Vasudeva II in the context of "Shaka Kushan"

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⭐ Core Definition: Vasudeva II

Vasudeva II (Middle Brahmi script: Bā-zo-de-o Sanskritzied to "Vasudeva") was a Kushan emperor who ruled c. 275–300. He was probably the successor of Kanishka III and may have been succeeded by an emperor named Shaka Kushan.

Vasudeva II probably only was a local ruler in the area of Taxila, in western Punjab, under the suzerainty of the Gupta Empire.

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👉 Vasudeva II in the context of Shaka Kushan

Shaka (Gupta script: Sha-kā) may have been one of the last rulers of the Kushan Empire around 325–345. He may have succeeded Vasudeva II. There is a group of Kushan gold coins that all carry the Brahmi legend Shaka in the right field, in the same place where Vasudeva II's coins read Vasu, so it is natural to suppose that perhaps Shaka was the name of the king who issued these coins. A further support for this idea is that there is a mention of one "Devaputra Shahi Shahanshahi Shaka Murunda" in Samudragupta's famous Allahabad inscription, as one of the rulers who paid him homage. In this context, Shaka could be a title, it could refer to a tribe, or it could be a personal name. In any case, it seems to be related to the Shaka coins. We do not know the date of the Allahabad inscription, so the best guess on dating Shaka is c. mid-4th century.

Robert Göbl, for instance, did not think Shaka was the name of a ruler; rather, he thought the coins were tribal issues, but Michael Mitchiner and many other authors do think Shaka was a personal name.

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Vasudeva II in the context of Kushan Empire

The Kushan Empire (c. 30c. 375 CE) 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 Afghanistan, Eastern Iran, India, Pakistan, Western Nepal, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Kushan territory in India went at least as far as Saketa and Sarnath, now near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, 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 Iranian and Greek cultural ideas and iconography after the Greco-Bactrian tradition and was a follower of the Shaivite sect of Hinduism. Many of the later Kushan kings after Kujula, were also patrons of Hinduism, including (but not limited to) Vima Kadphises and Vasudeva II. 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 a period of relative peace for 200 years, sometimes described as "Pax Kushana".

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Vasudeva II in the context of Kushanas

The Kushan Empire (c. 30c. 375 CE) 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 Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Western Nepal, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Kushan territory in India went at least as far as Saketa and Sarnath, now near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, 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 Iranian and Greek cultural ideas and iconography after the Greco-Bactrian tradition and was a follower of the Shaivite sect of Hinduism. Many of the later Kushan kings after Kujula, were also patrons of Hinduism, including (but not limited to) Vima Kadphises and Vasudeva II. 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 a period of relative peace for 200 years, sometimes described as "Pax Kushana".

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Vasudeva II in the context of Kanishka III

Samrat Kanishka III (Greco-Bactrian: ΚΑΝΗϷΚΕ Kanēške; Kharosthi: 𐨐𐨞𐨁𐨮𐨿𐨐 Ka-ṇi-ṣka, Kaṇiṣka; Brahmi: Kā-ṇi-ṣka, Kāṇiṣka; Sanskrit: कनिष्क), was a Kushan emperor who reigned from around the year 265 CE to 270 CE. He is believed to have succeeded Vasishka and was succeeded by Vasudeva II. He ruled in areas of Northwestern India.

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