hinduism. The Kushans in general were also great patrons of Buddhism , and, starting with Emperor Kanishka, they employed elements of Zoroastrianism in their pantheon. They played an important role in the spread of Buddhism to Central Asia and China, ushering in

1512-485: The Gupta Empire , until the invasion of the Kidarites destroyed the last remains of Kushan rule. The Kushan religious pantheon is extremely varied, as revealed by their coins that were made in gold, silver, and copper. These coins contained more than thirty different gods, belonging mainly to their own Iranian, as well as Greek and Indian worlds as well. Kushan coins had images of Kushan Kings, Buddha, and figures from

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1584-795: The Hellenistic culture of Bactria. They adopted the Greek alphabet to suit their own language (with the additional development of the letter Þ "sh", as in "Kushan") and soon began minting coinage on the Greek model. On their coins they used Greek language legends combined with Pali legends (in the Kharoshthi script), until the first few years of the reign of Kanishka. After the middle of Kanishka's reign, they used Kushan language legends (in an adapted Greek script), combined with legends in Greek (Greek script) and legends in Prakrit (Kharoshthi script). Interestingly there

1656-725: The Kak Pul bridge. The Ling Stream joins the Soan river just before the Kak Pul. Two other streams, the Korang River and the Lai stream, join the Soan just before and after the Soan Bridge, respectively. After following a path along a big curve, the stream reaches the Kalabagh proposed Dam Site close to Pir Piai where it falls into the Indus River . The marine life of the river are currently endangered due to

1728-567: The University of ancient Taxila is considered to be one of the earliest universities in the world. Because of the extensive preservation efforts and upkeep, Taxila is one of Punjab's popular tourist spots , attracting up to one million tourists every year. During the Mughal Period , the Pothohar was a part of the Subah of Lahore . "The land is beautiful, its scented air is that of spring, and

1800-564: The Western Satraps . In the East, as late as the 3rd century AD, decorated coins of Huvishka were dedicated at Bodh Gaya together with other gold offerings under the "Enlightenment Throne" of the Buddha, suggesting direct Kushan influence in the area during that period. Coins of the Kushans are found in abundance as far as Bengal , and the ancient Bengali state of Samatata issued coins copied from

1872-450: The partition of India , other biradaris including the Khatris , Mohyal Brahmins , and Aroras were also present in large numbers throughout the region. The plateau covers about 7 percent of all the cultivated land of Pakistan and most of it is very fertile, but the region does not have any proper irrigation system, with the agriculture being largely dependent on rainfall. The plateau

1944-524: The second Ice Age , from which remnants of stone and flint tools have been found. The Sivapithecus indicus fossil skull of an extinct ape species was discovered in Potohar plateau. Taxila was the capital city of ancient Gāndhāra , situated on the eastern shore of the Indus River —the pivotal junction of the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia ; it was founded around 1000 BCE. Some ruins at Taxila date to

2016-535: The 1st century AD had been given as an explanation for the migration of Indians from the Indian Subcontinent toward Southeast Asia according to proponents of a Greater India theory by 20th-century Indian nationalists . However, there is no evidence to support this hypothesis. The Rabatak inscription , discovered in 1993, confirms the account of the Hou Hanshu, Weilüe , and inscriptions dated early in

2088-543: The 1st century AD, the Kujula Kadphises sent an army to the Tarim Basin to support the city-state of Kucha , which had been resisting the Chinese invasion of the region, but they retreated after minor encounters. In the 2nd century AD, the Kushans under Kanishka made various forays into the Tarim Basin , where they had various contacts with the Chinese. Kanishka held areas of the Tarim Basin apparently corresponding to

2160-636: The 4th century, the Guptas , another Indian dynasty, also pressed from the east. The last of the Kushan and Kushano-Sasanian kingdoms were eventually overwhelmed by invaders from the north, known as the Kidarites , and later the Hephthalites . Chinese sources describe the Guìshuāng ( 貴霜 , Old Chinese : *kuj-s [s]raŋ ), i.e. the Kushans, as one of the five aristocratic tribes of the Yuezhi . Many scholars believe that

2232-563: The Chinese continued to call them Yuezhi . Gradually wresting control of the area from the Scythian tribes, the Kushans expanded south into the region traditionally known as Gandhara (an area primarily in Pakistan 's Pothowar and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region) and established twin capitals in Begram and Charsadda , then known as Kapisa and Pushklavati respectively. The Kushans adopted elements of

