Invasion of Bactria (370 CE) During the reign of
Shapur II, the
Sasanian Empire and the
Kushano-Sasanians gradually lost the control of
Bactria to these invaders from
Central Asia, first the
Kidarites from around 335 CE, then the Alchon Huns from around 370 CE, who would follow up with the invasion of
India a century later, and lastly the
Hephthalites from around 450 CE. Early confrontations between the
Sasanian Empire of
Shapur II with the nomadic hordes from Central Asia called the "
Chionites" were described by
Ammianus Marcellinus: he reports that in 356 CE, Shapur II was taking his winter quarters on his eastern borders, "repelling the hostilities of the bordering tribes" of the
Chionites and the Euseni ("Euseni" is usually amended to "Cuseni", meaning the
Kushans), finally making a treaty of alliance with the Chionites and the Gelani, "the most warlike and indefatigable of all tribes", in 358 CE. After concluding this alliance, the
Chionites (probably of the
Kidarites tribe) under their King
Grumbates accompanied Shapur II in the war against the Romans, especially at the
siege of Amida in 359 CE. Victories of the Xionites during their campaigns in the Eastern
Caspian lands were also witnessed and described by
Ammianus Marcellinus. The Alchon Huns occupied Bactria circa 370 CE, chasing the Kidarites in the direction of India, and started minting coins in the style of Shapur II but bearing their name "Alchono".
Invasion of Kabulistan (c.385 CE) Around 380-385 CE, the Alchons emerged in
Kapisa, taking over Kabulistan from the
Sassanian Persians, while at the same time the
Kidarites (Red Huns) ruled in
Gandhara. The Alchons are known to have reused the mint and the coin dies of
Shapur II south of the Hindu Kush, again simply adding their name "Alchono" to Sasanian coinage. The Alchon Huns are sometimes said to have taken control of
Kabul in 388. Several types of these coins are known, usually minted in
Bactria, using Sasanian coinage designs with busts imitating Sasanian kings
Shapur II (r.309 to 379 CE) and
Shapur III (r.383 to 388 CE), adding the Alchon
Tamgha and the name "Alchono" (αλχοννο) in
Bactrian script (a slight adaptation of the
Greek script which had been introduced in the region by the
Greco-Bactrians in the 3rd century BCE) on the obverse, and with attendants to a
fire altar, a standard Sasanian design, on the reverse. It is thought the Alchons took over the Sasanian mints in Kabulistan after 385 CE, reusing dies of
Shapur II and
Shapur III, to which they added the name "Alchono".
Gandhara (460 CE) Around 430 King
Khingila, the most notable Alchon ruler, and the first one to be named and represented on his coins with the legend "χιγγιλο" (
Chiggilo) in
Bactrian, emerged and took control of the routes across the
Hindu Kush from the Kidarites. Khingila seems to have been a contemporary of the
Sassanian ruler
Bahram V. As the Alchons took control, diplomatic missions were established in 457 with
China. Khingila, under the name
Shengil, was called "King of India" in the
Shahnameh of
Ferdowsi. The numismatic evidence as well as the so-called "Hephthalite bowl" from
Gandhara, now in the
British Museum, suggests a period of peaceful coexistence between the Kidarites and the Alchons, as it features two
Kidarite noble hunters wearing their characteristic crowns, together with two Alchon hunters and one of the Alchons inside a medallion. It is thought that the
Kanishka stupa, one of the most famous and tallest buildings in antiquity, was destroyed by them during their invasion of the area in the 460s CE. The
Mankiala stupa was also vandalised during their invasions. The rest of the 5th century marks a period of territorial expansion and eponymous kings, several of which appear to have overlapped and ruled jointly. The Alchon Huns invaded parts of northwestern India from the second half of the 5th century.
Sindh . 5th century. From circa 480 CE, there are also suggestion of Hunnic occupation of
Sindh, between
Multan and the mouth of the
Indus River, as the local
Sasanian coinage of Sindh starts to incorporate sun symbols or a Hunnic
tamgha to the design. The quality of the coins also becomes very much degraded by that time, and the actual gold content becomes quite low compared to the previous Sasanian-style coinage.
Contributions The Hūṇas were precisely ruling the area of
Malwa, at the doorstep of the
Western Deccan, at the time the famous
Ajanta Caves were made by ruler
Harisena of the
Vakataka Empire. Through their control of vast areas of northwestern India, the Huns may actually have acted as a cultural bridge between the area of
Gandhara and the Western Deccan, at the time when the Ajanta or
Pitalkhora caves were being decorated with designs of Gandharan inspiration, such as Buddhas dressed in robes with abundant folds.
