The Kushans and the Emergence of the Early Silk Roads

Abstract

The Kushans were a major historical power on the ancient Silk Roads, although their influence has been greatly overshadowed by that of China, Rome and Parthia. That the Kushans are so little known raises many questions about the empire they built and the role they played in the political and cultural dynamics of the period, particularly the emerging Silk Roads network. Despite building an empire to rival any in the ancient world, conventional accounts have often portrayed the Kushans as outsiders, and judged them merely in the context of neighbouring ‘superior’ powers. By examining the materials from a uniquely Kushan perspective, new light will be cast on this key Central Asian society, the empire they constructed and the impact they had across the region. Previous studies have tended to focus, often in isolation, on either the archaeological evidence available or the historical literary sources, whereas this thesis will combine understanding and assessments from both fields to produce a fuller, more deeply considered, profile. The fundamental question explored throughout this study is whether the Kushans, more than any others, inspired and were instrumental in creating the emerging ‘Silk Roads’ network; or whether it was the birth of the Silk Roads that gave rise to the Kushans.