1.2 History of the Site

1.2.1 Early European Explorations at Begram

"The discovery of so interesting a locality as that of Begram imposed upon me new, agreeable, and I should hope not unprofitable employment. I availed myself of every opportunity to visit it, as well with the view to secure the rich memorials of past ages it yielded as to acquire a knowledge of the adjacent country." (Charles Masson, 1842, Vol.III:148)

Charles Masson left Kabul in the summer of 1833 on a journey of exploration to the north, the findings of which were published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in a first memoir (Masson 1834), followed by two additional memoirs (Masson 1836) and a book published in 1842, Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan, and the Panjab. One of the primary reasons for Masson's travel was his wish to identify the ancient site of Alexandria ad Caucasum, a site mentioned by a number of classical authors . On the plain of Begram Masson discovered many objects, among which were numerous coins. By the end of the year, he had found and collected from local shepherds approximately 2,000 coins, most of them copper, some gold and silver. Masson speculates that 30,000 coins were being discovered annually on the plains of Begram, many of which were bought up by local smiths and ultimately found their way to the mints of nearby towns such as Kabul and Charikar where they were melted down to produce new coinage (Masson 1834:154).

Masson's numismatic collections caught the attention of the East India Company, and between 1834 and 1837 Masson was employed by them, in return for their defraying of the costs of his travels, to collect coins for the East India Company's museum in England (Wilson 1841:v). Masson's second memoir (1836) is more descriptive than the first. In it he delves in depth into Begram's geographical situation and describes the various material remains slightly visible on the dasht. Masson notes that the degree of destruction of the remains was so severe that only if one dug more than a meter into the soil could one distinguish the outlines of buildings (1836:3). In addition, Masson mentions three 'artificial mounds' on the edge of the plain, plus a few mounds on the northern elevation locally called the 'Burj-i 'Abdullah', which were constructed with unburnt bricks. Other edifices mentioned by Masson include more recent Islamic and Hindu religious structures, some still in use (1836:3).

Based on his findings, mostly from the coins, Masson in his third memoir concludes that a settlement at Begram had existed from the Graeco-Bactrian period into the Islamic period and that it had been a capital city, as judged by the "presence of topes or sepulchral monuments" (Masson 1836:538). The appellation 'Begram', which according to Masson meant 'the chief city', further indicated to him that the city had been an provincial capital, and he speculated that it was one of several outposts founded by Alexander the Great and called Alexandria ad Caucasum (Masson 1842, Vol.3:161-163).

Some of Masson's hypotheses were challenged even in his own time by various numismatic scholars. Even the editor of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, in a footnote following Masson's third memoir, felt compelled to justify the publication of Masson's reports (JASB 5, 1936:546). But while there are indeed many problems with Masson's speculations, if nothing else his work provided contemporary and later scholars with the impetus to explore the plain of Begram.

Most of the work published in the immediate wake of Masson's contributions were numismatic studies, which mainly appeared in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal (Avdall 1836; Prinsep 1836) and in the Journal Asiatique (Jacquet 1936-37) . In 1841, concerned that Masson's findings were virtually unknown in England, H.H. Wilson embarked on a project to collect Masson's work which he published as Antiquities of Afghanistan. Other works of the mid-19th century included a discussion of Masson's identification of Begram as ancient Alexandria ad Caucasum (Cunningham 1846) and a study of bronze and stone seals found by Masson at Begram (Chapman 1841). One other explorer actually visited the plains of Begram in the 19th century: G.T. Vigne published his exploration and his findings in an article in 1837 and in a book in 1843 titled A Personal Narrative of a Visit to Ghuzni, Kabul and Afghanistan.

1.2.2 Beginning of Systematic Excavations

Although Begram had seen extensive coin collecting by Masson and Vigne in the 19th century, systematic exploration did not commence until the early 1920s when the French and Afghan governments signed a pact which granted the French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan (DAFA) a near monopoly on all archaeological research in Afghanistan for the next thirty years (Foucher 1928; Courtois 1961: 18).

Alfred Foucher directed the first systematic surveys of Afghanistan in the years following the 1922 treaty, in the region of Kabul, Bamian and Begram (according to Foucher, ancient Kapisi). In the years 1922 to 1925, the main focus of the surveys was to "trace the itinerary of the caravans and armies, the pilgrims and artists who followed the relatively short, though difficult, route from Peshawar to Bactra across the chain of the Hindu-Kush Mountains"(Foucher 1928:23). The main archaeological goal was to excavate the many Buddhist remains which, Foucher remarked, had been damaged by the unsystematic coin collectors of a century before (Foucher 1928:23). Under the direction of Foucher's successor Barthoux, the first schist sculptures were uncovered at Begram; Barthoux also led the first exploratory surveys on the site of Begram's 'New Royal City' (Hackin 1938:42).

