KUSHAN Kanishka I circa 120-150 AD quarter unit

Description

Kanishka I ruled during the height of Kushan dominance. His coins display a syncretic tolerance of various religious traditions.

The Kushans started as nomads but became cosmopolitan when they conquered Gandhara in western Pakistan. They controlled their section of the Silk Road trade, and patronized Buddhism.

The earliest ancient Indian coins were the “bent bar” punchmarked silvers of the Achaemenid Persians occupying Gandhara in northwest Pakistan. By the 3rd century BC coins were in general use in most of India and Ceylon, and in subsequent centuries struck round coins in gold, silver, and copper came into use throughout the subcontinent and beyond to Southeast Asia and Pacific islands to Java and beyond.