Item: i101267

Authentic Ancient Coin of:

India –
Kushan Empire 

Kanishka I – King circa 127-151 A.D.
Bronze 1/4 Unit (Drachm) 
18mm (4.20 grams) Struck circa 127-151 A.D.
Reference: MACW 3185-7.
Crowned king standing facing, holding spear and sacrificing at altar at 
left, Bactrian legend around.
Ithyphallic Oesho (Shiva) standing left, 
holding trishul and kalash, with Bactrian legend OHPO at right.

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of Authenticity.

Shiva 
(/ˈʃɪvə/; Sanskrit: शिव, lit. ‘The Auspicious One’  IAST:  
Śiva), also known as Mahadeva (/ˈməhɑː dɛvə/; Sanskrit: 
महादेव:, lit. ‘The 
Great God’ is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being 
in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism.

Shiva has pre-Vedic tribal roots, and the figure of Shiva as we know him 
today is an amalgamation of various older non-Vedic and Vedic deities, including 
the Rigvedic storm god Rudra who may also have non-Vedic origins, into a single 
major deity.

Shiva is known as “The Destroyer” within the Trimurti, the triple deity of 
supreme divinity that includes Brahma and Vishnu. In the Shaivite tradition, 
Shiva is the Supreme Lord who creates, protects and transforms the universe. In 
the Shakta tradition, the Goddess, or Devi, is described as one of the supreme, 
yet Shiva is revered along with Vishnu and Brahma. A goddess is stated to be the 
energy and creative power (Shakti) of each, with Parvati (Sati) the equal 
complementary partner of Shiva. He is one of the five equivalent deities in 
Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism.

Shiva is the primal Atman (Self) of the universe. There are many both 
benevolent and fearsome depictions of Shiva. In benevolent aspects, he is 
depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives an ascetic life on Mount Kailash as 
well as a householder with wife Parvati and his two children, Ganesha and 
Kartikeya. In his fierce aspects, he is often depicted slaying demons. Shiva is 
also known as Adiyogi Shiva, regarded as the patron god of yoga, meditation and 
arts.

The iconographical attributes of Shiva are the serpent around his neck, the 
adorning crescent moon, the holy river Ganga flowing from his matted hair, the 
third eye on his forehead, the trishula or trident, as his weapon, and the 
damaru drum. He is usually worshipped in the aniconic form of lingam. Shiva is a 
pan-Hindu deity, revered widely by Hindus, in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Kanishka I or Kanishka the Great, an emperor of the Kushan dynasty in 
the second century (c. 127-150 CE), is famous for his military, political, 
and spiritual achievements. A descendant of Kujula Kadphises, founder of the 
Kushan empire, Kanishka came to rule an empire in Gandhara extending to 
Pataliputra on the Gangetic plain. The main capital of his empire was 
located at Puruṣapura (Peshawar) in Gandhara, with another major capital at 
Kapisa. Coins of Kanishka were found in Tripuri (present-day Jabalpur).

His conquests and patronage of Buddhism played an important role in the 
development of the Silk Road, and in the transmission of Mahayana Buddhism 
from Gandhara across the Karakoram range to China. Around 127 CE, he 
replaced Greek by Bactrian as the official language of administration in the 
empire.

Earlier scholars believed that Kanishka ascended the Kushan 
throne in 78 CE, and that this date was used as the beginning of the Saka 
calendar era. However, historians no longer regard this date as that of 
Kanishka’s accession. Falk estimates that Kanishka came to the throne in 127 
CE.

The
Kushan Empire was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, in the 
Bactrian territories in the early 1st century. It spread to encompass much 
of modern-day territory of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal and northern India, 
at least as far as Saketa and Sarnath near Varanasi (Benares), 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 the dynasty, 
Kujula Kadphises, followed Greek religious ideas and iconography after the 
Greco-Bactrian tradition, and also followed traditions of Hinduism, being a 
devotee of the Hindu God Shiva. The Kushans in general were also great 
patrons of Buddhism, and, starting with Emperor Kanishka, they also employed 
elements of Zoroastrianism in their pantheon. They played an important role 
in the spread of Buddhism to Central Asia and China.

The Kushans 
possibly used the Greek language initially for administrative purposes, but 
soon began to use the 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, encouraging 
travel across the Karakoram and facilitating 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 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, establishing the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom in the 
areas of Sogdiana, Bactria and Gandhara. In the 4th century, the Guptas, an 
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 then the Hephthalites.