On the basis of Foucher's explorations and Barthoux's initial surveys at Begram, a plan was devised for systematic excavations. These commenced in 1936 when, under the direction of Jean Carl, assisted by J. Meunié, work was begun to uncover what is referred to as Site 1 in the 'New Royal City' (fig. 14). The first step taken in uncovering the site was the making of a south-north oriented trench which corresponded to one of the main arteries of the ancient town, referred to as the 'Bazaar' (fig. 20). This was followed by the release of several workshops bordering this road (Carl 1959:85-102).

Figure 14	Figure 20

At the end of June, 1936, the work was interrupted for almost a year. It was picked up again under the direction of J. Hackin in 1937, when he recommenced work on Site 1. In addition, directed by R. Hackin and Ahmed Ali Khan Kohzad, work on Site 2 began in 1937, some two hundred meters east of Site 1. Again digging in a north-south direction, a few meters away from the enclosure wall, they released several rooms with walls constructed of irregular pieces of stone for the fundaments and lower layers, and pisé for the upper part of the wall.

The first rooms excavated, nos. 1-9 (Fig. 23), did not disclose many objects; there were pottery and bronze coins, but nothing remarkable. Room 10, on the other hand, the door of which was 'sealed off' by a wall constructed of bricks and which bordered the west of rooms nos. 8 and 9, revealed a vast number of finds of great diversity. In the northeast part of room 10, numerous glass objects (Figs.26, 28-, 32 ) were found, as well as a number of bronze objects (Figs. 38, 39) including dishes, scale-weights and coins; in addition, an alabaster dinner plate and œnochoes were found. From the central part of the room to the south wall were located a great number of bands and plaques made of bone and ivory (see Volume II). Also, during the 1937 season, under the direction of J. Meunié research was carried out on several religious structures at the foot of the Koh-i-Pahlavan, during which Buddhist reliefs and statues were uncovered (Hackin 1938:47).

Figure 23	Figure 26	Figure 28	Figure 29	Figure 30
Figure 31	Figure 32	Figure 38	Figure 39

The 1937 work on the ancient city at Begram itself ceased not long after the discovery of room 10, and the site was abandoned for almost a year while the DAFA carried out excavations elsewhere, including Fondukistan. In 1938, more excavations were carried out at Site 2 of the 'New Royal City', as well as in other parts surrounding it. Two small fortresses were uncovered, one inside and the other outside the fortification walls of ancient Begram (Meunié 1959:105-6).

In 1939, J. Hackin (1954) returned to Begram to continue work in Site 2 of the 'New Royal City'. This excavation was carried out in a section situated to the north-northeast of the rooms uncovered in the 1937 excavation and released a spacious new room, 13, the door of which, like that of Room 10, had been anciently sealed-off by a brick wall. In this room were found numerous objects from the Roman world: plaster medallions, decorated glassware and bronzes (Figs.44-48; 33, 36, 37; 40-43). The finds in Room 13 also included a number of carved ivory and bone objects similar in style to the ones found in Room 10. Long contact with the humid soil, however, had caused irreparable damage to the objects and in some cases the ivory and bone itself had been literally pulverized.

Figure 33	Figure 36	Figure 37	Figure 40	Figure 41	Figure 42
Figure 43	Figure 44	Figure 45	Figure 46	Figure 47	Figure 48

An interesting addition to the Roman and Indian objects in room 13 were a number of lacquer fragments of Chinese origin. They consisted of parts of a large bowl and several small boxes (Figs.52, 53, 54); the wooden frames supporting the lacquer coating had, however, totally disappeared. The decorations on some lacquers were delicate light strokes of red on brown/black ground; on other fragments completely different motifs appear.

Figure 52	Figure 53	Figure 54

With the outbreak of World War II, the Hackins returned to France and both lost their lives during the war. Their notes of the 1939 excavation and the catalogue of finds were preserved and were much later published in volume XI of the MDAFA, together with a series of comparative studies by J. Auboyer, V. Elisseeff, O. Kurz and Ph. Stern (MDAFA XI 1954). In 1941-42, one more extensive excavation was carried out at Begram. Under the direction of Roman Ghirshman, work was done in the Burj-i 'Abdullah, or 'Old Royal City' as it was referred to by Foucher , which lies six hundred meters north of the 'New Royal City'. Some excavation of the 'New Royal City' also took place under the direction of Ghirshman, most of it at Site 1, to the west of the bazaar uncovered by Hackin in the 1937 campaign.