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2304-402: The Great , fourth Kushan king, lasted for about 23 years from c. AD 127. Upon his accession, Kanishka ruled a huge territory (virtually all of northern India), south to Ujjain and Kundina and east beyond Pataliputra, according to the Rabatak inscription: In the year one, it has been proclaimed unto India, unto the whole realm of the governing class, including Koonadeano (Kaundiny, Kundina ) and

2376-463: The Greek culture of the Hellenistic Kingdoms, becoming at least partly Hellenised . The great Kushan emperor Vima Kadphises , father of Kanishka , embraced Shaivism , a sect of Hinduism , as surmised by coins minted during the period. The following Kushan emperors represented a wide variety of faiths including Buddhism , Zoroastrianism and Hindu Shaivism . The rule of the Kushans linked

2448-516: The Greeks, and he shared the same style of coinage. Heraios may have been the father of the first Kushan emperor Kujula Kadphises. The Chinese Book of Later Han chronicles then gives an account of the formation of the Kushan empire based on a report made by the Chinese general Ban Yong to the Chinese Emperor c.  AD 125 : More than a hundred years later [than the conquest of Bactria by

2520-452: The Kanishka era (incept probably AD 127), that large Kushan dominions expanded into the heartland of northern India in the early 2nd century AD. Lines 4 to 7 of the inscription describe the cities which were under the rule of Kanishka, among which six names are identifiable: Ujjain , Kundina , Saketa , Kausambi , Pataliputra , and Champa (although the text is not clear whether Champa was

2592-831: The Karakoram, and facilitated the spread of Mahayana Buddhism to China. The Kushan dynasty had diplomatic contacts with the Roman Empire , Sasanian Persia , the Aksumite Empire , and the Han dynasty of China. The Kushan Empire was at the center of trade relations between the Roman Empire and China: according to Alain Daniélou , "for a time, the Kushana Empire was the centerpoint of the major civilizations". While much philosophy, art, and science

2664-642: The Kushan Empire into the northwest of South Asia. The Hou Hanshu says: "His son, Yangaozhen [probably Vema Tahk (tu) or, possibly, his brother Sadaṣkaṇa], became king in his place. He defeated Tianzhu [North-western India] and installed Generals to supervise and lead it. The Yuezhi then became extremely rich. All the kingdoms call [their king] the Guishuang [Kushan] king, but the Han call them by their original name, Da Yuezhi." Vima Kadphises (Kushan language: Οοημο Καδφισης)

2736-523: The Kushan era, and also explains how the Greek alphabet could have been applied to the Bactrian language. The Kushans "adopted many local beliefs and customs, including Zoroastrianism and the two rising religions in the region, the Greek cults and Buddhism ". From the time of Vima Takto , many Kushans started adopting aspects of Buddhist culture, and like the Egyptians, they absorbed the strong remnants of

2808-493: The Kushans (Kuei-shuang) divided up Bactria in 128 BC. Fan Ye 's Book of Later Han "relates how the chief of the Kushans, Ch'iu-shiu-ch'ueh (the Kujula Kadphises of coins), founded by means of the submission of the other Yueh-chih clans the Kushan Empire." The earliest documented ruler, and the first one to proclaim himself as a Kushan ruler, was Heraios . He calls himself a " tyrant " in Greek on his coins, and also exhibits skull deformation. He may have been an ally of

2880-443: The Kushans fighting against the Sakas . In these portrayals, the Yuezhis are shown with a majestic demeanour, whereas the Sakas are typically represented with side-whiskers, and more or less grotesque facial expressions. The Chinese first referred to these people as the Yuezhi and said they established the Kushan Empire, although the relationship between the Yuezhi and the Kushans is still unclear. Ban Gu 's Book of Han tells us

2952-407: The Pothwar is an appealing and beautiful garden." The Punjab played a major role in the war effort of World War II , and a large proportion of these soldiers came from the Pothohar as well as the Salt Range . Punjabis are the native people of Pothohar, speaking Punjabi in forms of various dialects . Major dialects or varieties spoken in the region include Pothwari , predominantly spoken in

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3024-443: The Yuezhi were a people of Indo-European origin. A specifically Tocharian origin of the Yuezhi is often suggested. An Iranian , specifically Saka origin, has also been suggested by some scholars. The Yuezhi were described in the Records of the Great Historian and the Book of Han as living in the grasslands of eastern Xinjiang and northwestern part of Gansu , in the northwest of modern-day China, until their King

