Kujula Kadphises

Monarch who unified the five yabgus of the Greater Yuezhi and founded the Kushan Empire.

Life

Yabgu of the Greater Yuezhi

After the Greater Yuezhi migrated west to the Amu Darya basin, they were divided into five yabgus (tribal chiefs). According to the "Account of the Western Regions" in the Book of the Later Han, Kujula Kadphises, yabgu of the Kushans, destroyed the other four yabgus and proclaimed himself king, naming his state Kushan.

Unified the five tribes

He expanded south, invading Parthia and taking Gaofu (around present-day Kabul), and also destroyed Puda and Jibin, extending his power south of the Hindu Kush and into northwestern India. The coins he issued imitated Roman and Greek designs.

Advanced south into India

According to the Book of the Later Han, he lived past 80 and was succeeded by his son Vima Kadphises. Under his descendant Kanishka, the Kushan Empire reached its zenith.

Legacy

The Kushan Empire founded by Kujula Kadphises ranked with the Han dynasty, Parthia and Rome as one of the four great empires of Eurasia at the time, controlling the middle section of the Silk Road.

Did you know? Chinese histories are the most important written source on Kujula Kadphises; his very name comes from the Book of the Later Han.

Key dates

• 30Unified the five yabgus and founded Kushan (approx.)
• 50Took Gaofu (approx.)
• 80Died; succeeded by Vima Kadphises (approx.)