Vasudeva I

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Vasudeva I
Kushan emperor
Gold coin of Vasudeva I or II.

Obv: Vasudeva in tall helmet, holding a scepter, and making an offering over an altar. Legend in Kushan language and Greek script (with the Kushan letter Ϸ "sh"): ϷΑΟΝΑΝΟϷΑΟ ΒΑΖΟΔΗΟ ΚΟϷΑΝΟ ("Shaonanoshao Bazodeo Koshano"): "King of kings, Vasudeva the Kushan".

Rev: ΟΗϷΟ (oesho), Monogram (tamgha) to the left.
[1][2]
Reign191–232 CE
PredecessorHuvishka
SuccessorKanishka II
DynastyKushan
ReligionBuddhism
Vasudeva I is located in South Asia
Mamane Dheri
Mamane Dheri
Location of the inscriptions mentioning Vasudeva I as ruler.

Vāsudeva I (

Kushano-Sasanians in the northwest of his territory.[3]

The last named inscription of his predecessor, Huvishka, was in the year 60 of the Kanishka era (187 CE), and the Chinese evidence suggests he was still ruling as late as 229 CE.

Contacts with China

In the Chinese historical chronicle

Sanguozhi (三國志), he is recorded to have sent tribute to the Chinese emperor Cao Rui of the Wei
in 229 CE (3rd year of Taihe 太和), :

"The king of the
Sanguozhi
)

He is the last Kushan ruler to be mentioned in Chinese sources.[3] His rule corresponds to the retreat of Chinese power from Central Asia, and it is thought that Vasudeva may have filled the power vacuum in that area.[3] The great expansion of the Dharmaguptaka Buddhist group in Central Asia during this period has also been related to this event.

Coinage

The coinage of Vasudeva consisted in

nimbate. Another trident is sometimes also added over the small sacrificial altar. At the end of his rule, Vasudeva introduced the nandipada symbol () on his coinage.[4][5]

Sassanid invasion in the northwest

Vusadeva I was the last great Kushan emperor, and the end of his rule coincides with the invasion of the

Kushanshahs from around 240 CE.[3] Vasudeva I may have lost the territory of Bactria with its capital in Balkh to Ardashir I Kushanshah. Thereafter, Kushan rule would be restricted to their eastern territories, in western and central Punjab
.

Statuary

.

The relatively peaceful reign of Vasudeva is marked by an important artistic production, in particular in the area of statuary.[3] Several Buddhist statues are dated to the reign of Vasudeva, and are important markers for the chronology of Buddhist art.[8]

An inscription on the base of the

Mathura Museum: "In the 93rd year of Maharaja Devaputra Vasudeva...", probably corresponding to c. 171 CE, or 220 CE with the more recent definition of the Kanishka era as starting in 127 CE.[9] A partially preserved Sakyamuni statue, also from Mathura, has the date "Year 94", although without mentioning Vasudeva specifically.[10]

Dedications in the name of Vasudeva, with dates, also appear on Jain statuary discovered in Mathura.[11][12]

Statuary dated to the reign of Vasudeva I
  • Hashtnagar Buddha, inscribed with "year 384" (probably of the Yavana era), hence 209 CE.[8]
    Hashtnagar Buddha, inscribed with "year 384" (probably of the Yavana era), hence 209 CE.[8]
  • Piedestal of the Hashtnagar Buddha statue, now in the British Museum, inscribed with "year 384" (probably of the Yavana era), hence 209 CE.[8] The inscription reads in the Kharoshthi script: sam 1 1 1 100 20 20 20 20 4 Prothavadasa masasa divasammi pamcami 4 1 ("In the year 384, on the fifth, 5, day of the month Prausthapada").[13] The pedestal was sawed off from the body of the statue by L. White King in 1883 and brought to the British Museum.[14] British Museum
    Piedestal of the
    Kharoshthi script: sam 1 1 1 100 20 20 20 20 4 Prothavadasa masasa divasammi pamcami 4 1 ("In the year 384, on the fifth, 5, day of the month Prausthapada").[13] The pedestal was sawed off from the body of the statue by L. White King in 1883 and brought to the British Museum.[14] British Museum
  • Mamane Dheri Buddha, inscribed with "Year 89" (probably of the Kanishka era), hence 216 CE.[8] Peshawar Museum.
    Mamane Dheri Buddha, inscribed with "Year 89" (probably of the Kanishka era), hence 216 CE.[8] Peshawar Museum.
  • Sakyamuni statue of the "Year 94" (221 CE). Mathura Museum.[15]
    Sakyamuni statue of the "Year 94" (221 CE).
    Mathura Museum.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b Coins of India Calcutta : Association Press ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1922
  2. ^ .
  3. ^ a b c d e f Rezakhani, Khodadad (2017). From the Kushans to the Western Turks. p. 202.
  4. ^ Rosenfield, John M. (1967). The Dynastic Arts of the Kushans. University of California Press. p. 111.
  5. ^ Shrava, Satya (1985). The Kushāṇa Numismatics. Praṇava Prakāshan. p. 11.
  6. ^ CNG Coins
  7. ^ Cribb, Joe (2010). "The Kidarites, the numismatic evidence". Coins, Art and Chronology II: The First Millennium C.E. In the Indo-Iranian Borderlands, Edited by M. Alram et Al.: 98.
  8. ^ a b c d Rhi, Juhyung (2017). Problems of Chronology in Gandharan. Positionning Gandharan Buddhas in Chronology (PDF). Oxford: Archaeopress Archaeology. pp. 35–51.Free access icon
  9. ^ Sharma, R.C. (1994). The Splendour of Mathura Art and Museum. D. K. Printworld Pvt. Ltd. p. 140.
  10. ^ Indian Archaeology, 1994-1995 (PDF). p. 100, Plate XLVI.
  11. ^ Burgess, Jas. Epigraphia Indica Vol.-i. p. 392.
  12. JSTOR 44012780
    .
  13. ^ Problems of Chronology in Gandharan Art p.37
  14. ^ Errington, Elizabeth. Numismatic evidence for dating the Buddhist remains of Gandhara. p. 204.
  15. ^ Indian Archaeology, 1994-1995 (PDF). p. 100, Plate XLVI.

Bibliography

  • Falk, Harry (2001). "The yuga of Sphujiddhvaja and the era of the Kuṣâṇas." Silk Road Art and Archaeology VII, pp. 121–136.
  • Falk, Harry (2004). "The Kaniṣka era in Gupta records." Harry Falk. Silk Road Art and Archaeology X, pp. 167–176.
  • Sims-Williams, Nicholas (1998). "Further notes on the Bactrian inscription of Rabatak, with an Appendix on the names of Kujula Kadphises and Vima Taktu in Chinese." Proceedings of the Third European Conference of Iranian Studies Part 1: Old and Middle Iranian Studies. Edited by Nicholas Sims-Williams. Wiesbaden. Pp, 79-93.

External links

Preceded by Kushan Ruler Succeeded by