3096-648: The Yuezhi], the prince [ xihou ] of Guishuang ( Badakhshan ) established himself as king, and his dynasty was called that of the Guishuang (Kushan) King. He invaded Anxi (Indo-Parthia), and took the Gaofu ( Kabul ) region. He also defeated the whole of the kingdoms of Puda ( Paktiya ) and Jibin ( Kapisha and Gandhara ). Qiujiuque (Kujula Kadphises) was more than eighty years old when he died. His son, Yangaozhen [probably Vema Tahk (tu) or, possibly, his brother Sadaṣkaṇa ], became king in his place. He defeated Tianzhu [North-western India] and installed Generals to supervise and lead it. The Yuezhi then became extremely rich. All

3168-410: The ancient regions held by the Yüeh-zhi , the possible ancestors of the Kushan. There was Kushan influence on coinage in Kashgar , Yarkand , and Khotan . According to Chinese chronicles, the Kushans (referred to as Da Yuezhi in Chinese sources) requested, but were denied, a Han princess, even though they had sent presents to the Chinese court. In retaliation, they marched on Ban Chao in AD 90 with

3240-522: The best evidence available to be in 150) until the succession of Vasudeva I about thirty years later. His rule was a period of retrenchment and consolidation for the Empire. In particular he devoted time and effort early in his reign to the exertion of greater control over the city of Mathura. Vasudeva I (Kushan: Βαζοδηο "Bazodeo", Chinese: 波調 "Bodiao") was the last of the "Great Kushans". Named inscriptions dating from year 64 to 98 of Kanishka's era suggest his reign extended from at least AD 191 to 225. He

3312-485: The city of Ozeno (Ozene, Ujjain ) and the city of Zageda ( Saketa ) and the city of Kozambo ( Kausambi ) and the city of Palabotro ( Pataliputra ) and as far as the city of Ziri-tambo ( Sri-Champa ), whatever rulers and other important persons (they might have) he had submitted to (his) will, and he had submitted all India to (his) will. His territory was administered from two capitals: Purushapura (now Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan ) and Mathura , in northern India. He

3384-449: The coinage of Kanishka I, although probably only as a result of commercial influence. Coins in imitation of Kushan coinage have also been found abundantly in the eastern state of Orissa . In the West, the Kushan state covered the Pārata state of Balochistan , western Pakistan , Afghanistan , Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan , Uzbekistan , and Turkmenistan . Turkmenistan was known for the Kushan Buddhist city of Merv . Northward, in

3456-402: The discharge of chemicals of the Sihala Industrial State and effluent water of Rawalpindi city into it. The oldest evidence of human activity in Pakistan has been found in the Soan River valley. It was here that some of the earliest signs of pre-modern humans, known as Soanians , have been discovered during the excavations of prehistoric mounds. Some relics found in the Soan Valley area during

3528-413: The era of the Kushan emperor Kanishka the Great . The Kushans were most probably one of five branches of the Yuezhi confederation, an Indo-European nomadic people of possible Tocharian origin, who migrated from northwestern China (Xinjiang and Gansu) and settled in ancient Bactria. The founder of the dynasty, Kujula Kadphises , followed Iranian and Greek cultural ideas and iconography after

3600-446: The excavation process are believed to have originated over 500,000 years ago, during the Stone Age . 33°01′19″N 71°43′19″E  /  33.02194°N 71.72194°E  / 33.02194; 71.72194 Pothohar Europe North America Oceania The Pothohar Plateau ( Punjabi : پوٹھوار , romanized : Pо̄ṭhvār ; Urdu : سطح مرتفع پوٹھوہار , romanized: Satāh Murtafā Pо̄ṭhohār ), also known as Pothwar ,

3672-415: The grandson of Sadashkana, and the great-grandson of Kujula Kadphises. Kanishka's era is now generally accepted to have begun in 127 on the basis of Harry Falk's ground-breaking research. Kanishka's era was used as a calendar reference by the Kushans for about a century, until the decline of the Kushan realm. Huvishka (Kushan: Οοηϸκι, "Ooishki") was a Kushan emperor from the death of Kanishka (assumed on

