Kusana Coins and History

The scion of a Central Asia’s nomadic tribe, (called Yueh-chi), Kusanas descended upon the plains of northern India–sometime around the first century after Christ. And gradually built a great, vastly extensive empire in the Yamuno-Gangetic region. But owing to a marked deficiency of indigenous literary sources, Kusana history has continued to be the sport of conjecture. Or, for the last 200 years or so, an area of chroniclers’ debate, involving scholars: both Indian and European. A numismatist of international renown, Dr. P.L. Gupta examines myriad coins of the Kusanas, including some of the very recent finds, to convincingly resolve the chronological puzzles of these Indo-Scythian kings: from their very rise in mid-2nd century A.D. to their final extinction in circa 370 A.D. Corroborating the conclusions of his lifetime research on coins, with inscriptional material, he elicits fresh evidence on various important aspects of Kusana history: ranging from span of their era to the domains of their political authority. "Barring the inclusion of two papers, written by Dr. Sarojini Kulashreshtha, this volume is an exquisite presentation of Dr. Gupta’s writings on numismatics and related historical aspects. Now offered with highly representative visual material, extensive bibliographic references, and an elaborate introduction, these papers, when pieced together, evolve a stimulating framework for the scholars working on Kusana history.