In 1946, J. Meunié conducted the last extensive excavation on the site of ancient Begram (Meunié 1959). Except for a Japanese survey (Mizuno 1971) conducted in the 1960s, no comprehensive excavation has taken place at Begram since the 1940s.

1.2.3 Origins of Begram: Early Identifications

Since its 'discovery' by European explorers in the 19th century, there has been considerable speculation about the identity of the ancient site at Begram. Most commentators have opted to recognize the ancient city at Begram as an Alexandrian one and/or as the ancient capital of the Kushans called Kapisi, as described by the Chinese pilgrim Hsüan-tsang.

The purpose of Masson's explorations was to identify Alexander the Great's city of Alexandria ad Caucasum, and there seemed to be only two likely locations: Begram; or a large fortress at Nilab in the Ghurband Valley, a possibility because of its military aspect and the appellation Nilab, another name for Alexandria ad Caucasum mentioned by classical authors (Masson 1836:8). Masson, however, chose to identify Begram as the ancient city founded by Alexander, due to its larger size and therefore its capacity to hold a large army and retinue (Masson 1836:7), and because of its geographical location, which to Masson seemed more favorable as a military site. Masson remarks:

"No doubt, if this part of Asia were to come under European control, the re-edification of Beghrám would be deemed a necessary measure, for a considerable city at this spot would not only provide for the due submission of the half-obedient tribes of Kohistán, but would secure the allegiance of those absolutely in rebellion or independence......."(Masson 1836, Vol.III:7-8)

G.T. Vigne , in his account of his travel in Afghanistan, sought to rebut Masson's identification of Begram as Alexandria ad Caucasum. Citing Arrian, Vigne points out that Alexander the Great crossed the Caucasus from Bactria (according to Vigne the Parapamisus was often called Caucasus), and arrived at an Alexandria which he had apparently built 'among the Parapamisæ' during his first march into Bactria (Vigne 1986:197). Instead of Begram, which is situated on an open plain and is not in the Parapamisus proper, Vigne prefers the ancient city of Bamian in the Ghurband river valley as the city founded by Alexander the Great; Vigne opts for Begram as perhaps having been ancient Nicæe (Vigne 1986:199). Wilson also thinks Bamian a more likely location for the ancient Alexandrian city which, according to his research, did not lie on Alexander the Great's actual route of conquest (1841:181).

In addition to the notations of classical authors, ancient Chinese travel accounts have also been drawn into the discussion regarding the identification of ancient Begram. The 19th century witnessed the first European translations, most prominently by Julien and Beal, of ancient Chinese chronicles recounting the travels of Chinese pilgrims in Central Asia and India. Alexander Cunningham, Director General of the Archaeological Survey in India, was among the first to include the account of a 7th century CE Chinese pilgrim named Hsüan-tsang in the discussion about Begram. Cunningham identified Begram as "the Kiu-lu-sa-pang or Karsawana of the Chinese pilgrim, the Karsana of Ptolemy , and the Cartana of Pliny", and rejected Begram as the city Alexander the Great founded, in favor of Opian, 100 miles to the east of Bamian (Cunningham 1975 (1871):16-17). These 19th century studies, however, did not have the benefit of later archaeological research at the site of Begram. And it must be noted here that most of these early arguments concerning the founding of the ancient city have remained unconfirmed by later material data.

Alfred Foucher, director of the French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan, was the first scholar to carry out systematic explorations at the site of the monumental remains discovered in the area of Begram. The early years of the French explorations in Afghanistan in the 1920s were characterized by research on the extent of Buddhist penetration in the region; and, to this end, the remains of several Buddhist complexes were surveyed. Based on the reports of the Chinese pilgrim Hsüan-tsang, who mentions the existence of several Buddhist complexes near the ancient capital of Kapisi, Foucher identified the ancient city at Begram as Kapisa, the royal residence and capital city of the Kushans.

