"Kushano-Sasanian" is a
historiographic term used by modern scholars when referring to a dynasty of monarchs who supplanted the
Kushan Empire in the
Bactria region, and ultimately in both
Kabulistan and
Gandhara as well. According to the historian
Khodadad Rezakhani, the dynasty was seemingly a young branch of the House of Sasan, and perhaps an offspring of one of the
Sasanian King of Kings. It was founded by
Ardashir I Kushanshah () after his appointment by the first Sasanian King of Kings,
Ardashir I (). The Kushano-Sasanians, in the same manner as the Kushans, used the title of
Kushanshah ("Kushan King"), thus demonstrating a continuum with their predecessors. Peroz became Kushanshah in 245.
Sasanian-style coinage Like his predecessor Ardashir I Kushanshah, Peroz is called the "Great Kushan King" and "Mazdean (
Zoroastrian) lord" on his coins. In some of the rare coins of Peroz, the "Investiture issue", minted at
Herat (
HLYDY), the obverse legend reads
mzdztn bgy pylwcy rb’ kwš’n mdw’ in
Pahlavi, "The
Mazda-worshipping lord Peroz the Great Kushan Shah". On the reverse, Peroz is seen standing on the left, facing
Anahita rising from her throne. Peroz is holding an investiture wreath over an altar and raising the left hand in gesture of benediction. Anahita also holds an investiture wreath and a scepter.
Kushan-style coinage coins, minted at
Balkh.
Obverse: King in armour making an offering at an altar.
Nandipada symbol,
swastika between the legs,
Brahmi letter
Pi to the right.
Bactrian legend around "Peroz the Great Kushan King"
Reverse: Kushan god
Oesho, Bactrian legend "The exalted God". Peroz's reign marked a shift in Kushano-Sasanian coinage, which came to closely resemble the coinage of the Kushan emperors. He was the first Kushano-Sasanian ruler to issue coins on the Kushan model. The gold coins of Peroz tended to be
scyphate and to imitate the design of Kushan ruler
Vasudeva I. They were often minted at
Balkh, in Bactria, north of the
Hindu-Kush. The visual aspect of this new coin type was almost identical to those of the Kushans, albeit with specific adjustments. The front of Peroz's coins portrays him standing in Kushan armour making an offering at an altar, at the same time holding a spear in his right hand (the armour style is rather described as
Sasanian-style clothing by Rezakhani). Several symbols are included in the coin: a trident over the altar, what is often described as a
Nandipada symbol behind the king, and a
swastika between the legs. A
Brahmi letter
Pi has also been introduced to the right of the ruler, near the ground. The obverse has a legend in
Bactrian script all around (starting 14:00 o'clock):
Πιρωςο οοςορκο Κοϸανο ϸαηο "Peroz the Great Kushan King" In this, like his predecessor Ardashir I Kushanshah, Peroz called himself the "Great Kushan King". The reverse has a Kushan-style representation of the Kushan god
Oesho (in Bactrian
Οηϸο on the corresponding Kushan coins), which uses the attributes of the Indian God
Shiva, standing in front of the bull
Nandi, and holding a trident and a diadem. This new reverse deity replaced the previous depictions of the Zoroastrian deities
Mithra or Anahita in Kushano-Sasanian coinage. In the Kushan-style coinage of Peroz, although the depiction of the deity is visually similar to that on the Kushan coins, the legend is not the Kushan word Oesho (
Οηϸο) anymore, but has been replaced by the Bactrian legend
οορςοανδο ιαςοδο or
BΟPZAΟANΔΟ IAZAΔΟ "The exalted God". Apart from minting coins in the Kushano-Sasanian main base of Bactria, Peroz also had coins minted in Gandhara and
Begram, and most likely in
Peshawar as well. It was around this time that the Kushano-Sasanians began to expel the Kushans from Gandhara, pushing them to
Mathura in
North India, where their power was diminished from that of kings to local princes. Peroz was thus the first Kushano-Sasanian ruler to issue coins south of the Hindu-Kush, and he is known for several overstrikes over coins of the Kushan ruler
Kanishka II.
The Ka'ba-ye Zartosht inscription , where the
inscription of
Shapur I is engraved It was during Peroz's reign—in —that the Sasanian King of Kings
Shapur I () carved the
Ka'ba-ye Zartosht inscription. On the inscription, Shapur I proclaimed himself as the suzerain of several regions, including that of the Kushano-Sasanians: Nevertheless, according to Rezakhani, the Kushano-Sasanians appear to have been too strong to have been plainly Sasanian governors, and their existence "may well reflect an early Sasanian continuation of the
Arsacid imperial setting, acting as an allied, but autonomous, cadet branch of the Sasanian royal house". According to the historian Richard Payne, "the Kushano–Sasanian sub-kingdom ruled from Balkh on behalf of the Sasanian kings of kings". In 275, Peroz was succeeded by
Hormizd I Kushanshah, a son of the King of Kings
Bahram I (). == Notes ==