79-885: Pushkalavati , was the capital of the ancient region of Gāndhāra , situated in present day's Pakistan. Its ruins are located on the outskirts of the modern city of Charsadda , in Charsadda District , in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , 35-42 kilometres northeast of Peshawar , at the banks of Jindi River, near the junction of Swat River with Kabul River . The earliest archaeological remains in Bala Hisar mound are from 1400 to 800 BCE. Pushkalavati (in Bala Hisar mound) may have been incorporated as an Achaemenid regional settlement around 520 BCE, and it remained an important city (in Shaikhan Dheri mound) through to
158-827: A Dharmaguptaka monastery in Hadda, Afghanistan . These two manuscripts, known as avadanas , and written in Gandhari language around 1st century CE (now in the British Library Collection of Gandharan Scrolls) mention the name of the city as Pokhaladi . In the 2nd century CE, river changed its course and city was flooded. The town moved to the site of the modern village of Rajjar . The former city's ruins were partly excavated by Ahmad Hasan Dani in 1960s. There are still many mounds at Mir Ziarat , at Rajar and Shahr-i-Napursan which are still unexcavated. The last reference to Pushkalavati as Po-shi-kie-lo-fa-ti
237-962: 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
316-816: A century, encouraged travel across 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
395-640: 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
474-598: 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
553-585: 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
632-470: A small community was established on a low natural mound of clay above the floodplain of the Kabul and Swat rivers, constructing structures of timber posts slotted into postholes, in association with ceramic sherds and ash. Subsequent periods indicate that more permanent structures were built at Charsadda, including stone-lined pits. Between the 14th century BCE and the 6th century BCE, when an Achaemenid presence
711-481: Is a town and headquarters of Charsadda District , in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is the eighty fifth-largest city of Pakistan, according to 2017 census. Located in the Valley of Peshawar , Charsadda lies about 29 kilometres (18 mi) from the provincial capital of Peshawar at an altitude of 276 metres (906 ft). The total area of Charsadda District measures about 996 square Km. The district
790-515: 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,
869-400: Is considered to be among the largest graveyards in the world. The name Prang was considered by Ahmad Hasan Dani as ultimately derived from the word Prayag , meaning " confluence ", via an intermediate contracted form *Prag . The name is a reference to the Kabul and Swat rivers, which must have once met here. In the concluding portion of the ( Ramayana ) Uttarakanda or Supplemental Book,
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#1732772406323948-511: 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
1027-575: Is geographically organized into two primary parts: Hashtnagar ( Pashto : Ashnaghar) and Do Aaba ( Pashto : Duaba). The name Chārsadda means "four roads", from the words chār ("four") and sadda ("road"). An alternate explanation, given by Munshi Gopaldas in the 1874 Tawarikh-i Peshawar , is that the city was named after one of the sons of the Pashtun conqueror Ilyas Khan Muhammadzai. The earliest archaeological deposits recovered at Charsadda, in Bala Hisar, are dated to c. 1400 BCE , when
1106-489: 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
1185-520: Is locally known as Da Kanro Gulkari , and the style of grave is known as a Hashtnaghri Qabroona or a Hashtnaghri grave. Some wealthier people's graves are made of brick or marble, but Hashtnaghri graves remain popular because they are cheaper, quickly made, and durable. Another tradition associated with the Charsadda cemetery is the annual family visits to deceased relatives' graves. These take place both on Ashura , when any necessary repairs to
1264-591: Is marked off by barbed wire and shaded by tall trees. Most of the graves in this section are decorated with marble slabs; many of them belong to the period of Durrani rule. There are also separate sections for Christians and Ahmadis near the main Janazgah , as well as a separate section for non-locals in the southeastern part of the cemetery. In this section, called the Musafirkhana, anyone may bury without needing prior permission. Although not as large as
1343-462: Is represented at the site (see below), the inhabitants of Charsadda developed an iron-working industry and used ceramics that are typical for this period in the Vale of Peshawar, Swat and Dir. The later history of Charsadda can be traced back to the 6th century BCE. It was the capital of Gandhara from the 6th century BCE to the 2nd century CE. The ancient name of Charsadda was Pushkalavati . The city hosts
1422-555: The Ramayana , it was named Pushkalavati because it was given to Pushkala, the son of Bharata . The region around ancient Pushkulavati was recorded in the Zoroastrian Zend Avesta as Vaēkərəta , or the seventh most beautiful place on earth created by Ahura Mazda . It was known as the "crown jewel" of Bactria , and held sway over nearby ancient Taxila '. The ruins of Pushkalavati consist of many stupas and
1501-578: The Brahmi script , such as the Mathura inscription of 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
1580-491: 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
1659-867: 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
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#17327724063231738-809: The Indo-Greeks , the Indo-Scythians , the Indo-Parthians , the Kushans , the Huns , the Turks , Durranis and more recently the British Empire . Charsadda is contiguous to the town of Prang ; and these two places were identified by Alexander Cunningham with the ancient Pushkalāvati, capital of the region at the time of Alexander's invasion, and transliterated as Peukelaus or Peukelaotis by
1817-732: 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 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
1896-661: The Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom in the areas of Sogdiana , Bactria, and Gandhara. In 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.