Although Foucher (1928:24) indicates that the ancient site of Begram was the capital city of Greek kings before the arrival of the Kushans, he does not commit himself to the exact location of Alexandria ad Caucasum, which he takes to be located in the same region of the valley of Kapisa. Hackin and Ghirshman (1946), the main excavators of the site, only refer to the city as the capital of several Indo-Greek kings and of the Kushans. Hackin is of the opinion that Begram is ancient Hellenistic Nikæa and that Alexandria ad Caucasum is located nearer Parwan at the site of Djebel-Seradj. Hackin also supports Foucher's identification of Kushan-era Begram as ancient Kapisi (1939:3-5).

The likelihood of the existence of an ancient Kapisi is further witnessed by Panini, who refers to the region of Kapisa known for its honey and wine (Asthadhyayi of Panini 1987:426), and by epigraphic evidence, such as the legend on a coin of Eucradites which some scholars argue reads 'City god of Kapisi' (Gupta 1989:129). The exact location of the city or region of Kapisa, however, remains unknown. All literary sources seem to indicate that it was located south of the Hindu Kush in modern Afghanistan, but the region's exact limits are unclear and the location of its capital, in particular, remains a matter of conjecture more than hypothesis. Despite this uncertainty, most scholars, when referring to Begram, do so with the appellation Kapisi-Begram. The problems with the identification of Begram as ancient Kapisi, and the effect of this identification on the interpretation of the finds of this site, will be discussed in depth in Chapter 6.

Regardless of its identification, it is clear from its size and from the archaeological evidence that Begram was an important town. In addition to the rich material remains, some authors have indicated that even the appellation 'Begram' indicates a settlement of importance. Some think it is derived from the word "Vigrama" denoting a capital city (Cunningham 1975 (1871):25; Masson 1842:159) while others say it derives from the word "Viharagrama", meaning town situated near a Buddhist monastery (Upasak 1990:92), an inference drawn from the fact that there are several Begrams in Afghanistan and all are situated near remains of ancient Buddhist complexes. However, it must be pointed out here that the appellation Begram is not derived from any source connected to the ancient ruins but rather from the modern name of a town near the site, such that the connection between the modern town name and the ancient ruins is itself at best speculative.

Identification of the ruins at Begram with one or another noted ancient city is not the prime purpose of this thesis. However, as will be made clear in the last chapter of this work, many of the discussions surrounding the nature of the finds at Begram, examined in section 1.4, are based on foundations laid by these identifications. Therefore the thesis will return in greater depth to an analysis of the identifications as part of its arguments concerning the nature of the ivory and bone objects.

1.2.4 Begram in Historical Context

The archaeological evidence (see sections 1.3 and 1.4) uncovered at Begram in more than a century of research indicates a city built in the Graeco-Bactrian period, with occupation through the Indo-Greek, Kushan and the Sasanian periods .

At the beginning of a discussion of the history of the Begram region during these eras, several points should be made concerning the eyes through which that history has been viewed and defined. Any reliance on ancient literary sources for analysis of this region should be made under the caution that history is "usually defined by those who conquered and not by the conquered" (Gunder-Frank 1992). This proviso holds particularly true for ancient Begram, virtually all of whose extant epigraphic sources could be described as 'non-local' histories: classical references; Chinese pilgrim accounts; the notations of European searchers for the trail of Alexander the Great. The empirical problems alone of such non-local sources must constantly be examined: misidentification; mistranslation; the reporting of hearsay accounts as first-hand observation. For example, the writings of the Chinese religious pilgrim Hsüan-tsang, one of the most extensive of ancient accounts of the region, seem rife with confusions and conflations of contemporary observation, legend and second-hand description . Similarly, the characterization in classical sources of Alexander the Great's presence in the region as a 'conquest' masks a rather more complex set of relations among the arriving armies, their long-term representatives and the local ruling structures and populations.

Further, reliance on non-local literary sources raises not only the general problem of misperceptions but also the issue of skewed perceptions. That is, one must be cognizant not merely of what may have been reported in error but of what has not been reported at all. The ancient epigraphic sources are concerned almost exclusively with matters royal or religious. They trace the outlines of conquest, hegemony and lineage, or of the migrations of religious influence, while virtually ignoring the demotic. Thus, for example, the focus of ancient classical sources on Alexander's route and 'conquests' tends to lead them to the uncritical acceptance that any city in the region to which was attached the appellation Alexandria ad ....... was in fact built in and dominated throughout the period of Alexander and his successors. Similarly, the Chinese documents used to reconstruct the Kushan period in the region reflected the essentially religious purposes of Buddhist pilgrims. Hsüan-Tsang's ready identification of Kapisi (perhaps Begram) as the seat of Kaniska, the great 'Buddhist' king, may reflect his desire personally to touch the seats of regnant Buddhism more than it does historical fact: a recently uncovered inscription of Kaniska near Surkh Kotal indicates that the king's religious affiliations were in fact with the Iranian pantheon (Sims-Williams & Cribb 1995/96), and archaeological evidence fails to support that Hsüan-Tsang's Kapisi was a royal capital at all.

