Polity · 43 CE – 237 CE
Kushan Empire
Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν
- Peak recorded area
- 2,267,310 km²
- 127 CE
- Data series
- 19
- 100 CE–200 CE
Overview
The Kushan Empire was a syncretic empire formed by the Yuezhi in the Bactrian territories in the early 1st century. It spread to encompass much of what is now Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Western Nepal, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Kushan territory in India went at least as far as Saketa and Sarnath, now near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, where inscriptions have been found dating to the era of the Kushan emperor Kanishka the Great.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
11 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before 237 CE, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Largest Settlement Pop2 obs · 100 CE–200 CE | 100Kpersons200 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Population2 obs · 200 BCE–100 BCE | 13Mpersons100 BCE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Economy
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Agricultural Sophistication2 obs · 100 CE–200 CE | 1.5score200 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Monetary Complexity2 obs · 100 CE–200 CE | 0.8333score200 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Military
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Military Sophistication2 obs · 100 CE–200 CE | 1score200 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Military Levels | 5levels35 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Territory & resources
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Polity Territory2 obs · 100 CE–200 CE | 6.35score200 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Territory km²2 obs · 100 CE–200 CE | 2.3Msq km200 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Governance
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Admin Levels | 4.5levels35 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Religious Hierarchy | 3levels35 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Development
6 of 9 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Government Complexity2 obs · 100 CE–200 CE | 0.7778score200 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Hierarchy Levels2 obs · 100 CE–200 CE | 4.67score200 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Information Complexity2 obs · 100 CE–200 CE | 0.7692score200 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Infrastructure2 obs · 100 CE–200 CE | 0.8score200 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Known Ancient Places2 obs · 104 CE–140 CE | 286places140 CE · Pleiades Gazetteer |
| Known Ancient Settlements2 obs · 104 CE–140 CE | 146settlements140 CE · Pleiades Gazetteer |
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Bactrian, Greek
- Currency
- Kushan coinage
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Pleiades Gazetteer2024 snapshot
Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.). Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places.
CC BY 3.0
Seshat Equinox 2020Equinox 2020
Turchin, P. et al. Seshat Global History Databank, Equinox 2020 release.
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Kushan Empire is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.