1975-791: The Makli necropolis near Thatta , the Charsadda cemetery has a much higher density of graves. Whereas Makli primarily houses the graves of the ruling class and prominent holy men, Charsadda is used mostly by ordinary people. That said, there are several prominent saints' tombs at Charsadda, as well as royal Durrani graves from their time in power. Among the saints' tombs at Charsadda are those of Ghazi Gul Baba, Mullah Shah Alam Baba, Mian Sayed Noor Baba, Baba Sahib (aka Ali bin Yousaf Dalazak), Jhare Baba, and Shaheed Baba. These tombs are sites of pilgrimage; annual urs are held where thousands of devotees gather at night to hear qawwals sung in
2054-689: The River Jindi , the Kabul River and the Swat River ; these are the main source of irrigation for Charsadda. The three rivers then merge and join the Indus River . The district is administratively subdivided into three tehsils – Charsadda, Tangi, and Shabqadar which contained a total of 49 Union Councils. Bacha Khan University is a public university situated in Charsadda, named after Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Bacha Khan). In January 2016,
2133-579: 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
2212-479: The western Turks in the seventh century". According to John M. Rosenfield , Turushka , Tukhāra or Tukhāra are variations of 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
2291-705: The "Lotus bowl" in Bala Hisar belongs to the time of Alexander the Great up to the beginning of the Mauryan times, late 4th to early 3rd centuries BCE, but according to Cameron Petrie (2013), a post-Achaemenid date around the late 4th to the 2nd centuries BCE is likely. The Bactrian Greeks built a new city ( Peucela ( Greek : Πευκέλα ) or Peucelaitis ( Greek : Πευκελαώτις ) at the mound currently known as Shaikhan Dheri ( 34°10′41″N 71°44′35″E / 34.178°N 71.743°E / 34.178; 71.743 ), which lies one kilometre northeast from Bala Hissar on
2370-544: The 15th century, when there was widespread migration of Pashtun tribes into the Peshawar valley. These migrations would have been accompanied by violent conflict, and the battlefields were supposedly seen as unfit for cultivating or living on after they had been "stained with human blood". According to Qasim Jan Mohammadzai, the cemetery likely originated when the local population converted to Islam and thus began to bury their dead close to their villages. The site chosen for
2449-550: 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
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2528-557: 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
2607-519: 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 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
2686-577: 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
2765-504: 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
2844-402: 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
2923-472: 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
3002-596: The Greek historians. Its chieftain (Astes), according to Arrian, was killed in defence of one of his strongholds after a prolonged siege by Hephaistion. Ptolemy fixes its site upon the eastern bank of the Suastene or Swat. The region was later conquered by Chandragupt Maurya The Great from the Macedonian satraps. The present town of Charsadda is of more recent origin. There are three rivers flowing in Charsadda:
3081-532: The Greeks as Taxila . To the latter he gave Pushkala-vati or Pushkalavati, to the west of the Indus, known to Alexander and the Greeks as Peukelaotis. Thus according to Hindu legend, the sons of Bharata received kingdoms that flourished on either side of the Indus river, which were conquered by their father. Charsadda Chārsadda ( Pashto : چارسده ; pronounce ; Urdu : چارسدہ ; pronounce )
3160-777: The Hellenic kingdom of Greco-Bactria (in northern Afghanistan and Uzbekistan) around 135 BC. The displaced Greek dynasties resettled to 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
3239-457: 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
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3318-657: 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)
3397-450: 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 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
3476-420: 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
3555-416: The Kushans, as one of the five aristocratic tribes of the Yuezhi . Many scholars believe that 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
3634-418: 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 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
3713-410: 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
3792-431: The beginning of 3rd century CE. The ruins of Pushkalavati consist of two sites, separated by the small Shambor river. To the south is Bala Hisar, which consists of two separate mounds, one eastern and one western. To the north is Shaikhan Dheri, wedged between the Shambor and Jindi rivers. Pushkalavati ( Sanskrit : पुष्कलावती, IAST : Puṣkalāvatī ) means "Lotus City" in Sanskrit . According to Hindu mythology as per
3871-522: 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
3950-400: The cemetery would have originally been communal land, known in Pashtun as Shamilat , that had previously been used for cattle grazing. Different clans ( Khel s) each have different sections of the cemetery to bury their dead in. The boundaries between these sections are marked by shallow trenches or brick walls. The Durrani tribe, for example, has their section in the northeast; it
4029-485: 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
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#17327724063234108-449: 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
4187-506: The continuity of red burnished ware, but now decorated with grooves (the so-called "grooved" red burnished ware), in the period (c. 750-500 BCE) there was influence from Ganges Valley in the appearance of upright-sided open bowls made of grey ware, similar to Painted Grey Ware culture 's pottery shapes. The site could have been incorporated to Achaemenid empire c. 520 BCE, although there is no archaeological evidence of administrative buildings or palaces in Bala Hisar, but only "some evidence of