There is an additional level of concern about this ancient tramontane focus on the royal and religious, and that is the extent to which it has leached into modern scholarship. The continued currency, for example, of the terms Hellenistic and Hellenized for Central Asia during the time of Alexander the Great's successors can be seen as rooted in the classical sources which formed the base of a particular vector of studies, that is, Classics. One result of this emphasis is that the Kushans, who dominated the region during the time of the site which is the subject of this thesis, have rarely been examined as a culture and society with indigenously-developed Central Asian forms and patterns but rather only to the extent they were a 'Hellenized' -- which is to say 'civilized' -- nomadic group.

Similarly, early scholarship regarding the finds at Begram was conducted along a path which began with the identification of the site as the seat and royal residence of a great Buddhist king, which led to the appellation by the excavators of sections of the site as the Old and New Royal Cities, which in turn may have contributed to the initial and lingering identification of the finds at Begram as a royal 'treasure'. As this thesis will discuss extensively, however, the archaeological and stylistic evidence supports the inference that instead of royal treasure the finds as likely were artifacts of commerce, a hypothesis that might have been argued before now had the site been viewed as a large town significantly situated along established trade routes rather than as a 'royal residence'.

Bearing in mind these caveats, this section will offer the outlines of the history of the region through the Sasanian period, in an effort to place the finds at Begram in an historical context from which to examine them. Although there is yet no archaeological evidence of it from Begram itself, the general region of what is modern Afghanistan first entered the historical record through the Achaemenids, a Persian dynasty founded in the 6th century BCE and expanded until well into the 4th century BCE when it met with a series of defeats by Alexander the Great. The reach of the Achaemenids was greatly broadened in the campaigns of Cyrus (559-529 BCE) who, by conquering Babylon and defeating the Median king, and by whose eastern campaigns the territories now known as Afghanistan were annexed, created an empire which stretched from the eastern borders of modern Afghanistan to the Hellespont.

The Achaemenid Empire reached its zenith under Darius (521-485 BCE.) when the region was consolidated and organized into twenty provinces, each under the control of a governor. Afghanistan consisted of six such provinces or 'satrapies' (Fig. 7): Zaranka (Seistan); Areia (Herat); Bactria (Afghan Turkestan); Gandhara (south-east Afghanistan and parts of north-west Pakistan); Sattagydai (central Afghanistan, including Kabul and Bamian); and Arachosia (Kandahar). (Kraus 1972:46-47).

Figure 7

Although there is no archaeological evidence from Begram dating to the Achaemenid period, an Achaemenid inscription may shed some light on the proposed identification of Begram as ancient Kapisi. The Bisutun inscription (Column III 53-64) of Darius indicates that a fortress existed at Kapishakanish, where Darius's troops fought a battle against rebel armies (Schmitt 1991:65-66). This reference may cast doubt on the identification of Begram as ancient Kapisi, because no Achaemenid remains were discovered at Begram (Mehendale 1996:97-98).

After his defeat of the Achaemenid king Darius III in 330 BCE, Alexander the Great began a march into Afghanistan to secure domination over the Achaemenid satrapies (Fig. 8). Alexander is credited with founding many cities and outposts along his route, purported sites which have been the focus of much archaeological research in the region. Although Alexander's sojourn in what is now modern Afghanistan and Pakistan lasted only about five years and we have very little archaeological evidence of the impact in the region of Alexander and his successors save at Aï Khanum, much classical literature and the scholarship that followed it still considers the episode the most important in the history of the 'Orient'.

Figure 8

Seleucus I Nicator succeeded Alexander in West Asia, but did not manage to retain control over the southern parts of Afghanistan. Seleucus's successors also failed to hold various of Alexander's eastern territories, including Bactria, which declared itself an independent state under Diodotus in approximately 250 BCE (Fig. 9). The hiving off of an independent Bactria has produced a western classification of Greek domination in the Orient known as the 'Graeco-Bactrian' period. The hyphenated definition is based on the continued usage of Greek script and the Attic weight standard for Bactrian coins, and Greek appellations for the rulers. The extent to which this truly reflects continued Greek domination in the region, however, is a matter for other discussions.