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3744-404: The kingdoms call [their king] the Guishuang [Kushan] king, but the Han call them by their original name, Da Yuezhi. In the 1st century BC, the Guishuang (Ch: 貴霜) gained prominence over the other Yuezhi tribes, and welded them into a tight confederation under commander Kujula Kadphises. The name Guishuang was adopted in the West and modified into Kushan to designate the confederation, although

3816-411: The kingdoms of Puda [Paktiya] and Jibin [Kapisha and Gandhara]. Qiujiuque [Kujula Kadphises] was more than eighty years old when he died." These conquests by Kujula Kadphises probably took place sometime between AD 45 and 60 and laid the basis for the Kushan Empire which was rapidly expanded by his descendants. Kujula issued an extensive series of coins and fathered at least two sons, Sadaṣkaṇa (who

3888-473: The northern and central areas of the plateau, with Dhanni being spoken in the southern areas, Majhi in the eastern and Hindko (specifically Ghebi and Chachhi ) in the western areas. Other Punjabi dialects, as well as other languages, are also spoken in major urban centres like Islamabad and Rawalpindi . The major biradaris of the region (Punjabi: برادری) include Rajputs , Jatts , Awans , Janjuas , Gujjars , Khokhars , and Gakhars . Prior to

3960-458: The palace of Khalchayan . On the ruins of ancient Hellenistic cities such as Ai-Khanoum , the Kushans are known to have built fortresses. Various sculptures and friezes from this period are known, representing horse-riding archers, and, significantly, men such as the Kushan prince of Khalchayan with artificially deformed skulls , a practice well attested in nomadic Central Asia. Some of the Khalchayan sculptural scenes are also thought to depict

4032-418: The plateau range from an average height of 1200 to 1900 feet above the sea level. Sakesar in the Salt Range is the highest mountain of the region and Tilla Jogian is the second highest. The earliest evidence of human habitation in Punjab traces to the Soan valley of the Pothohar, where Soanian culture developed between 774,000 BC and 11,700 BC. This period goes back to the first interglacial period in

4104-472: The region in 326 BCE. The third and most recent settlement is that of Sirsukh , which was built by rulers of the Kushan empire, who ruled from nearby Purushapura (modern Peshawar ). Rohtas Fort is a 16th-century fortress located near the city of Jhelum in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The fort is one of the largest and most formidable in the subcontinent . Rohtas Fort was never taken by force, and it has remained remarkably intact. The fortress

4176-409: The same time as the Western Satraps , the Satavahanas , and the first Gupta Empire rulers. ...the prince [elavoor] of Guishuang, named thilac [Kujula Kadphises], attacked and exterminated the four other xihou. He established himself as king, and his dynasty was called that of the Guishuang [Kushan] King. He invaded Anxi [Indo-Parthia] and took the Gaofu [Kabul] region. He also defeated the whole of

4248-533: The seagoing trade of the Indian Ocean with the commerce of the Silk Road through the long-civilized Indus Valley . At the height of the dynasty, the Kushans loosely ruled a territory that extended to the Aral Sea through present-day Uzbekistan , Afghanistan , Pakistan and northern India . The loose unity and comparative peace of such a vast expanse encouraged long-distance trade, brought Chinese silks to Rome , and created strings of flourishing urban centers. Rosenfield notes that archaeological evidence of

4320-517: The site during the British Raj , and are now housed in the British Museum . Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire ( c.  30 – c.  375 AD) was a syncretic empire formed by the Yuezhi in the Bactrian territories in the early 1st century. It spread to encompass much of what is now Tajikistan , Uzbekistan , Afghanistan , Pakistan , Eastern Iran and Northern India , at least as far as Saketa and Sarnath , near Varanasi , where inscriptions have been found dating to

4392-403: The southeast in areas of the Hindu Kush (in present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan) and the Indus basin (in present-day Pakistan and India), occupying the western part of the Indo-Greek Kingdom . In South Asia , Kushan emperors regularly used the dynastic name ΚΟϷΑΝΟ ("Koshano") on their coinage. Several inscriptions in Sanskrit in the Brahmi script , such as the Mathura inscription of

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4464-485: The statue of Vima Kadphises , refer to the Kushan Emperor as [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] , Ku-ṣā-ṇa ("Kushana"). Some later Indian literary sources referred to the Kushans as Turushka , a name which in later Sanskrit sources was confused with Turk , "probably due to the fact that Tukharistan passed into the hands of the western Turks in the seventh century". According to John M. Rosenfield , Turushka , Tukhāra or Tukhāra are variations of