4266-412: The descendants of Rama and his brothers are described as the receivers of the great cities and kingdoms which flourished in Western India. Uttarakānda may have been composed slightly later than c. 500 BCE. According to this mythical book, Bharata the brother of Rama had two sons, Taksha and Pushkala. Bharata gave to the former Taksha-sila or Taxila, to the east of the Indus , known to Alexander and
4345-471: The dynasty, Kujula Kadphises , followed Iranian and Greek cultural ideas and iconography after 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
4424-582: 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 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
4503-424: The emulation of Achaemenid drinking vessels" which local elites could have adopted from the empire. Pottery known as "Tulip bowls," which attests to emulation of Achaemenid shapes, is only present in Bala Hisar in (c. 400-325 BCE). According to Arrian , the city then surrendered in 327/326 BCE to Alexander the Great , who established a garrison in it. Reinhard Dittman (1984) suggested that the earliest appearance of
4582-440: The following period is when Pushkalavati became known as Shaikhan Dheri , as dheri means mound/hill in Pashto. The city of Pushkalavati was situated near the confluence of Swat and Kabul rivers. Three different branches of Kabul river meet there. That specific place is still called Prang and considered sacred. A grand graveyard is situated to the north of Prang where the local people bring their dead for burial. This graveyard
4661-400: 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 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
4740-415: 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
4819-430: The grasslands of eastern Xinjiang and northwestern part of Gansu , in the northwest of modern-day China, until their King 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
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#17327724063234898-426: The grave are done, and on the first day of Eid al-Adha celebrations. During the Eid visit, family members arrive early in the morning to recite the Fatiha and the Tilawa ; this visit is considered compulsory if the buried person died recently. Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire ( c. 30 – c. 375 AD) was a syncretic empire formed by the Yuezhi in the Bactrian territories in
4977-515: The grave of the 18th-century poet Ali Khan. Southwest of these two enclosures is a (now ruined) domed brick mausoleum on a raised platform, said to belong to a holy woman. None of these tombs have any inscriptions providing a specific date for their construction. One of the most distinct features of the Charsadda cemetery is the way its graves are decorated. About 90% of the graves are decorated with small black and white stones arranged to form geometric or floral designs. This type of decoration
5056-404: 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
5135-411: 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
5214-410: The other side of Shambor River, at the banks of River Jindi . This city was established in the second century BCE during the Indo-Greek period and inhabited until the beginning of third century CE, occupied by Indo-Scythians , Indo-Parthians and Kushans . Two early Buddhist manuscripts were acquired among a group of twenty‐seven birch‐bark scrolls, in 1994 by the British Library, possibly found in
5293-408: The ruins of what was once the ancient Gandharan capital city of Pushkalavati (meaning Lotus City in Sanskrit), and The father of Sanskrit grammar, Pāṇini was from this area and lived around 4th century BCE. Many invaders have ruled over this region during different times of history. These include the Maurya Empire and the Gupta Empire , Alexander the Great's Macedonians, the Greco-Bactrians,
5372-431: The saints' honour. South of the main Janazgah , on the right side of the Ali Khan Baba road, there are two prominent enclosures, each marked off with a brick wall and accessed by a gate on the west side. This area is known as the Chardewarai . The larger enclosure houses eight tombs of the Ali Khel clan, who were the local rulers at the time of the Durrani hegemony; its gate is ornately decorated. The other one has
5451-409: 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
5530-533: 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
5609-409: The sites of two ancient cities. Bala Hisar site ( 34°10′05″N 71°44′10″E / 34.168°N 71.736°E / 34.168; 71.736 ) in this area was first inhabited in the 2nd-millennium BCE. The C14 dating of early deposits in Bala Hisar, bearing "Soapy red"/red burnished ware, is 1420-1160 BCE, so this early phase is considered to last roughly from 1400 to 800 BCE. Along with
5688-477: The south like Prang and Babara. Various other roads also cross over the cemetery, connecting other villages and towns. Heavy traffic like trucks and trailers use these roads, which causes additional stress on the underlying graves. The age of the cemetery is not known. One local tradition holds that Ahmad Shah Durrani originally endowed the land to the locals as a reward for their military support during his Indian campaigns . Another tradition places it in
5767-571: The spread of Buddhism to Central Asia and China, ushering in 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
5846-479: The university was attacked by gunmen. Charsadda's huge cemetery lies south of the tehsil bazaar. It currently occupies an area of 3x4 km, but it used to be bigger — a lot of the current town has been built on top of the old cemetery, often illegally. Two major roads (the Khushal Khan Khattak and Ali Khan roads) cut across the cemetery from north to south, connecting Charsadda with areas to
5925-682: 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
6004-408: 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
6083-434: Was recorded in the account of the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang in 7th century C.E. The monk Hui Li also commented Xuanzang's visit to the east of the town Po-shih-kie-lo-fa-ti (Pushkalavati) where there was a stupa built by king Ashoka, in the location which four past Buddhas preached. Subsequently, after the region was conquered by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1001 AD, the name Gandhara was not used anymore, and in all probability
6162-465: Was the centerpoint of the major civilizations". While much philosophy, art, and science 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
6241-713: 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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