Figure 9

Part of the Graeco-Bactrian empire was absorbed in the west by Parthians, while the eastern remainder was divided by two ruling clans. This division of control over the region brings us to the third Graeco-classification, that of the Indo-Greeks (Fig. 10). These were rulers in eastern Afghanistan and northern parts of the Indian subcontinent in the 2nd -1st centuries BCE who earned their Greek hyphenation through the bilingual Greek and Indian legends on their coins.

Figure 10

To the extent that 'Greek' rule remained over parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan after the depredations of the Parthians, it was ultimately eliminated by the Yüeh-chih nomadic tribes who invaded the region of Bactria in the second half of the 2nd century BCE. And here begins the 'dark chapter' of Central Asian history, as Masson put it, a period virtually ignored by ancient Western sources. We have some information about the Yüeh-chih tribes from ancient official Chinese accounts, but little more than names, dates and geography. The relative obscurity of the nomadic and Kushan period was exacerbated by the fact that the Kushans themselves left very few contemporary sources.

What little we do know of the Yüeh-chih begins with their coming from China to settle in the Central Asian plains in the second century BCE (Fig. 11). By the first century BCE, the Yüeh-chih had established a home in Bactria and other areas of Afghanistan. Their territory was initially divided into five principalities. One of these, the Kushans (Kuei-shuang), managed to overthrow the other four and under Kujula Kadphises conquered territories held by the Parthians and took control over the Hindu Kush, Gandhara and Taxila, establishing a unified Kushan Empire (Fig. 12). Under Vima Kadphises, the Kushan empire annexed northwest India, stretching Kushan rule down to the Ganges Valley. Vima's reign saw a considerable flourishing of the region, presumably brought on by political stability and reflected most obviously in a diminishing number of silver coins and an increase in gold ones (Kraus 1972:107-108).

Figure 11	Figure 12

The greatest of the Kushan kings, or at least the one about whom we have the most glorifying information, was Kaniska, who established his rule over all of Afghanistan, the Punjab and the Ganges Valley, with Peshawar and Mathura as his capital cities. Over the years there has been considerable speculation with regard to Kaniska's genealogy and the exact period during which he ruled: dates have been proposed which range from the first century CE to the third century CE. However, a recent inscription deciphered by N. Sims-Williams (Sims-Williams & Cribb 1995/96) suggests a direct lineage from Kujula Kadphises to Kaniska. To the extent this inscription is definitive, the previously held belief that there was a gap between the Kadphises and Kaniska can be discarded, as can the denomination of two different, first and second, Kushan dynasties. Although we still have no exact dates, a direct lineage would put Kaniska in the early 2nd century CE (Sims Williams & Cribb 1995/96).

Regardless of its precise beginning date, it has been established that the era initiated by Kaniska lasted 98 years, of which Kaniska himself ruled the first 23. This century appears to have been a period of great economic stability and a flowering of the arts: under Kaniska and his successors, the famous art schools of Bactria, Mathura and Gandhara flourished. It was also during this period of relative quiet and prosperity that Buddhism became a 'popular' religion and spread into Central Asia.

Kaniska's immediate successor Visas had only a short reign before being succeeded by Huviska. During their reigns the seat of political power shifted east from Peshawar to Mathura. The last king in the dynasty was Vasudeva I, who is calculated to have ruled the last 31 years of the Kaniska era. During Vasudeva's reign there appears to have been an official shift toward Hinduism, as demonstrated by the style of his name and by the depiction of the god Siva on his coins. Rarely does an Iranian deity appear on the coins of this period, prompting some scholars to suggest that there may have been a certain disintegration among the northwestern provinces (Majumdar, Raychaudhuri & Datta 1978:116).

To the extent there was already a decline in Kushan political power in the northwestern provinces, it was certainly hastened by the raids of the early Sasanians, who toppled the Parthians from power in Persia in 224 CE (Fig. 13 ). The immediate post-Kushan phase in the history of the regions of Afghanistan was characterized by the presence of small principalities, including Balkh and Kabul, in which Kushano-Sasanian rulers continued to use the cursive Kushan script on the obverse and reverse of their coins. Unfortunately, however, little else remains to indicate the extent to which these last rulers remained 'Kushan' in character (Shrava 1985:235).

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