Sasanian–Kushan Wars
Series of wars between the Kushan and Sasanian empires / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Sasanian–Kushan Wars were a series of wars between the newly established Persian Sasanian empire, under Ardashir I and later his successor Shapur I, against the declining Kushan empire. These wars resulted in the eastward expansion of the Sasanians who conquered much of the Kushan territory including Bactria, Gandhara and Sogdia.[1] The Sassanids, shortly after victory over the declining Parthian empire, extended their dominion to most of former Parthian lands, including Bactria, during the reign of Ardashir I around 230 CE, then they further expanded to the eastern parts of their empire in what is now western Pakistan, at the expense of warring against the declining Kushan empire, during the reign of his son Shapur I (240–270). Thus the Kushans lost their western territory (including Bactria and Gandhara) to the rule of Sassanid nobles, who eventually established their own states and were collectively referred to as Kushanshahs or "Kings of the Kushans".[3] At their greatest extent, these Kushano-Sasanians also seem to have expanded eastwards all the way to Gandhara, however do not seem to have crossed the Indus river, since almost none of their coinage has been found in the city of Taxila, just beyond the Indus.[4]
Sasanian-Kushan Wars | |||||||||
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Map showing Asia at the aftermath of these wars | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Sasanian Empire | Kushan Empire | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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