First Hunnic War: Central India In the
First Hunnic War (496–515), the Alchon reached their maximum territorial extent, with King
Toramana pushing deep into Indian territory, reaching
Gujarat and
Madhya Pradesh in
Central India, and ultimately contributing to the downfall of the
Gupta Empire. To the east, far into
Central India, the city of
Kausambi, where seals with Toramana's name were found, was probably sacked by the Alkhons in 497–500, before they moved to occupy
Malwa. In particular, it is thought that the monastery of Ghoshitarama in Kausambi was destroyed by Toramana, as several of his seals were found there, one of them bearing the name
Toramana impressed over the official seal of the monastery, and the other bearing the title
Hūnarāja ("King of the Huns"), together with debris and arrowheads. Another seal, this time by Mihirakula, is reported from Kausambi. Bhanugupta was probably vanquished by Toramana at this battle, so that the western Gupta province of
Malwa fell into the hands of the Hunas. According to a 6th-century CE Buddhist work, the
Manjusri-mula-kalpa, Bhanugupta lost Malwa to the "
Shudra"
Toramana, who continued his conquest to
Magadha, forcing
Narasimhagupta Baladitya to make a retreat to
Bengal. Toramana "possessed of great prowess and armies" then conquered the city of
Tirtha in the
Gauda country (modern
Bengal). Toramana is said to have crowned a new king in
Benares, named Prakataditya, who is also presented as a son of Narasimha Gupta.
Defeat (515 CE) Toramana was finally defeated by local Indian rulers. The local ruler
Bhanugupta is sometimes credited with vanquishing Toramana, as his 510 CE inscription in
Eran, recording his participation in "a great battle", is vague enough to allow for such an interpretation. The "great battle" in which Bhanagupta participated is not detailed, and it is impossible to know what it was, or which way it ended, and interpretations vary.
Mookerji and others consider, in view of the inscription as well as the
Manjusri-mula-kalpa, that Bhanugupta was, on the contrary, vanquished by Toramana at the 510 CE Eran battle, so that the western Gupta province of
Malwa fell into the hands of the Hunas at that point, The First Hunnic War thus ended with a Hunnic defeat, and Hunnic troops apparently retreated to the area of
Punjab. The
Manjusri-mula-kalpa simply states that Toramana died in
Benares as he was returning westward from his battles with Narasimhagupta. and that he "had bent the head of Mihirakula". In a part of the Sondani inscription
Yasodharman thus praises himself for having defeated king
Mihirakula:
(Ja)yatu Mihirakula ("Let there be victory to Mihirakula"). The
Gupta Empire emperor
Narasimhagupta is also credited in helping repulse Mihirakula, after the latter had conquered most of India, according to the reports of Chinese monk
Xuanzang. In a fanciful account, Xuanzang, who wrote a century later in 630 CE, reported that Mihirakula had conquered all India except for an island where the king of
Magadha named Baladitya (who could be Gupta ruler
Narasimhagupta Baladitya) took refuge, but that was finally captured by the Indian king. He later spared Mihirakula's life on the intercession of his mother, as she perceived the Hun ruler "as a man of remarkable beauty and vast wisdom". The Aphsad inscription of
Ādityasena mentions the military successes of kings of the
Later Gupta dynasty against the Maukharis, and explains that the Maukharis were past victors of the Hunas:
Retreat to Gandhara and Kashmir (530 CE) , successor of Mihirakula, and supposed founder of
Srinagar.
Obverse: Standing king with two figured seated below. Name "Pravarasena".
Reverse: goddess seated on a lion. Legend "Kidāra". Circa 6th-early 7th century CE The Alchon Huns resettled in the area of
Gandhara and
Kashmir in northwestern
India under the rule of
Sri Pravarasena (c.530-590 CE), thought to be the son of Toramana. According to
Kalhana's 12th century text
Rajatarangini, Pravarasena established a new capital named Pravarapura (also known as Pravarasena-pura). Based on topographical details, Pravarapura appears to be same as the modern city of
Srinagar.
Kashmir descendants of the Alchon Huns Several rulers with Alchon names appear in
Kalhana's
Rajatarangini. Although the chronology of the
Rajatarangini is largely deficient, several of the names of these rulers, especially those belonging to the so-called
Gonanda dynasty (II), have been confirmed by coin finds in Kashmir and dated to the 7th century CE. They were "very likely" descendants of the Alchon Huns in the Kashmir area.
Retreat to Kabulistan and displacement of the Nezak Huns , from his coinage. Around the end of the 6th century CE, the Alchons withdrew to
Kashmir and, pulling back from
Punjab and
Gandhara, moved west across the
Khyber Pass where they resettled in
Kabulistan under the leadership of
Toramana II. There, their coinage suggests that they merged with the
Nezak – as coins in Nezak style now bear the Alchon
tamga mark. During the 7th century, continued military encounters are reported between the Hunas and the northern Indian states which followed the disappearance of the Gupta Empire. For example,
Prabhakaravardhana, the
Vardhana dynasty king of
Thanesar in northern India and father of
Harsha, is reported to have been "A lion to the
Huna deer, a burning fever to the king of the
Indus land". The Alchons in India declined rapidly around the same time that the
Hephthalites, a related group to the north, were defeated by an alliance between the Sassanians and the
Western Turkic Kaghanate in 557–565 CE. The areas of
Khuttal and
Kapisa-
Gandhara had remained independent kingdoms under the Alchon Huns, under kings such as
Narendra, but in 625 CE they were taken over by the expanding
Western Turks when they established the
Yabghus of Tokharistan. Eventually, the Nezak-Alchons were replaced by the
Turk Shahi dynasty around 665 CE. ==Religion and ethics==