4536-403: The temples are traditionally believed to have been the site where the Pandava brothers spent a significant portion of their exile. Rawat Fort is an early 16th century fort in the Pothohar plateau of Pakistan , near the city of Rawalpindi in the province of Punjab . The fort was built to defend the Pothohar plateau from the forces of the Pashtun king Sher Shah Suri . Tilla Jogian

4608-417: The time of the Achaemenid Persian Empire , followed successively by the Maurya Empire , the Indo-Greek Kingdom , the Indo-Scythians , and the Kushan Empire . Owing to its strategic location, Taxila has changed hands many times over the centuries, with many polities vying for its control. When the great ancient trade routes connecting these regions ceased to be important, the city sank into insignificance and

4680-480: The word Tokhari in Indian writings. Yet, according to Wink, "nowadays no historian considers them to be Turkish-Mongoloid or "Hun", although there is no doubt about their Central-Asian origin." Some traces remain of the presence of the Kushans in the area of Bactria and Sogdiana in the 2nd-1st century BC, where they had displaced the Sakas , who moved further south. Archaeological structures are known in Takht-i Sangin , Surkh Kotal (a monumental temple), and in

4752-562: The year 22 (the Sanchi inscription of "Vaksushana" – i.e., Vasishka Kushana) and year 28 (the Sanchi inscription of Vasaska – i.e., Vasishka) of a possible second Kanishka era. Following territorial losses in the west ( Bactria lost to the Kushano-Sasanians ), and in the east (loss of Mathura to the Gupta Empire ), several "Little Kushans" are known, who ruled locally in the area of Punjab with their capital at Taxila : Vasudeva II (270 – 300), Mahi (300 – 305), Shaka (305 – 335) and Kipunada (335 – 350). They probably were vassals of

4824-408: Was a Kushan emperor from around AD 95–127, the son of Sadashkana and the grandson of Kujula Kadphises, and the father of Kanishka I, as detailed by the Rabatak inscription. Vima Kadphises added to the Kushan territory by his conquests in Bactria. He issued an extensive series of coins and inscriptions. He issued gold coins in addition to the existing copper and silver coinage. The rule of Kanishka

4896-450: Was beheaded by the Xiongnu (匈奴) who were also at war with China, which eventually forced them to migrate west in 176–160 BC. The five tribes constituting the Yuezhi are known in Chinese history as Xiūmì (休密), Guìshuāng (貴霜), Shuāngmǐ (雙靡), Xìdùn (肸頓), and Dūmì (都密). The Yuezhi reached the Hellenic kingdom of Greco-Bactria (in northern Afghanistan and Uzbekistan) around 135 BC. The displaced Greek dynasties resettled to

4968-465: Was built by Raja Todar Mal on the orders of Sher Shah Suri . The fort is known for its large defensive walls and several monumental gateways. Rohtas Fort was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, as an "exceptional example of the Muslim military architecture of Central and South Asia." The Katas Raj Temples also known as Qila Katas, is a complex of several Hindu temples connected to one another by walkways. The temple complex surrounds

5040-403: Was created within its borders, the only textual record of the empire's history today comes from inscriptions and accounts in other languages, particularly Chinese. The Kushan Empire fragmented into semi-independent kingdoms in the 3rd century AD, which fell to the Sasanians invading from the west and establishing the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom in the areas of Sogdiana , Bactria, and Gandhara. In

5112-405: Was finally destroyed in the 5th century by the invading Hunas . In the 15th century, Pothohar became part of Malik Jasrat 's kingdom who had conquered most of Punjab from the Delhi Sultanate. In mid-19th century British India , ancient Taxila's ruins were rediscovered by British archaeologist Alexander Cunningham . In 1980, UNESCO designated Taxila as a World Heritage Site . By some accounts,

5184-696: Was the last great Kushan emperor, and the end of his rule coincides with the invasion of the Sasanians as far as northwestern India, and the establishment of the Indo-Sasanians or Kushanshahs in what is nowadays Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India from around AD 240. Vāsishka was a Kushan emperor who seems to have had a 20-year reign following Kanishka II . His rule is recorded at Mathura , in Gandhara and as far south as Sanchi (near Vidisa ), where several inscriptions in his name have been found, dated to

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