kingdom · Central Asia and the Steppe
Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom
Origins
After Ardashir I founded the Sasanian Empire, he and his son Shapur I conquered Bactria and much of the Kushan Empire in the mid-3rd century. Government of the region was entrusted to Sasanian princes who took the title Kushanshah, King of the Kushans, ruling from Balkh.
Rule and society
The Kushanshahs issued gold and copper coins in the Kushan style, often showing the god Oesho (Shiva) with the bull Nandi, alongside Sasanian crowns and Middle Persian or Bactrian legends. They held trade routes through the Hindu Kush, and Buddhist monasteries in Bactria continued to flourish under them. At times they acted nearly independently of the main Sasanian court.
Decline and legacy
In the mid-4th century the Chionites and the Kidarite Kingdom overran Bactria, ending Kushano-Sasanian rule. Their coinage strongly influenced the coin types of these later Hunnic rulers.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom was a vassal of Sasanian Empire230 CE – 365 CE
- Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom was conquered by Kidarite Kingdom365 CE
More states of Central Asia and the Steppe →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kushano-sasanian-kingdom
- MLA
- “Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kushano-sasanian-kingdom. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kushano-sasanian-kingdom.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kushano-sasanian-kingdom (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